How to Make a Lace Applique

Adding the right touch of lace to an outfit can give an impression of elegance.

Adding lace to a garment or other fabric can bring a touch of class into an otherwise mundane look. Lynn McMasters, a costume historian and designer, points out that before the advent of machinery lace took a great deal of time to create and therefore represented a significant investment. Owning lace meant you were wealthy. Today's culture may no longer recognize lace as a sign of wealth, but the sight of it still manages to evoke a sense of decadence.

Things You'll Need

• Crochet hook size 1.4 or 1.5, or size needed for comfort, thread size and finished size of appliqué
• Cotton crochet thread in the color of your choice

Instructions

1. Choose an appliqué crochet pattern that appeals to you. Patterns created by Mimi Alelis with My Original Patterns will create a small, single-color flower, but you can choose any crochet design and apply the same technique. If the design is too large for your intent, decrease the size of the needle and the thread used. The size of your finished appliqué will be determined by your stitch size, hook size and thread size.

2. Make a slip stitch at the end of the thread and chain two. Working in the second chain from the hook, do six single crochet stitches. Try to space the stitches within the chain so that they come around to meet the beginning single crochet. Also try to work the tail into the work as you go. This will reduce the time it takes to weave the tail back in later. Join with a slip stitch in this beginning single crochet.

3. Chain two and then make three double crochet stitches in the joining stitch. Chain two again and connect to the joining stitch with another slip stitch. Slip stitch in the next single crochet of the previous row and repeat the chain two, three double crochet, chain two, slip stitch pattern five more times. When you finish with the last single crochet of the previous row, you should have six petals going around the outside. Use a slip stitch to join with the beginning chain stitch. You can fasten off at this point to have a simple six-petal flower.

4. Add dimension to your appliqué by adding a third row. Slip stitch around the post of the joining single crochet from row 1. This is easy to see if you flatten out your flower on a contrasting, solid color fabric. You will see where six holes have been formed in the creation of the petals, separated by seven posts. With the thread positioned around the first of these posts, chain three. Slip stitch around the next post and chain three. Repeat around until you have circled every post. Slip stitch around the first post again and fasten off.

Tips & Warnings

• You can add color to your appliqué by switching thread color as you go. Change colors at the beginning of row 2 to get a flower with contrasting center and petal colors. Change colors at the beginning of row 3 to add sparkle to the center of your flower.

• Changing colors on such a small project can make the appliqué somewhat unstable. Use spray on fabric fixative in an open area on the back side of your work to help hold the threads in place. Allow to dry before allowing the appliqué to touch other surfaces.

References

• Lynn McMasters: A Brief History of Lace in the 1500s
• My Original Patterns: Appliques for Baby Items