Blog posts of '2025' 'January'

A touch of delicate romance is a delight year round, not just for Valentine’s Day! Consider other holidays—Mother’s Day, Sweetest Day, birthdays—or just a special token to say “I’m thinking of you.”

 

This versatile little design can be sewn as a trinket box, sachet, or simply as hearts. You’ll notice the top has a small inner heart, perfect for customizing with another small design or a monogram. The bottom is more plain to reduce sewing time and provide a place for an additional message.

 

To make lining the box simple, I created 2 appliqués sized to fit into the lid and base. Lining is optional.

 

This small ring or trinket box is designed so that it may be sewn in a 4x4” or 100x100mm hoop. If you have a 5x7 hoop, you’ll find a longer side piece that can be used instead of piecing two smaller segments together for each side.

 

Please read all instructions before beginning

 

Included

• PDF instructions
• PDF Templates for
• Freestanding appliqué inserts
• Shaping lid
• PDF license & color sequences
• 8 embroidery designs

Designs

You’ll notice the focus of this design differs from many of the free-standing lace designs widely available on the internet these days. Those designs are often created by laying down a mesh of fill stitches as a fabric substitute and then stitching satin elements over the top. Such designs are quicker to digitize but they don’t capture the elegance of the old time hand punched lace. I have incorporated areas of “mesh” on both the lid and the bottom to allow personalizing your heart box as desired.

 

Included designs:

• lgp00201-Lid
• lgp00202-Bottom
• lgp00203-Sides (for 5x7” hoop)
• lgp00204-Sides (for 4x4” hoop)
• lgp00205-Appliqué insert for lid
• lgp00206-Appliqué insert for bottom
• lgp00207-Sachet bag (in the hoop)
• lgp00208-Rosebud embellishment

 

Supplies

• 1/8” wide ribbon (matching or contrasting)
• Embroidery thread (metallic not recommended due to short stitch lengths)
• Bobbin thread (may match needle thread or use regular bobbin thread)
• Wash-Away stabilizer (I used products from Hemingworth and Perfect Solutions)
• 4x4” square of foam core
• Xacto knife
• Invisible thread for stitching side panels together
• Duct tape
• Wire cookie drying rack
• Thick, absorbent towel
• KK2000 or other TESA (temporary embroidery spray adhesive)
• Cellophane tape
• Straight pins
• Clear drying fabric glue (not hot glue gun)
• Needle with large eye for lacing ribbon
• Artist’s paint brush (small flat used for acrylics is perfect

 

Optional

• Bobbins wound with matching thread
• Fabric for lining the box (satin, velvet, velveteen, silk are excellent choices)
• Appropriate stabilizer for embroidering
• Medium weight cutaway stabilizer for appliqué stability
• Steam-A-Seam II for appliqué or other fusible web for appliqué
• Heat fusible tearaway (8” wide roll are perfect)
• Hot fix crystals for additional embellishing
• Potpourri for sachet
• Lining fabric for sachet

 

Cautions

• Resizing lace designs is not recommended.
• For optimum results, do not combine multiple pieces in larger hoop.
• This design was not digitized for metallic threads; you may get more thread breaks due to the shorter stitches.

 

Process Overview

1. Sew lace designs.
2. Cut out foam core template for shaping lid.
3. Trim stabilizer away close to designs. Rinse out stabilizer and shape appropriately to dry.
4. Optional: Apply hot-fix crystals.
5. Stitch side pieces together end to end to form one continuous loop.
6. Lace side piece to bottom with ribbon.
7. Lace ribbon through the lid rim.
8. Optional: Sew lining inserts, if desired and fit into lid and base.

 

General Tips for Lace

The quality of your lace depends heavily on proper hooping and machine tensions. If the thread tensions are too tight, the stitches will be pulled more and sections may not align properly, underlay may be exposed, and your design may fall apart in areas when the stabilizer is removed. You can also experience these problems if the stabilizer slips in the hoop.

 

Sometimes there are just a few errant stitches hanging out and these can be trimmed away with small thread snips.

 

• Sew in the smallest hoop that will accommodate the design. Do not combine multiple pieces in one hoop.
• For optimum results, hoop two layers of water-soluble fiber-based stabilizer (not film) in the hoop. Make sure both layers are smooth, taut and fully gripped between the rings of the hoop. I prefer duct taping the stabilizer to the hoop (after hooping).

 

Do not use a film type water soluble stabilizer. These stabilizers—even the very heavy ones—will perforate during stitching causing a loss of stability!

 

• Make sure your machine is clean and properly tensioned. Overly tight tensions will pull the stitches more tightly and may cause exposed travel and underlay stitches.
• After embroidering the lace, trim away excess stabilizer and rinse in water (refer to your stabilizer for appropriate temperature). Do not over-rinse; the remaining stabilizer will act as a stiffener to give your design body.
• To dry, smooth out the pieces on a thick, absorbent towel. Roll up the towel and press out the excess moisture; do not wring out lace. Lay the pieces out flat to air dry, shaping if distorted. You may wish to lightly steam press the pieces after drying to flatten if necessary,

The sides and bottom should dry flat, the lid needs to be shaped over the foam core form

 

Planning Your Project

Before you begin sewing, customize the designs if you wish. For example, add a monogram or small floral design, such as one of the florals from Building Blocks 1, Florals 1 or Building Blocks 6, Delicate Roses. You may also wish to add a small message to the bottom or here again, you can add some other designs. These additions can be sewn in the same color as the rest of your box or in contrasting ones

 

As a bonus, one of the rosebuds from Delicate Roses has been included with this project collection.

 

If you are not lining your box and you are sewing in a color other than white, you may want to wind some bobbins with matching thread so the inside looks just as pretty as the outside.

 

Sewing Lace Box Pieces

Sew one top, one bottom and one of the side piece designs.

Shaping the Lid

1. Make the shaping template.

 

Print the lid template, making sure it prints at full size. This template is sized to exactly fit within the embroidered lid.

 

Cut out loosely, spray the back with TESA and smooth onto the square of foam core. Using the X-acto knife, cut out by tracing the printed heart outline. Don’t try to cut all the way through at once.

 

Once the heart is completely cut out, you may want to wrap short lengths of cellophane tape around the cut edges to reinforce them.

 

Optional: Wrap the foam core heart in plastic kitchen wrap to protect it from the damp lace. (An especially goo idea if you are making multiples.)

 

2. Form the damp lid piece over the template.

 

The solid satin border should line up just along the outer edge. Fold the scallops over the side and hold in place with straight pins.

 

 

Optional Embellishment

Once the pieces are dry, now is the best time to apply hot fix crystals or other embellishments, if desired. Small pearls would look especially pretty

 

Assemble Sides

Using invisible thread and a zigzag stitch (multi-step or standard), butt the side pieces on the short ends and zigzag the sections to form one continuous loop. A stitch width and length of 1.5 to 2.0mm works well.

 

If you are concerned about getting a nice alignment, tape the ends to a piece of Wash-Away to hold in place during stitching. Trim off excess stabilizer and remove the remaining bits with a paintbrush dipped in water

One seam will match the center top and the opposite seam will match to the bottom point of the heart. If desired, weave a ribbon through the scallops similarly to lid edge.

 

Attach Sides to Bottom

There are two options for attaching the side piece to the bottom. One is to lace the pieces together using a ribbon (about 1 yard needed). The richelieu bars are designed to line up between the two pieces. Tuck the ends in and hand stitch or glue.

 

The other method is to join the seams similarly to how the side pieces were done. Using a machine zigzag and stitch from the outside of the box, matching the bars as you stitch

Don’t limit yourself to solid color ribbons or matching colors! There are some beautiful hand-dyed ribbons available or you can use fabric paints or inks to color your own

 

Finishing Lid

Once the lid has dried, remove the pins and foam core form. Lace a piece of ribbon (about 14” if no bow) through the scallops going over the center bar and under the scallop border. The ends can be hand stitched together on the inside (or glued) or the ends can be tied into a small bow. (I just used glue).

 

 

Creating the Lining Pieces

The included templates are used to precut your appliqué shapes for machine embroidery. For the sample here, I fused two pieces of fabric wrong sides together with a layer of medium weight cutaway sandwiched in the middle using Seam-A-Seam II. I also wound a bobbin with matching thread.

 

The drawback to lining the lid and including the stabilizer is that the rim of the lid is already very short (to keep it within a 100x100mm sewing field) and this added thickness will make the lid less secure.

 

Print the template at actual size, loosely cut out a pair of the lid and bottom templates and fuse to the top side of the fabric. (I printed on fusible tearaway in an ink jet printer.) Cut out shapes precisely along the outer edge of each line

 

 

At this point, you will need to consider your stabilizer. For example, if you’re using a fabric that cannot get wet, then a water soluble stabilizer will be a problem. (The paint-brush removal technique shown here can often be used on fabrics not suitable for soaking in water.) You will need to select a stabilizer that can be removed cleanly without damaging either the stitches or the fabric. For the steps shown here, I used one layer of Wash-Away.

 

Sew color one of the design for a placement guide directly onto the stabilizer. Remove the pattern template, lightly mist the back of the fabric appliqué with TESA and precisely place the piece over the stitched lines. Finish the design.

 

 

 

Remove from hoop and trim away the excess stabilizer close to the stitching line both outside of the embroidery and on the back, as shown below.

 

Heat a small container of water and using a paint brush dampened (not dripping) with water, gently melt away the remaining bits of stabilizer. If your fabric water spots easily, trim as closely as possible to the stitching and keep the brush as close to the stitches as possible. Take care to avoid a really wet brush that will promote moisture wicking into the fabric.

 

 

This paint brush method will avoid time spent rinsing, drying, and pressing. It’s really quite easy and quick to do and works especially well when the stabilizer is not entrapped in a lot of stitching.

 

Do not soak out water soluble products if you have used a TESA and it has not fully dissipated. You can speed dissipate TESA with a medium hot dry iron, however, many fiber based washaway products will shrink with heat. Do not use this method if your fabric cannot handle heat.

 

If your fabric won’t tolerate the paint brush method, another option is to use nylon organza as a stabilizer and instead of using the double sided fabric, appliqué onto the organza, then simply cut or melt away the organza for a two-sided piece.

 

The finished appliqués fit snuggly into the top and bottom. You may wish to secure with a few stitches here and there or dots of clear-drying glue.

 

You can also use the templates to simply cut out a piece of felt or ultra suede to use as a lining.

 

Sachet

You can easily make a small sachet by embroidering 2 lid pieces. For this sample, I completely rinsed out all traces of stabilizer. You’ll notice that when you do this, you have a very soft, drapable piece of lace.

Stitch a simple bag lining in the hoop by hooping two layers of organza or other lightweight tightly woven, semi-sheer fabric (right sides together) and stitching design lgp00207. Trim away excess with pinking shears leaving a scant quarter inch seam allowance. Turn the bag.

 

If you prefer to conserve fabric, simply use the lid appliqué template as a pattern and add seam allowances

 

 

If you are using a powdery potpourri, close up the opening so that it is just large enough for a small funnel. Pour in the scented stuff and finish closing. Partially lace the ribbon through the heart scallops starting from the center top. Insert the scent bag into the lace sachet and finish lacing

 

Sandwich the sachet between the two lace hearts and lace the hearts together through the scallops. You may wish to add a ribbon loop to hang the sachet. These little sachets would make wonderful wedding gifts for the bride and bridesmaids.

 

Troubleshooting

These designs have been tested on my own machines with 40 wt. rayon and polyester and 50 wt. cotton embroidery threads, rinsed and rigorously pulled to check for areas that are not well connected. All samples were sewn with 2 layers of Hemingworth Wash-Away or Perfect Solutions Wash-Away Mesh. If you use the designs as is with similar products, you should get results similar to those shown here.

 

If your results pull apart, have stray exposed stitches, or other registration issues, the two most common reasons are overly tight tensions and/or shifting of the stabilizer due to the forces of sewing. To prevent the latter, I prefer to use duct tape, as illustrated below.

 

Other Notes:

Feel free to put your own touch of creativity on your heart box. For example, you may choose to make the sides a different color from the lid and base. You may embellish your lid with ribbon roses.

 

The lid piece is also suitable as an appliqué on other projects or attach to a greeting card.

 

This project collection includes several in-the-hoop sewing organizer variations. Choose from a full in-the-hoop version with open quilting and tie closure for a full no-sew project or a mostly in-the-hoop with self-fabric button loop and bound edges or a combination in between!

 

The sample with the bound edges skips the last 2 colors of the last hooping (ITH lining) and is finished with a bias binding sewn in a more “traditional” manner. Personally, I prefer the look of bound ones rather than a turned edge, especially when bulky techniques like quilting are involved. This version also has a few other enhancements, some of which require just a few minutes of straight stitching. The double zipper pouch was made by making two of the zipper designs and varying how the pieces are assembled. Instructions are included.

 

The full in-the-hoop project is not at all difficult as all the intricate stitching is done by your embroidery machine. It’s a great project to use up scraps from your stash. If you need to purchase fabrics, fat quarters can get you going without a large investment in yardage.

 

If this is your first in-the-hoop project, I recommend starting with the easiest versions first. Once you see how I adapted the inside of the bound edge version, you can go crazy customizing your own. You can also use the plain quilted cover design to make quick organizers for other uses, not just sewing, perhaps with custom monograms for a special gift.

 

Featured Techniques

 

• In-the-Hoop Zipper
• Trapunto
• Programmed stippling and quilting

 

Please read all instructions before beginning!

 

Overview

 

The designs are set up so you can complete the project in the hoop by choosing to attach the front and back together in the hoop, if desired. If you plan to do that, choose a softer batting and stabilizer for the cover. Also, it is recommended that you use one of the covers with the lighter quilting rather than the stippled version.

 

In-the-hoop projects are great for those who don’t know how—or don’t like—to sew. Feel free to just embroider the outer section and customize the inside to suit your own needs!

 

Note that color changes are included on some design files simply to create a stop; please use a thread color that coordinates with your project—in most cases you can use the same color for all the color stops of both the zipper and the lining. If you are sewing on a multi-needle machine, please be aware and program your color changes accordingly.

 

For added durability, you may wish to sew the construction steps with a sturdier thread than Rayon embroidery thread. I didn’t do this as these areas are double stitched and often top-stitched as well so they are plenty sturdy.

 

If your fabrics are particularly soft and don’t have a lot of body, starching them can help make assembly easier. You may wish to lightly mist TESA onto pocket pieces to keep them in position during tack down stitching or just use a few pins or cellophane tape outside the sew lines. Do what you feel is necessary to achieve a good result.

 

This project requires an embroidery machine with a minimum 200 x 300mm sewing field. It is not split for smaller hoops and it is not recommended that you shrink the designs to fit a smaller hoop.

 

 

Abbreviations

• TESA - Temporary Embroidery Spray Adhesive
• ITH - In-the-Hoop

 

Supplies for Basic Version

• Cover with matching lining: 5/8 yd
• Inside pockets: small scraps or fat quarters

 

Outer cover

• 1 piece of neutral fabric for the cover (I chose a white on beige print) (10” x 14”)
• 1 piece of fusible batting, low loft batting, or fleece (8” x 12”)
• 1 9” nylon zipper to coordinate with fabric (can be longer; excess will be cut off)

 

Zippered pocket

From coordinating fabric cut:

• 1 piece 8.5” x 1.75” for top section
• 1 piece 8.5” x 4.5” for larger pocket section

 

Slotted open pockets

From coordinating fabrics cut:

• 1 piece 8.5” x 8” for front pocket section, folded in half to 8.5” x 4”
• 1 piece 8.5” x 9.5” for back pocket section, folded in half to 8.5” x 4.75”

These measurements are for pockets folded in half with the fold along the open end.

Lining fabric

For full ITH project

• 1 piece (8.5” x 6”) of coordinating fabric for upper lining piece, folded in half to 8.5” x 3”
• 1 piece (8.5” x 19.5”) of coordinating fabric for lower lining piece, folded in half to 8.5” x 9.75”

For bound edge project

• 1 piece (8.5” x 12.5”) of coordinating fabric for the cover (not folded) Stabilizer
• 1 hoop size piece cutaway • Use a heavy cutaway for outer cover for a sturdy product (may not be suitable if you plan to finish in the hoop)
• Use a no show mesh for a softer version or if planning to complete the entire project in the hoop
• Stabilizer for lining & zipper (no show mesh cutaway preferred) Other supplies
• Large button or ribbon for tied version of the project
• Short piece of gros grain ribbon, narrow fabric tube, or elastic for button loop closure
• Short piece of ribbon or cord for zipper pull, optional
• Optional: Fabric for bias binding if finishing with this method

Other Notions

• Embroidery thread
• Sewing thread
• Double stick embroidery tape
• Collins Washaway Wonder Tape
• Cellophane tape (shown in photos as gray duct tape for visibility purposes)
• Straight pins
• TESA
• Rotary cutter, ruler, cutting mat
• Basic sewing supplies Nice to Have
• Fast Turn tube turners, if making the self-fabric button loop

The Designs

This collection includes 5 design files, which are numbered in the approximate sewing order:

• lgp00401 - Fully stippled cover design with trapunto “Love to Sew” in relief on back
• lgp00402 - Simplified cover for faster sewing and easier turning
• lgp00403 - Quilted plain cover for your own customizing
• lgp00404 - ITH zipper design for zippered pockets
• lgp00405 - ITH interior to stitch all the pockets in place, button closure, and attach to outer cover

Worksheets are included for the various files in this project. Please note that the colors on the worksheets will likely not match what you see in your files. Use colors that work with your fabrics.

Instructions

Preliminaries

I’m a fan of prewashing/preshrinking fabrics before sewing. All fabrics were pre-washed and pressed before cutting for the samples shown here. I did not notice a significant difference working with starched versus unstarched pieces.

If you have multiple machines with sufficient sewing fields, you can sew the cover on one machine while working on the interior on another.

Process Overview

1. Choose finishing method (full ITH or partial) and based on that, select a suitable cover.

2. Prepare fabrics: cut and press. Press zipper smooth.

3. Embroider an outer cover.

4. Embroider ITH zipper.

5. Construct the button loop if using a self-fabric closure as shown in the samples.

6. Embroider ITH lining.

7. Attach outer cover to lining.

8. Hand sew button into place if using button closure

Step 1: Preparations

Start by choosing your finishing method. If you want a full ITH project, cover 1 with the intense stippling and trapunto’d “Love to Sew” lettering is not the best choice. Due to the heavy stitching, this cover is much harder to turn right side out. Covers 2 and 3 work best (and sew the fastest) for finishing ITH.

The second choice is to decide on a closure style. The tied sample shown here can be finished completely in the hoop with absolutely no hand sewing. The button loop shown could be replaced with a strip of elastic or ribbon.

Note when cutting fabrics that the full ITH version requires more fabric for the lining; this is due to the turning method used. Cutting, folding (as needed), and pressing all fabrics before hand will speed the sewing process. Feel free to use fabrics of your choice; quilt weight wovens work well.

Step 2/Hooping 1: Outer cover

1. If using a fusible fleece or batting, press fabric smooth and fuse batting to center of fabric using a teflon press cloth to protect your ironing surface.

 

Fusible batting will feel quite stiff until laundered. I used fusible on the bound edge version and polar fleece for the tied version.

2. Hoop the stabilizer and sew placement stitch directly on the stabilizer.

3. Remove hoop from machine and smooth double stick embroidery outside placement guides or pin fabric to stabilizer outside of stitching lines. Press fabric into place making sure batting extends slightly beyond the placement stitching on all sides.

 

4. Color 2 bastes the fabric into position; color 3 stitches the redwork, and color 4 quilting and zigzagging the outer edge. Colors 1 - 3 may be sewn with the same thread color

5. Remove from hoop and trim away excess stabilizer. Using the edge formed by the stipple stitching as a guide, trim allowing 1/2” seam allowance for ITH version or 1/4” for bound edge version. Set aside

Step 3/Hooping 2: Zipper Pocket
1. Hoop stabilizer and sew placement stitch directly on the stabilizer

2. Smooth down strips of Wonder Tape or other washaway sewable tape to hold zipper in 
place.

3. Align closed zipper right side up along sewn guidelines, extending excess zipper length 
at both ends. Zipper pull and metal end should be at least 1/2” away from any sew lines. I 
prefer to place the zipper so it opens from left to right.

4. Secure zipper in place with tape outside of sewing area over the zipper ends

5. Place the upper zipper pocket fabric right side down over the zipper aligning fabric raw 
edge just over finished zipper tape edge. (Fabric should cover zipper.)

6. Return hoop to machine and sew next color which sews seam and zigzags raw edge to 
zipper tape (next color).

7. Fold over fabric away from zipper teeth and finger press into place.

8. Sew the topstitching.

9. Repeat steps 3-6 for the opposite side of the zipper pocket.

10. Remove from hoop. Trim away stabilizer taking care not to cut any seams. Test the zipper to verify it opens and closes.

11. Close zipper and square up section so that there is 3 3/4” of fabric from folded edge of 
bottom section to bottom. Any excess on top will be trimmed off at the end.

12. Move zipper pull to center. Set aside.

Step 4: Button Loop

Choose a button and make a loop that can easily loop around the button plus 1” for 1/2” seam allowance on each end. Your loop can be made of elastic, ribbon, fabric tube, cording or whatever you desire.

 

To make the one shown on the sample, cut a 2” x 6.5” piece of fabric (loop will be cut to size later), fold in half lengthwise, right sides together and stitch along raw edge using a 1/4” seam allowance. Use a tube turner to quickly turn inside out. Press with seam allowance on one edge. Fold as shown (seam allowances on inside edge) and top stitch pointed end to hold in place.

 

Determine the vertical placement of your button loop by finding out how much of an opening you need for your button. It is better to err on the side of slightly too long than too snug!

If you prefer not to deal with a button closure, you can place a single piece of ribbon at each end or skip the closure altogether.

Step 5/Hooping 3: Caddy inside

1. Hoop stabilizer and sew placement stitch directly on the stabilizer (color 1)

2. For Full ITH version: The two notches near the top show the placement guides for the folded lining pieces.

Position the bottom section first, aligning the top folded edge with the top notches. Then place the upper section, aligning the bottom folded edge with the bottom notches. This opening will end up under the upper zipper pocket and is where you will turn your ITH project right side out.

 

Secure the pieces in place with pins placed well with basting guides or TESA to hold. On the right side where the top piece overlaps the bottom, take extra care to ensure that the fabric is smooth, flat and won’t trip the presser foot during tack down.

 

For bound version: Position 8’ x 12” lining fabric right side up and secure as needed.

3. Return the hoop to the machine and sew color 2.

Place & Stitch Open Pockets

4. Align folded edge of back pocket with notches A, aligning raw edges slightly beyond basted guide at bottom edge of the lining. (Refer to pattern guide if you have rotated the design for your machine.) You may wish to lightly TESA pockets in place.

5. Align folded edge of front pocket with notches B or as desired, aligning raw edges with basted guide at bottom edge of the lining. (Refer to pattern guide if you have rotated the design for your machine.)

Notch B is a suggested placement. As long as this pocket is shorter than the back pocket and the raw bottom edges extend to the bottom placement guide, you can adjust this pocket to suit your taste/need.

If your rear pocket raw edges do not reach to the basted guide line, either recut your fabric pockets or move the pocket down to meet the basted guide. If you choose the latter, your pocket divider stitching may extend off the top of the pocket but this is not a big deal.

6. Sew color 3 to attach pockets

Place & Stitch Zipper Pocket

Be sure zipper pull is at the 1/3 zipped point (2/3 open) point! This will make your project easier to turn and prevent the foot from getting caught on the zipper pull as it travels.

7.

To attach zippered pocket, align raw edge of bottom of pocket with bottom edge of the stitched horizontal guide, right sides together (right side down). The seam will sew 1/4” below the basted placement guide and the raw edge will be overcast to the lining. You can use some tape to hold the pocket in place while you stitch, placing the tape out of reach of the needle. Stitch color 4 to attach pocket and overcast raw edge to lining.