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Lace-on-Lace Jewlery Holder
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Lace can be a beautiful thing. Light,
airy, open, elegant, and just perfect for some
embroidery.
Yup, you heard me right.
Yes, I know it has giant holes in it.
Yes, I know it's incredibly thin, and yes, I know it
sounds bonkers. But, before you start judging, it might
help to know exactly what KIND of embroidery it's
perfect for.
That's right baby, we're stitching
lace... on LACE.
*pause*
I know. I totally just blew your mind.
The genius thing about this is, lace
doesn't actually need fabric to stitch on in order to
hold its structure. That's why it's called freestanding
lace. That makes it the perfect candidate for some
otherwise un-stitchable fabric! That's lucky for us,
because that lace is perfect for something else... all
those little holes that make it a nightmare for regular
embroidery make it a dream for holding jewelry!
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So, let me show you how to combine all
these things into awesome. To make your lace on lace
jewelry holder, you'll need:
- Lace, with a nice open weave
- Water-soluble stabilizer
- Frame
- Staple gun
- Scissors
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First, cut a piece of lace larger than
your frame by at least 2 inches on all sides. To stitch
on the lace, center your lace piece over your bottom
hoop, and then lay a piece of water soluble stabilizer
on top. Keeping it centered is important unless you
don't want your design centered in the frame. When you
place the top hoop over the lace, take care not to
stretch or distort the lace at all.
The really eagle-eyed of you might spot
that this is a different hoop than I usually use. That's
because my Futura is sick this week, so I'm borrowing a
Brother machine from my brethren at Embroidery Library.
I'm hoping they don't mind.
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Once you've wound a matching bobbin,
start your lace stitching! I was pretty mesmerized
watching this shiny machine work. I wonder if
they would notice if I borrowed it indefinitely...
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Your finished lace, on lace! Has your
mind exploded yet?
No? Tough audience.
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Maybe that's because right now it looks
like lace on plastic on lace. We can fix that by
carefully trimming away the excess stabilizer and
soaking it according to package directions to remove all
traces. When it's ready, pat your lace dry. No more
plastic!.
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Now it's time for the frame. This can be
any frame really, it doesn't even need glass. If your
frame does come with things like backing or glass, you
can remove them now. All we want is our nice bare frame.
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With your frame facing wrong side up,
lay your lace right side down inside the frame. Center
your embroidered design within the frame, and grab that
staple gun. Start by carefully adding one staple to the
top inside edge of your frame. Remember to staple into
the frame edge, and not down towards the direction of
your table. You may
somehow-sort-of-possibly-inadvertently staple it to
your desk. Possibly.
I admit to nothing.
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So, once you've done the first staple
(correctly), go the side directly opposite (the bottom
of the frame) and gently stretch the lace a bit to get
the fabric to pull snug. You don't want distortion, but
you do want it pulled firm. Staple it in place. Repeat
that with the left side, and then the right. Once you
have those four staples in place, you'll want to keep
working opposite ends like that. This is just like how
we stretched a canvas piece in our other tutorial. Have
a peek at that
tute for a clearer idea of your stapling pattern.
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Once you've worked yourself all the way
around, you should have a taut piece of lace with a
beautifully centered design. By stapling evenly and on
opposite sides, the lace should have a nice, even pull.
Once you're happy with all your stapling, trim the
excess off right at the edge of the frame.
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Here it is from the front, all nice and
neatly framed!
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But wait... for one extra added little
touch, you can knock out some of those open areas of the
stitched lace for an even better effect. Find yourself a
delicate pair of scissors (or maybe just a delicate set
of hands) and carefully trim out the lace inside the
keyhole.
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Mind exploded yet? Still no? Goodness.
You must watch too many Hollywood movies where stuff
isn't exciting unless it's blowing up. No... I'm not
adding high explosives to my embroidery. Go bother
Michael Bay.
Well, I think it's cute. Just a little
extra touch that makes the lace on lace even more
special. However, we didn't make this just to float a
piece of lace, did we? Of course not!
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Grab your favorite pairs of earrings,
and feed them gently through the loose holes of the lace
for a perfect way to store and display your earrings and
brooches. Once you have them all hooked up and pretty,
you can hang it on the wall as a great looking way to
display your favorite trinkets.
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Yup, from lace-on-lace to the wonders of
cheap and elegant jewelry display, this project has it
all... and for only a few bucks and some quick stitching
with your machine. It can be done with any frame, on any
lace, with any freestanding lace design! The
possibilities are endless... but then again, so is your
jewelry collection, so what are you waiting for?
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Whatever your style, craft a jewelry holder to
suit!
Hello Beauty shows how to make one out of
linen, a bulletin board, and some furniture
tacks.
Life Love Larson shares a jewelry holder
made out of a window frame and chicken wire.
Western Passion goes all-natural with a
branching jewelry holder made out of twigs. And
Blue Lace House crafts jewelry frames to
display necklaces on the wall like works of art.
Beautiful!
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Suggested designs for this tutorial:
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