Freestanding Lace Bows Sophisticated bows in freestanding lace add elegance and charm to any wrapped gift or gift bag. So versatile, they also become beautiful ornaments by gluing a small clip to the back and adding it to the tree. Or, add a small pin for a festive holiday brooch. Supplies needed: ** Water-soluble stabilizer ** Paper towels ** Fabric Glue Designs Used: Tailored Bow Fleur-de-Lis Bow Flowers and Leaves Bow Special Project Notes: You can use either 40 weight rayon thread or 30 35 weight cotton thread. I use Coats and Clark 30 and 35 weight cotton thread. It's labeled as Mercerized ELS Cotton for Machine Quilting & Crafts; Machine Quilting; or All Purpose. I find Coats and Clark cotton thread at JoAnn's. I've also used Madeira Cotona, which is a 30 weight cotton thread. I use the 30-35 weight cotton thread both in the bobbin (I wind my own bobbins) and in the top (needle). A note about water-soluble stabilizers and needles: There are many, many different brands of water-soluble stabilizer available. Some are thin and light, some are fibrous, and some are thick and heavy. It can be confusing to pick the right one for your lace project. We've digitized and stitched thousands of freestanding lace designs, and have consistently excellent results with Sulky Ultra Solvy (the heavy weight water-soluble stabilizer by Sulky) and Vilene, a fibrous water-soluble stabilizer. We order Vilene from www.pointetopointe.com. Use a sharp needle (as opposed to an embroidery needle) when embroidering onto watersoluble stabilizer - especially if using the "plastic-looking" kind (such as Sulky Ultra Solvy). An embroidery needle has a larger point, which makes larger holes in the water-soluble stabilizer, leading to tearing and misalignment. When you download a file for a lace bow, you'll find multiple pieces contained inside. The Tailored Bow design contains five pieces; the Fleur de Lis and Flower and Leaves bow contains three pieces.
Instructions below include general tips for embroidering freestanding lace, and specific instructions for each bow. To embroider freestanding lace, hoop one piece of water-soluble stabilizer (WSS). We used Sulky Ultra Solvy. Kenny has tested different brands of WSS to see which works best. To see how different brands hold up when used with freestanding lace, click here. Because both sides of freestanding lace can be seen, the bobbin thread should match the top thread. Wind a bobbin with the same thread that you'll be using in the needle. We use a size 11 sharp needle when embroidering freestanding lace. If you use a universal or ballpoint needle, that can cause the WSS to tear or rip.
After finishing each design, unhoop the WSS and cut away the excess. Trim as close to the embroidery as possible without cutting any of the stitches. Soak the lace in hot tap water. For Sulky Ultra Solvy, soak for 15 minutes. After soaking, blot the lace with paper towels. Allow the lace to dry completely. We found that it is easier to soak the design pieces and allow them to dry before assembling them into a bow. Specific embroidery and assembly instructions for each bow continue below. Tailored Bow The zipped file for this bow contains 5
pieces: two long, narrow pieces; two long, wider pieces; and a "V" shaped piece. Embroider each file once. After soaking, drying, and pressing, assemble the bow. Begin by sewing the long pieces together, as shown to the left, with the short ends together. Using the same color thread, sew a zigzag stitch on both sets where the short ends meet. Lay the wide piece wrong side up. Apply fabric glue to the center seam.
Bring the ends to the center, and hold in place until the glue holds. Lay the "V" shape piece wrong side down. Add glue to the top. Glue the wide piece to the "V" shape piece. Lay the narrow piece wrong side up. Locate the second "notch" away from the center seam on each side. Add
glue to both notches. Bring each end in and press in place until glue holds. Apply more glue to the notches a second time; bring the ends together to form a loop, and hold in place. Apply glue to the back of the bow and attach it inside of the wide piece. The Tailored Bow is complete!
Flower Bow This embroidery file contains three pieces. Embroider the leaf-shaped piece six times; embroider the "V" shape and the star shape once each. Soak, dry, and press the pieces, then follow the assembly steps below. With the wrong side down, apply glue to the circle tab of one of the leaf shapes. With the "V" shape piece wrong side down, attach the circle tab of the leaf shape, wrong side up, to the circle on the "V" shape.
Continue gluing the leaf shape pieces, wrong side up, to the "V" shape piece. Arrange the leaf shape pieces as shown, layering each center piece on top of one another. Add a drop of glue to the ends of each leaf-shape piece......glue each end to the outside edge of the center circle.
Add glue to the wrong side of the star shape piece, and attach it to the center circle. The Flower Bow is complete! Fleur-de-Lis Bow This bow design contains three pieces. Embroider the wide, oval shaped-piece once, and all other pieces three times each. Soak the designs and allow them to dry, following the steps above. Place one of the narrow pieces wrong side up. Add glue to one of the circle tabs.
Bring the right side of the opposite circle tab back, twisting to form an open loop, and attach the circle tabs together. Glue the other two narrow pieces the same way. Apply glue to the wrong side of one of the circle tabs. Glue and layer all three narrow pieces together in a triangular structure, as shown. Lay one of the wide pieces wrong side up. Apply glue to one of the circle tabs.
Bring the right side of the opposite circle tab back and attach the circle tabs together. Glue the other two wide pieces the same way. Then, glue and layer the three wide pieces together the same way as the narrow piece section. Apply glue to the circle tab in the center of the narrow piece section. Place the wide piece section in the center of the narrow piece section. Off-set the wide section in between each piece of the narrow section and glue in place.
Lay the oval shape piece wrong side up and apply glue to one circle tab. Bring the other circle tab over to form a loop. Add glue to the bottom circle tab and attach the loop to the center of the bow. The Fleur-de-Lis Bow is complete! And there you have it! Three unique lace bows, perfect for any holiday or gift. Click here for a printable version of these project instructions. You'll need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you don't have it, you can download a
free copy by clicking on the icon below.