Thank you for all the lovely comments on my work! The Free Standing Lace items are done on an embroidery machine. The bowls consist of 8 side pieces and 1 center circle. Each side piece is over 34,000 stitches and takes about an hour to stitch out. Whatever thread is used on the top is also used in the bobbin so that the color/texture is the same on both sides. Two layers of Vilene, a water solvable stabilizer that looks like fabric, is used for the stitching base. The pieces are swished around in warm water to rinse away the Vilene and left to dry between plastic canvas sheets. The dried pieces feel like they have been heavily starched. The pieces are joined with a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine.