Freestanding Battenberg Lace Square Dance Doily

The Frestanding Battenberg Lace Square Dance Doily is a set of 2 designs. These are instructions to how embroider and assemble the doily.
The fnished size of the doily is about 10" x 10".

Digitized by Sophia

Stabilizers: We recommend to use water-soluble mesh, such as Vilene. Vilene D0102 is a non woven dissolvable stabilizer which is imported into the US, is sold in large rolls and is sometimes repackaged under different brand names. Two of these brand names are Wash-Away and Aqua Magic.

Film-like water soluble stabilizers, such as Solvy, are not suitable for the project.

Threads: The thinner the thread, the finer the final product will be. That is why we recommend that at least one of the threads, either in the bobbin or in the needle, should be cotton, which gives bulk to the lace and makes it look hand-made. Embroidery polyester thread will make very fine web-like lace.

Embroidery rayon thread is too soft, it does not keep its shape and very often its color fades under the influence of chemicals from the water-soluble mesh.

If you are using 50- or 60-weight cotton, you can use it both in the bobbin and in the needle. If you use 40-weight cotton thread for the needle, you can use regular polyester bobbin thread.

We used Signature machine quilting cotton thread, but similar threads from other companies should work just as well.

Needles: We use size 80/12 embroidery needles and 80/12 metallic needles. Our experience shows that cotton thread used with metallic needles gives less lint. The needles should be sharp, so it's advisable to change them after every project.

Most Importantly: ALWAYS make a test stitch-out of the design and wash away the stabilizer. This helps you to select the threads, needles, stabilizers and settings of your machine correctly.

There are 2 files in the set:

Part 1 Part 2
Stitches: 17687 Stitches: 2764
Size: 130 x 130 mm Size: 53 x 53 mm
Colors: 2 Colors: 2

Step One: There are two embroidery files in the set. To make the doily as shown above, you need to embroider "Part 1" four times and "Part2" once. Choose colors to your taste.

Rinse the stabilizer, spread all parts neatly on a towel and leave to air dry.

Step Two: Thread a needle with the same thread with which you made the embroidery. Position the panels in a circle. Hand sew the opposite loops in the places marked in red on the diagram below.

Increasing the number of the embroidered parts, you can make larger doilies, tablerunners, table toppers and even tablecloths of different sizes and shapes.