LACE ILLUSION
TABLE RUNNER

Close-up

Supplies:
Clear B presser foot
Wing needle
Embroidery needle
½ yd. Of Weaver's cloth (white or off white, heavily spray starched several times and ironed) Use a rotary cutter to cut the fabric 15" Wide X 36" long. Of course you can make it however long you want as long as you purchase enough lace to go around it.
3 yds. of 1" edging lace (this lace has one straight edge and the other is a scalloped edge) spray starched and ironed (can usually be purchased at Joann's or Hancock Fabrics) Embroidery thread (I use a shade or two darker than the fabric so it will show up better)
Embroidery bobbin thread
Stitch n Ditch Stabilizer (Preferred. Light weight tear away will do.)

I cut my stabilizer into strips about 1 ½" wide to lay under the areas where I am doing the heirloom stitching. I use a lot of my stabilizer scraps for this so it doesn't matter how long the pieces are. As one piece runs out, just keep an eye on it and place another piece to continue sewing. When I finish stitching the first row, I tear the stabilizer away from the stitching. This is much easier to tear away if you do a row at a time instead of waiting until you do three row close together and then try to tear it away. If I use "Stitch n Ditch", I fold it in half lengthwise.

Measure 4" from all outer edges of the fabric and make a mark about every 4" and connect the marks with a straight ruler using a water soluble pen to draw the lines. Measure again about ½" from all outer edges and draw lines. This last line is there so that you can make sure you always start stitching at the same place on the fabric so each line of stitching will match up. You just place the red line on the side of the foot on that line every time.

The lace illusion will have a "daisy stitch" in the center on that long line you drew 4" from the edge. Then, on each side it will have an "entredeux stitch." Then if you prefer, you can also add a fancy lacy stitch on each side of the entredeux stitching lines.

Starting at the one long side, choose stitch D11 daisy stitch on the Designer 1 (D9 on the Viking 1+) and insert the wing needle. Place a strip of stabilizer under the drawn line. Place the red line on the side of the foot on the ½" mark where it connects to the long drawn line down one side and the red center mark on the foot should be right on the drawn line that is 4" from the edge.

Stitch the "daisy stitch" to the other end. Tear the stabilizer away. I won't be telling you each time though. Before doing the long line on the other side, touch the "restart" button so the stitch will start the stitch at the beginning again. Place the red line of the foot on that line the same way so the daisy on one side of the cloth will be just opposite the one on the other side to make it balanced.

Choose D7 (called entredeux stitch or Venetian). Place the left edge of the presser foot right on those tiny stitches connecting the daisies (don't forget the stabilizer) and stitch down one long side. Tear away the stabilizer.

Now, stitch the other side by placing the right edge of the presser foot on those stitches between the daises and stitch another line of entredeux on that side of the daisies. You now have a border effect that looks very heirloom and delicate. Tear away the stabilizer. Do the other long line the same way.

You can made this border look very elegant by adding another stitch on each side that is very lacy looking. N29 on the Designer 1 or E36 on the 1+. Place the right leg of the foot just on top of the very edge of the entredeux stitch. (You will be able to see that holes of the entredeux stitch through the clear foot.) This makes the designs stitch very close to the entredeux to make it look for effective as lace. Then do the other side by mirroring the stitch and again, put the left leg of the foot just at the on very edge of the entredeux so you can see it under that leg of the foot.

Now that the long lines of illusion lace is completed, you will stitch the ends of the runner in the same manner. However, you will only want to stitch the daisy and the entredeux and the fancy lace design ONLY UP TO THE COMPLETED LACE ILLUSION. So when you get about 1" away from that ILLUSION, touch the "stop" button. You can now only sew one daisy stitch or one entredeux stitch or one fancy stitch at a time and it will stop, but the stitch will be completed and that is important. If you aren't close enough, then touch the pedal again to complete another full stitch. Each time, the stitch will tie off. If you get close to the border and realize that you can't complete a stitch without going into the border, then touch the "Fix" button. It will tie off right then and there.

Now go across the border to the other side and remove the "stop" by touching it again. Turn your hand wheel forward and place your needle right next to the border and sew to the end of the fabric. Sew the other side of this border the same way and then do the opposite end.

Edging Lace

Starting at one long side, lay the right side of the lace with about 1 ½" extending above the top edge and the right edge which is scalloped will be even with the raw edge of the fabric. Choose D8 (hemstitch) or D4 (another kind of hemstitch). Place the center red line just off the very edge of the lace on the fabric. If the lace is 1" wide, start stitching the lace down that far from the top of the fabric (you want the beginning of the lace loose so it will be easier to trim at the very end. When you get about 3" from the end of this first side, stop with the needle down and fold the unstitched lace backwards over the part of the lace that is stitched down, right sides together and have the folded edge of the lace exactly on the edge of the fabric at the end. Place a straight pin from the outside corner of the lace at a 45 degree angle towards the inside of the fabric. Place another pin pointing from the inside edge of the lace towards that other pin. Then bring the unstitched lace around the corner and you will see it has made a perfect miter corner.

Now, start stitching again up to that corner and remove the pins so you don't break a needle, but be careful to see that the miter stays in place. Touch the "stop" so it will complete the stitch at a time until you see how close you can get to that corner. Tap the foot pedal so the needle will go down, then pivot and check to be sure that you have the center line of the foot right off the edge of the fabric again. If you need another stitch, then turn the fabric back and touch the pedal once more to sew another full hemstitch. Once you know it is in the correct position, remove the "stop" and continue to sew around the end of the runner. Pin down the miter until you can get back to it.

Continue around the cloth in this same manner. When you get to the end corner, stop a few inches away from the end and turn the lace UNDER itself so that the straight edges of the lace are meeting each other and the corner looks like a folded miter. Then continue stitching to where the laces meet at the corner.

Turn the fabric over and trim the excess fabric under the lace right up to the hemstitching.

Then go to each corner where the miter is folded and use a tiny zig zag of SL 1.5, SW 1.5 over the fold of the miter to stitch the miter flat. Turn it over and remove the triangle of lace away to remove the bulk. When you get to that last corner, just cut away the excess lace after sewing down that fold of the miter corner.

If you want to embroider a design at each end of the runner, that would look nice too. Just make it something delicate looking. You could use a colorful embroidery or a tone on tone embroidery for an elegant effect. I used an omnigram leaf design and programmed two of them together and mirrored the second one. Then touch "repeat." I drew a line directly down the middle of each side between the lace and the illusion lace and used that as a guide to stitch these designs. Use the S foot.

J.H.