Free Standing Lace - Instruction

1) Begin by hooping one piece of heavy weight, water soluble stabilizer(WSS).
We use Ultra Solvy - a heavy weight WSS produced by Sulky.

2) Hoop the stabilizer tightly, and make sure that the stabilizer is not stretched.

3) Because freestanding lace is two-sided, you'll want your bobbin thread to match your top thread. Wind a bobbin with the same thread that you use on top. My freestanding lace designs are digitized for 40 weight rayon thread.

4) Embroider the design. We use a size 11 sharp needle when stitching freestanding lace; other types or larger gauges of needles can cause the WSS to tear.

5) After you've finished embroidering the design, trim the excess stabilizer away.

Soak in water, hot from the tap, for about 15 minutes, or until the stabilizer is soaked away.

(For 3D FSL project, We need some stabilizer to leave the thread a little stiffer. This helps to make the project with an excellent shape.)

6) Blot dry with a towel, and then allow to dry. Press with an iron.

7) Finished.

Troubleshooting Tips

Hooping:
Please hoop the WSS stabilizer firmly and tightly.
1. Lay the bottom hoop on a flat surface which is not slippery.

2. Lay the WSS stabilizer over the bottom hoop, allowing at least 1/2 inch of overhang.

3. Add the top hoop, adjusting it so that the top and bottom hoop fit together firmly.

4. Tighten the screw on the hoop as tight as you can without stripping the screw.

Thread Tension:
Check your thread tension. If your needle thread is too tight, the inside elements of the lace may pull away from a border. The same issues also come from the loose tension of bobbin.

Stitchout falls apart:
1. Choose smaller hoop.

For example, if the design is 3.9x3.9", use 4x4 hoop is better than 5x7 hoop.

Please loose them a little to prevent the thread stretch the WSS stabilizer too much.