lace angels

 

This angel is approximately 4" when finished. The materials and dimensions given are a guide. The size of the angel can be altered by changing the width of the trim used.
Materials Needed:

• 2" circle of lightweight muslin or flesh color fabric. (I found a 2" template by using the bottom of a can of spray adhesive.)
• 12" of 3" wide eyelet -- Cut as follows:
  • One 6" piece for the body
  • Two 3" pieces for the arms

Two 5" pieces of 1 to 2" wide pre-gathered lace or eyelet for the wings

Quality thread or button and carpet thread

A very small amount of stuffing.

Fine tip textile marker or Sharpie Pen (to draw face)

Doll hair or yarn sewn as described in the yo-yo clown but with a much smaller knitting needle. The hair used in the photos is the strawberry blond curly hair available here

glue to attach hair and halo

White or light color pipe cleaner for the arms

Gold Glitter pipe cleaner for the halo

 

The Angel head

• On the edge of the 2" circle, sew a running stitch to pull the edges together.
• Before you close the gathering, stuff the head.
• Stitch the back of the head closed.
• Knot and cut the thread.
• Roll the head to make it as round as possible.
• Glue hair to the head in the hair area of the head.
• Draw the face.
• Set aside for the glue to dry.



The Arms and Body

• Fold the arm and body pieces of eyelet in half matching the raw edges with the right sides together. (The wrong side is the side that has a chain stitch on the binding.)
• Seam each edge using a small seam allowance and zigzag the seam allowance.
• Turn right sides out.

The Angel Arms

• Place the bound edges of the arm sections inside each other and sew a running stitch through the bindings, leaving the center open.
• Place the arms on a length of pipe cleaner, leaving pipe cleaner extending beyond the arm edges.
• Pull the running stitch thread to tighten the arms to the pipe cleaner.
• Knot off the running stitch thread and cut it.

The Body and Head

• Center the seam of the body section in the back of the body section.
• Sew a running stitch through the bound edge and gather the bound edge of the body section.
• Knot off the top to hold it in place. Do NOT cut the thread!
• Run the needle up through the head and back down again.
• Sew the head to the body where it "nests" into the body fabric.
• Push the needle up through the center of the head.
• Start to make a stitch in the top of the head to form a loop of thread.
• Form a thread chain that is long enough to use as a hanger. (about 3"}
• Anchor the chain back in the top of the head where the thread came up.
• Knot off in the "neck" area and cut the thread.

Attach the Arms

• Bend the arm pipe cleaners to form a circle so the ends of the arms just overlap.
• Trim and twist the ends of the pipe cleaners together just inside the arms.
• Slide the body into the arms.
• Hand sew the seam area of the arms to the back of the body to hold the arms in place.
• Use a spot of glue or hand stitch the ends of the sleeves in place to conceal the pipe cleaner.

The Halo

• Form a circle about the size of the head out of an end of the gold pipe cleaner.
• Twist the pipe cleaner on itself to hold the circle.
• Bend the remaining pipe cleaner downward and trim, leaving about a quarter to a half inch of pipe cleaner.
• Glue the downward part of the halo to the back of the head to hold it in place.

The Wings

• Sew a running stitch in the bound edge of the trim.
• Gather the wing using the running stitch.
• Fold the trim so that the bond edges are next to each other.
• Gather the trim so that it will lay flat with the bound edges next to each other.
• Sew the bound edges to each other forming the wing section.
• Repeat for the second wing.
• Place the raw ends of the wings on top of each other (overlapping 1/2 to 1").
• Gather the ends together and sew the wings to the back of the angel positioning as desired.

Tip: If your trim lacks oomph, use fabric starch or add glue and glitter to add stiffness.

 

 

Lace Version Angel

 

The lace version angel was made using the same principals as the eyelet angel with a few extras due to the lace used.

• The body was gathered at the part of the lace that ribbon can be run through and the narrower lace edge was folded downward as a collar.
• The narrow lace was removed for the sleeves and the area where ribbon can be run through was used as sleeve cuffs while the edge of the wide ribbon was gathered and attached t the back of the angel.
• The wings were made with un-gathered lace by gathering the entire piece of lace and achieving the desired effect.