Deck the halls with a lush, elegant wreath embellished with Battenburg lace ornaments. Embroider your favorite lace ornaments and combine with flowers, feathers, and ribbon to make your own lovely holiday wreath.
Supplies & Materials:
Project Needs & Notes
- Water-soluble stabilizer
(Vilene or Sulky Ultra Solvy)
- 30-35 weight cotton thread
- Size 11 or 75/11 sharp sewing needle
- Styrofoam wreath form (16" is used)
- Two feather boas (each 6' long)
- 10 yards 1 1/2" wide ribbon
- 1/4" wide ribbon for hangers
- Large tapestry needle
- Hot glue and gun
- Faux flowers
- Wire cutter
- Ball head pins
- Craft wire (optional)
The designs used in this tutorial include:
- X0139, Holy Night Ornaments pack.
Find even more Battenburg lace designs here .
Gather Materials:
Battenburg lace designs are embroidered onto water-soluble stabilizer. When the stabilizer is soaked away, beautiful lace remains behind.
Battenburg lace is digitized for 30-35 weight cotton thread. This thread brings a classic, hearty, and traditional look to the lace pieces.
30-35 weight cotton thread is found under different names, such as mercerized cotton or all-purpose cotton.
You will use the same thread in both the top and the bobbin. Wind a bobbin with the cotton thread.
Start Embroidering:
Two kinds of water-soluble stabilizer can be used when embroidering freestanding lace. One is clear and plastic-like, known as Sulky Ultra Solvy.
The other is soft and fibrous, called Vilene. Both kinds will work very well. Vilene is used in this demonstration.
Hoop a piece of water-soluble stabilizer.
Embroider the designs. Use a size 11 or 75/11 sharp sewing needle.
A sharp sewing needle has a smaller, finer point than an embroidery needle. That means it will make smaller holes in the stabilizer.
At each color stop, change the bobbin to match the top thread.
Trim the excess stabilizer away. Then, soak the pieces in water to remove the remaining stabilizer.
Check your stabilizer's package instructions to see how long to soak the stabilizer. For Vilene, the stabilizer is dissolved in a few moments.
Blot, and allow to air-dry. When the piece is completely dry, press with an iron. Use a pressing cloth to prevent scorching.
Wrap the 1 1/2" wide ribbon around the Styrofoam wreath form, and hot glue the ends in place.
Overlap the ribbon slightly to completely cover the form.
Wrap feather boas around the form, over the ribbon. Leave about 3" of space between each rotation.
Use a wire cutter to trim the stems of the faux flowers down to 1 1/2" long. Poke holes in the form and press the flowers into place.
Or, use craft wire to attach the faux flowers. Wrap the wire around the back of the flower. Trim the wire, leaving abut 1 1/2" of excess. Insert the wire into the holes on the form.
Or, leave a long tail of wire, wrap the wire around the form, and twist the end of the wire in place at the backside of the flower. Leaves were attached between the feathers with hot glue.
To add the Battenburg lace pieces, use a ball head pin.
Add hot glue to the back of the lace at the pin, and press the lace in place on the wreath.
To hang lace pieces from the wreath, use 1/4" wide ribbon and a tapestry needle. Sew the ribbon through the top of the lace, just under the outer border stitches.
Tie a knot at the end of the ribbon so it does not pull back through the lace.
Trim the ribbon to the desired length. Use hot glue to attach the ribbon to the wreath. Use a ball head pin to further hold the ribbon in place.
This elegant holiday wreath is the perfect way to decorate for the holidays. Battenburg lace ornaments, beautiful faux flowers, and other embellishments give it a sophisticated appeal.
