Embroidered lantern - with free embroidery file

Advent is a magical time! Whether young or old, at Christmas time we believe in magic and hope that our wishes and dreams will come true. Candlelight is indispensable at this time of year. It is often perceived as magical because it creates a warm, gentle atmosphere that immerses everyday life in a special mood. It has a calming effect, softens the shadows and envelops the room in a calm, almost meditative light. As part of the Blog Advent Calendar 2024 which this year has the motto “Create your Magic”, I have prepared a simple and beautiful project for you: a felt cover for an embroidered lantern. It is decorated with a fringed embroidery motif. This is a very exciting embroidery technique in which the bobbin thread is unraveled.

Irina from FancyworkIW has provided this embroidery file. Download the file for free:

Free embroidery file candle with fringes

If you are interested in more fringe embroidery designs, have a look here here.

Decorating an embroidered lantern

Material supplies

The following materials are needed to create the embroidered lantern:

Felt, 3-4 mm thick
Decorative ribbon
Button
thin elastic band
Stabilizer
Embroidery thread
Embroidery scissors
Embroidery hoop medium
Lantern

Fringe Embroidery

The first step is to embroider the felt. Hoop the embroidery stabilizer drum-tight in the frame.

Transfer the embroidery file to your embroidery machine (USB or WiFi), select it and press the symbol with the embroidery needle.

As the felt is very thick, it is not clamped in the frame. However, to prevent it from slipping during embroidery, it must be basted. Press the “Basting” symbol on the display once. This creates a basting stitch with a small distance around the embroidery design.

Cut a strip from the felt. The strip should be slightly larger than the circumference and height of the lantern. The strip is only cut to size after embroidering. Place the felt in the center of the embroidery hoop and baste it in place.

The fir branches are then embroidered.

Embroider the candle until completely finished.

Remove the hoop (but not the felt from the hoop!) and cut out a piece of the stabilizer.

Stick the stabilizer to the back of the embroidery. This step is important so that you do not accidentally cut the bobbin thread from the embroidery later.

Reattach the frame and finish embroidering the motif. When embroidering the long satin stitches, I recommend reducing the speed. The felt can now be taken out of the frame and the basting stitches can be removed.

The bobbin thread from the long satin stitches is clearly visible on the back of the embroidery thanks to the second piece of stabilizer.

The bobbin threads are now cut with pointed scissors.

Cut the bobbin thread through all satin stitches row by row and remove the remnants of the bobbin thread.

Carefully pull out the satin stitches on the front. If something gets caught, check whether the bobbin thread has been unraveled on the reverse side.

This pulls all the satin stitches upwards and creates fringes. The remains of the bobbin thread can be removed with a lint roller.

Sew the embroidered lantern

Cut the felt strip to size.

The top and bottom edges are decorated with a decorative ribbon. Fold the ends of the decorative ribbon inwards and sew them in place.

A button is placed in the middle of one of the short sides. You can easily sew on the button with the Button Sew-On Foot #18 to attach it. To do this, select the button sewing program or set the length of the zigzag stitch to zero and the width to the distance between the holes.

Button Sew-On Foot #18

For sewing on buttons and hooks ✓ The rubberized sole holds the button firmly in place ✓ For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓

Learn more

A loop of elastic is placed and zigzagged on the other short side. The ends of the elastic band can be covered with a label or a piece of imitation leather.