| Free-standing embroidery designs are designs that can stand alone without
a foundation fabric. They are made on disappearing stabilizers, most often
water-soluble ones. Usually FSL designs have dense underlay stitches, which
support the embroidery. The crochet-style FSL designs are made to imitate
crochet and do not have dense underlay stitches. |
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| Stabilizers: We embroider all our crochet-style FSL designs
on Vilene. Vilene D0102 is a non woven dissolvable stabilizer which is
imported into the US and is sold in large rolls and is sometimes repackaged
under different names. Some of the names under which water-soluble Vilene
is sold are Wash-Away and Aqua Magic.
Madeira's Avalon Plus has the same nonwoven texture and is also good
for the purpose.
We do not recommend to use film-like water soluble stabilizers, such
as Solvy, Badge Master and Madeira' Avalon for making FSL.
We buy Vilene at http://www.pgsspecialties.com/html/stabilizer.html;
you can use the same store or look for water-soluble Vilene locally.
The only drawback to Vilene that we found is that it leaves lint. We
clean the bobbin case with a soft brush after every project. |
| Threads: We tested crochet-style FSL designs using 40-weight
rayon and filament polyester from both Madeira and Isacord; 50-weight filament
and 60-weight spun polyester from Brother; 40- and 50-weight quilting cotton
threads and 60-weight embroidery cotton threads of different brands.
We personally liked the results we got with 60-weight Mettler
embroidery cotton threads and 40-weight Signature machine quilting thread. |
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On the picture: Sample 1 is made using Isacord polyester: the
design deforms, stretches and does not keep its shape, some stitches are
loose; we got the same result with all filament polyester threads. We DO
NOT recommend using filament polyester for crochet.
Sample 2 is made using Madeira's rayon: this looks better, but still
streches and some stitches are loose;
Sample 3 is made using "Country Yarn", the 60-weight Brother spun polyester
with matte finish: the sample keeps its shape well and looks like real
crochet. Sorry to say, this product is discontinued by the manufacturer.
But if you still have its supply you can use it for crochet.
We liked most the samples we made using 60-weight mercerised cotton.
We used different brands, Mettler and Clark & Coats, among them. The
100% cotton machine quilting threads also give good results. We liked Signature
most of all.
If you like, you can try different cotton threads yourself and choose
which you like best. Our free sample can be downloaded at the end of this
tutorial. |
This sample is of 60-weight Mettler cotton embroidery thread.
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| It's very important to use the SAME thread for the needle
thread and bobbin thread when embroidering crochet-style FSL. |
| Needles: We use size 75/11 embroidery needles. The neddles should
be sharp, so it's advisable to change them after every project. |
| Hooping: We use 1 layer of water-soluble Vilene with our crochet-style
FSL designs. It's very important to hoop the stabilizer very tightly, like
a drum skin. If your hoop does not hold the thin layer of stabilizer
well, we recommend to wrap muslin strips around the long sides of your
hoop's upper frame. |
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| Impotant Note: It's very important to use as small a hoop as
possible. E.g. if your design is for a small hoop, use the small hoop,
not the large one; if your design is for a large hoop, use large, not mega.
The smaller the hoop, the more stable it is.
DO NOT try to embroider several FSL designs in one hoop. Water-soluble
stabilizers have a tendency to stretch and in a larger hoop it will stretch
more than in a smaller one. This can lead to misplaced stitches and the
design might fall apart after the stabilizer is dissolved. It's always
better to embroider one part at a time. |
| Thread Tension: Freestanding lace designs look best when the
needle and bobbin threads meet halfway. Stitch a sample, and adjust the
tension if needed. Consult your machine's manual and/or dealer on how to
do this. |
On the photo below you can see samples with mistakes:
In the first sample the tension of the threads is incorrect.
In the second sample the different threads were used in the needle
and in the bobbin. |
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Embroidering
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| Most Importantly: ALWAYS make a test stitch-out of the design.
This helps you to select the threads, needles, stabilizers and settings
of your machine correctly. |
| Step One: Download the design, and unzip the file. |
Stitches: 7689
Size: 80.2mm x 80.9mm
Color: 1
|
| Step Two: Upload the design into your machine. DO NOT re-size
the design, it will lead to deformation of the design. |
| Step Three: Thread the needle and the bobbin. Use the SAME threads
for the needle and for the bobbin. |
| Step Four: Hoop a layer of water-soluble Vilene and insert the
hoop into your machine. Stitch out the design. This is a test embroidery. |
| Step Five: Take the sample out of the hoop, cut away the excess
stabilizer and rinse the remaining stabilizer away with warm water. Lay
flat, spread and leave to air dry. Press with steam. If you're satisfied
with the sample, you can now embroider your project.
When you embroider designs for a project, DO NOT dissolve the stabilizer.
Leave all the designs with the stabilizer until after you assemble the
project.
Note: Do not rinse the stabilizer with hot water! The hotter
the water, the faster the stabilizer dissolves, BUT hot water may result
in unwanted side effects such as shrinkage of the fabric and cotton threads
or running of the dyes. |
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Read also Assembling
crochet-style FSL Designs into a Project
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Back to Tutorials Page
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