Thread-lace hearts

First picture is pink thread-lace heart on card. We added a fabric flower cut-out in between the layers of fabric. This heart did not get as much sewing on the inside as we would have liked. Second is the white thread-lace heart still in embroidery hoop on water-soluble fabric. In his heart we added strips of white ribbon between the layers of fabric before sewing. Third is the red thread-lace heart on white card.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. The time to plan is now. Do not wait until the last minute.
We are making thread-lace hearts to decorate cards with. We got the idea from the book “decorative crafts sourcebook” published by Thunder Bay Press. This 304 page book is full of recipes and projects for paper, fabric and more. It is a great book to get starter ideas from and then create a whole new project with those ideas.
Beginners to advanced sewers can make thread-lace hearts but a zigzag sewing machine is required. Other items needed include: water-soluble embroidery fabric, disappearing ink marker, thread, thread snippets, ribbon pieces and an embroidery hoop.
There are different types of water-soluble embroidery fabric but for this project a completely clear one is best. We used “Super Solvy” made by sulky. Two layers of water-soluble fabric are placed in the embroidery hoop. If snippets of thread or ribbon are used they should be placed between the two layers.
Next we drew a heart shape onto the fabric. We used a regular pen as we did not have a disappearing ink type. Since the fabric washes away it seemed to us that the ink would wash away also. Turns out it did just that.
Thread the sewing machine with the color thread to be used and set it to a medium zigzag stitch. Lower the feed dogs so that the embroidery hoop can be moved freely while stitching. Begin stitching around the outline of the heart making at least three rounds. Continue sewing across the center to fill in with a random mixture of connecting straight and zigzag stitches.
When the sewing is complete remove the fabric from the hoop and trim excess fabric from the edges. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for dissolving fabric. If a stiffer ornament is desired, remove the embroidery from the water as soon as the fabric melts from between the stitches.
Our sewing machine is a Bernina 1030 model. To fit the embroidery hoop under the presser foot we had to remove it, put the hoop under and then reattach the foot. We also used a smaller foot that is more suited for embroidery work.
The hearts only take about 10 minutes each to sew. It took us longer to plan and design them. But once that part is done they work up fast.
We found that more stitching was needed than we first thought to hold the design together. The first heart we made our stitches did not overlap enough. When the fabric was melted away our design was a little lopsided.
The heart pictured above is done with just zigzag stitching repeated over and over around and across the design. Other hearts we have made including the one without enough stitching and one with the fabric still in place will be posted at our blog site listed below.
Be creative and try something new for Valentine’s Day. Share your results in comments.