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Freestanding Battenberg Lace Circles Doily #17454

These are instructions on how to embroider the Freestanding Battenberg Lace Circles Doily.
Even if you worked with this type of lace before, please read the instructions for this doily closely.

Stitches: 53443
Size: 199 mm x 199 mm
Colors: 2/3

You will need:
water-soluble mesh stabilizer, 2 layers
polyester embroidery thread
cotton embroidery thread
2 bobbins - wind your polyester thread on one bobbin, and your cotton thread on another bobbin.

Step One: Upload the file into the machine. Hoop 2 layers of watersoluble mesh. Thread the machine with polyester embroidery thread, insert the bobbin with the same thread. Start the machine. Embroider till the stop.

Step Two: Change both the needle thread and the bobbin to cotton. Embroider the second color with the cotton threads.

Step Three: Change again, now both the needle thread and the bobbin should be embroidery polyester, like in the first step. Start the machine and finish embroidery.

Some General Notes:

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 packaged under different brand names. Some of these brand names are Fabri-Solvy by Sulky, Avalon Plus by Madeira, Wash-Away, and Aqua Magic.

Film-like water soluble stabilizers, such as Solvy by Sulky, Avalon by Madeira and Badge Master are not suitable for this project

Threads: If you cannot find cotton embroidery thread, try threads for longarm quilting.

We used Signature machine quilting cotton thread both in the needle and in the bobbin, but similar threads from other companies should work just as well.

The drawback of cotton thread is lint. Please don't forget to clean the machine with a soft brush or compressed air after each embroidery.

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 often.

Most Importantly: ALWAYS make a test stitch-out and wash away the stabilizer. This helps you to select the threads, needles, stabilizers and settings of your machine correctly. It's very important to select the correct thread tension!

You can read more about how to embroider Battenberg lace in our tutorial.

Stitch-out of the doily. Close-up of the stitches.

Washing out the Stabilizer:

Rinsing away the stabilizer is also an important step, because the lace can be stretched or distorted if this is done incorrectly. We recommend to use a foam board and stainless pins.

Cut away the excess stabilizer close to the stitches. Take your time and carefully pin every single loop on the lace's outer edge to the board.

Now place the board into a bowl with luke-warm water. Leave the board in the water for at least half an hour. Change the water a couple of times.

Take the board out of the water and leave to air dry. Do not unpin the lace until it's completely dry.