Lace Star Ornaments--Ninth Finish 2nd Quarter FAL 2020

In process and raw material stars

I saw a plastic ziplock bag of lace on the free table at a guild meeting over a year ago. I thought that the lace would be easy to form into star ornaments. When I inspected the bag contents later, I realized that it contained a couple finished stars, a couple stars in process as well as parts for a couple stars.

Close up of attaching the lace process

The pieces of lace were three inches wide by 12 inches long. The plastic rings were about an inch in circumference. I was intrigued with the ring insertion. I looked and looked at the sample; but, couldn't figure out how it was inserted. I couldn't imagine trying to gather the lace with a needle and thread onto the ring. I put the project aside for even more months!

Later, I looked online for a tutorial. I found several; but, none of the tutorials incorporated a ring. I was surprised that Google and Pinterest let me down!

What I liked about the ring was how neat it made the center of the ornament. In the tutorials that I saw, the center was often covered with a button. This lace didn't speak "add a button!"

Drying set up

I wiggled the ring in the finished sample. I saw the secret. The ring was split and the fabric was fed onto the ring. Feeding the lace onto the ring took a little patience; but, I did it. Then, I used a needle and thread to tack the edges together in strategic spots.

The three I finished

Next, I was ready to make the stars stiff. Again, I looked on line for some tutorials. There were tutorials about using spray starch, liquid starch, powdered corn starch, terial magic and glue! I texted a friend who recommended the liquid starch.

The brand of liquid starch I used was StayFlo. It is available to purchase at our local grocery store. I often mix this product with water and wet fabric that I want to piece. Once the starch mixture dries, I iron the fabric. The end result is fabric that is extra crisp. Piecing crisp fabric yields blocks that are spot on square.

For this project, I used the starch differently. I dipped the stars in the starch. I allowed the starch to penetrate all the surfaces. I squeezed out the excess starch. On a newspaper covered with wax paper, I placed the star. I arranged the lace so the points were flat and the center a bit poufy. Then, I let it dry completely. It took a full day. The stars are stiff and will hang beautifully on a tree!

The entire group

I added a thread hanger and now I have six ornaments ready for gifting at Christmas! I would make these again and will keep my eye out for lace that I could turn into ornaments.

This is my ninth finish for the quarter. This was goal number six on my FAL list. I didn't use any fabric for this project so my total stash usage since the first of the year remains at 46 1/4 yards of fabric. I have posted this finish to Instagram #2020falq2finish