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Lace Pirate Ship

Lace Pirate Ship

Make a splash with this freestanding lace pirate ship -- complete with a Jolly Roger flag. The perfect addition to your pirate-themed decor, Christmas tree, or a fun gift to your best mate! These quick and easy instructions will get your fleet of menacing ships ready in no time.

Supplies & Materials:

To craft your freestanding lace pirate ship, you will need:

  • Pirate Ship (Lace) embroidery design
  • Rayon thread (40wt.)
  • Hot glue gun and glue
  • 3.5 inch tall thin wooden stick for the large ship, 2 inch tall stick for the small ship
  • Optional: permanent marker or paint to paint the mast of the ship

The designs used in this tutorial include: 

- Pirate Ship (Lace), UTZ2203

Gather Materials:

Begin by stitching the six pieces of freestanding lace onto water-soluble stabilizer using 40 wt. rayon thread for best results.

Once you're done stitching, rinse and dry each piece completely ( here's more on stitching freestanding lace ).

Six black lace fabric pieces with intricate swirling and geometric patterns arranged on a white background, resembling ship parts.

Don't let your pieces flop! Use spray starch and an iron to stiffen them up a bit. I sandwiched my pieces in between a piece of scrap fabric while pressing them.

Blue and gray iron pressing black lace fabric pieces cut in various shapes on a white surface, held by a person's hand; dark background.

Start by hot gluing your pieces together. I began with the tip of the ship, lining up the flat edges together. Hold until dry.

Hand holding two connected pieces of black lace with swirl and circular patterns on a white background.

Set your rear window perpendicular to the base of the ship with the hot glue, hold in place until dry.

Hand holding a small black lace embroidered piece shaped like a ship's sail with window and scrollwork details on a white background.

Next, glue the hull together, aligning the back window in between the two side pieces.

Black lace piece shaped like a pirate ship hull with swirled and circular cutout patterns, displayed on a white background.

Glue up the two sides of the base onto the hull and your tiny piece is beginning to look like a real ship.

Small black lace object shaped like a ship hull with detailed swirls and a window pattern on one side, set against a white background.

Next, take your small deckhouse piece and glue both sides to your ship, centered above the three open circles in the hull.

Hand holding a black lace piece shaped like a ship's bow with patterned cutouts and a small rectangular patch in the center. White background.

Optional: Use paint or a permanent marker to match your mast stick with the rest of the ship. In this case, I painted mine black.

Hand holds a wooden matchstick partially painted black; an angled paintbrush with black paint touches the top half of the matchstick against a white background.

Finally, for the crowning piece - the Jolly Roger flag. I used a 0.5 inch wide wooden stick, cut to 3.5 inches tall for the mast. Give your flag extra dimension by carefully gluing the edges closer together on the stick.

Hand holding a small black lace pirate ship silhouette attached to a light wooden stick, shown against a plain white background.

Insert the base of your mast through the hole in the deckhouse piece, and use a tiny dot of hot glue in the bottom of the ship to hold it in place. Make sure to hold the piece upright until the glue is done setting.

Close-up of a small black lace pirate ship model with intricate patterned sails and a wooden mast on a white background.

There you have it! A beautiful lace pirate ship, ready to set sail for the high seas.

Black lace model of a pirate ship with intricate swirls and patterns on sails and hull, standing on blue glass pebbles against a gradient blue background.