Wedding Handkerchiefs Embroidery Project

The machine embroidery design featured in this project is the ‘Heirloom Ribbon Corner’ by Ace Points embroidery.  The font used was  'Renaissance Alphabet’.  Embrilliance Essentials embroidery software

was used to slightly resize the design to 3” x 3” and to add the text. 

Design templates were made for ‘Bride’, ‘Mother’, ‘Granny’, and ‘L’.

 

Print out a copy of the Design Templates and Color Charts for each handkerchief you are making.

Vilene wash-away stabilizers dissolve in water.  They’re only designed for temporary support for your embroidery.   A water-soluble stabilizer was used for this project.  A standard tear-away stabilizer was not the best choice because of the delicate fabric and stitching in the design.    A ‘floating’ technique will be used for this project.  Only the stabilizer is hooped.  The handkerchief is secured on top of the stabilizer with temporary adhesive spray.

Hoop one layer of Vilene wash-away stabilizer.
Use the grid template to label the center and the axis on the stabilizer.

 

Place the paper design template on top of the handkerchief.  The template should be ½” from the handkerchief edge.
Use pins or stickers to label the center point and axis. Given the delicate nature of handkerchief fabric, I suggest avoiding the use of fabric markers.

A smaller needle is recommended based on fabric type.  A larger needle could cause holes in the fabric and around the design.  A 65/9 needle was used for this project.

 

Match the bobbin thread color with the embroidery thread.

 

Reduce the speed of stitches per minute on your machine.  Machines have different settings, so aim for a middle range.  Speed was reduced to 400 stitches per minutes for this design.
 

The remainder of the water-soluble stabilizer by may be removed by

following the directions on the package.  A very quick, efficient way to remove the remaining water-soluble stabilizer is with a hot iron and wet paper towel.

 

Put a clean, dry old towel on your ironing board.
Lay the handkerchief wrong side up on the towel.
Place a wet paper towel over the embroidered area.