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
- Sew lace designs.
- Cut out foam core template for shaping lid.
- Trim stabilizer away close to designs. Rinse out stabilizer and shape appropriately to dry.
- Optional: Apply hot-fix crystals.
- Stitch side pieces together end to end to form one continuous loop.
- Lace side piece to bottom with ribbon.
- Lace ribbon through the lid rim.
- 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.
