3D Freestanding Lace Rose

Let beautiful three-dimensional roses bloom in your home decor! Read these instructions to see how to stitch and assemble the stunning floral designs.

Freestanding lace designs have been specially digitized for water-soluble stabilizer. After the stabilizer is removed, beautiful lace remains behind.

When you download the design, you will find a total of 4 files. The File labeled with the letter "a" is the biggest petal piece, and the file labeled with a "b" is the smaller one.

The files labeled with a "c" and a "d" are the two pieces that make the center of the 3D rose.

There are a couple of different kinds of water-soluble stabilizer. One is clear and plastic, and that brand is Sulky Ultra Solvy.

The other is soft and fibrous, called Vilene. Both will work very well. Vilene is used in this demonstration.

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.

Hoop the stabilizer firmly. Make sure it is nice and tight with no wrinkles.

Freestanding lace is seen from both sides, so wind a bobbin with the same thread that you're using in the needle.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load file "a" or "b" depending on the size of rose you wish to make.

In this example, 40 weight rayon thread was used. You can also use 30 weight cotton or metallic thread for most freestanding lace designs.

Embroider the design.

After embroidering, trim away the excess stabilizer.

The stabilizer's packaging should give instructions for removing the excess.

For Vilene, soak the lace pieces for a few moments.

Allow the lace to air dry, then press with a pressing cloth on top.

Repeat the steps above to embroider the rest of the lace pieces.

See the special notes above to know how many of each lace piece to embroider to make the various sizes of roses.

Cut the wire to 5" long.

Curl the end of the wire and slide it through the wire hole of piece "d" (the single petal piece), making sure the curl of the wire is resting against the wrong side of the lace.

Curl in the sides of the single petal until the opposite sides touch, making a loop.

Make sure the side with the wire curl is on the inside. Hand stitch the two edges together 1/2" from the bottom of the petal.

Fold up the bottom of the single petal until it touches the stitched together sides.

Sew the folded up bottom piece to the sides, so that the wire curl is completely inside the lace piece.

This is the center of the lace rose.

String the embroidered lace piece "c" (the piece with two petals) onto the wire.

Make sure the wrong side of the lace is facing the center lace piece. Line the sewn edges of the center piece with the middle of one of the two new petals.

Hand stitch the two pieces together around the base where the wire connects to the flower.

Sewing the two pieces together will keep them from spinning or separating while you work.

Fold the two petals up around the center loop, overlapping their sides, and carefully hand stitch the two petals together where they overlap.

Next add the first lace piece "b" (the smaller four petal piece) to the wire.

Make sure the wrong side of the lace is against the other lace pieces and that the centers of the new petals line up with where the last piece overlapped petals.

Hand stitch the bases together to keep it in place.

Fold the two opposite petals up, starting with the two opposite petals that are lined up with the overlapping petals from the last piece.

Fold the remaining two petals up to overlap the first two, and then the four petals together as shown.

Repeat the last two steps to add the second "b" piece, lining up the centers of the petals with the overlaps of the last piece.

Sew it around the base. Overlap the petals and stitch them together where they overlap. This time the petals will overlap a little less. To make a smaller, more closed flower, stop here and skip to the step that shows how to add the lace flower to a stem.

To make a fuller flower, continue onto the next steps to add the last two sets of petals.

Add the first "a" piece (the bigger four petal piece) onto the wire.

Make sure the wrong side of the lace is against the other lace pieces and that the centers of the petals line up with where the petals overlap on the last piece.

Sew the base to the last attached petal piece.

Fold up the four petals so that they overlap just a little, and stitch them together where they overlap.

Add the last petal piece "a", making sure to line up the petals and overlaps. Sew the bases together.

For this final piece, do not overlap the petals. Instead, press the edges of each adjacent petal together and sew them to one another side by side.

To attach the blooms to an artificial stem, remove the faux flower from the floral stem and insert the end into the center hole of the rose.

Wrap the excess wire around the stem to hold it into place. If you do not want the wire to be seen, cover it with green floral tape.

You can also simply curl the excess wire against the bottom of the rose and trim it to make a rose without a stem.

Use your fingers to shape the lace petals to look like a lifelike bloom.

Simply bend and shape the petals while they are damp, and they will hold their shape when they dry.

Once the flower is finished, you can spray it with a water spray bottle to make it damp.