For many of us, winter means snow. While we may not enjoy shovels and slush, there is something so magnificent about a pristine white field sparkling in the sunlight and evergreen branches coated in frost. Why not bring some of that beauty into our homes with a lovely, lacy cutwork snowflake?
Lacy snowflake in the window
Cutwork is a needlework technique where portions of fabric are cut out and the resulting holes are reinforced with embroidery. Traditionally done by hand, cutwork produces intricate openwork heirlooms closely resembling lace. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easier way? There is!
Machine Cutwork
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- clear heavy-weight water-soluble stabilizer such as Sulky Ultra Solvy
- washable marker
- two layers of fabric slightly larger than your snowflake design
- small short-bladed scissors with sharp-pointed tips
- embroidery thread
You’ll also need a snowflake design and they’re really easy to make. I even wrote a book about it! Remember making paper snowflakes when you were a kid? You take a square piece of paper, fold it in half diagonally, in half diagonally again, then in thirds.
Paper Folding Diagram
You can draw your design on the folded paper first or just start cutting.
Paper snowflake cut out
Then, unfold the paper to reveal your masterpiece! You might also enjoy creating your design digitally on one of the many snowflake-designing websites.
Paper snowflake unfolded
Trace your snowflake onto clear heavy-weight water-soluble stabilizer using a washable marker. I find that fabric markers don’t show up well on the Solvy. I have better success with the kids’ Crayola markers. Make sure the marker color shows up against your fabric.
Trace snowflake onto Solvy
For a lacy cutwork snowflake, layer two pieces of fabric wrong sides together. Pin the marked Solvy on top.
Two layers of fabric and Solvy
Sew through all three layers with a straight stitch on the marked lines.
Straight stitch on marked lines
Cut out the fabric close to the stitching but leave the Solvy uncut.
Cutting fabric snowflake
The Ultra Solvy will stabilize your fabric and hold your snowflake together.
Lacy snowflake cut out
Set your sewing machine to a satin stitch wide enough to cover the cut-out edges and the straight stitches. You may want to test the stitch on scrap fabric to find the best settings. Satin stitch around the cut-out edges. Read more about my three-pass approach for an excellent satin stitch in a previous post.
Satin stitch lacy snowflake
Once the stitching is complete, soak the fabric snowflake in water to dissolve the Solvy.
Dissolve Solvy in water
The result is a lovely cutwork lacy snowflake that you can hang in your window or display as a centerpiece. It looks like heirloom needlework, but it took a fraction of the time! Cutwork can also be filled with embroidery. Join us tomorrow to learn how – in just one easy extra step!
Lacy Snowflake Centerpiece
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