Free Lace™ Author’s Techniques – 1. Perníková škola

The term "free lace" might sound a bit mysterious, but once you master the basics of lace decoration, you can confidently dive into it. Your gingerbread will gain a new dimension, and you'll advance another step higher in your decorating skills.

Free lace lightens your gingerbread. It will float on them and transform your decoration into masterpieces.

This technique is based on decorating lace motifs of various patterns and shapes not on the gingerbread surface, but away from it - either on a flat base or a shaped form. After drying, you carefully peel them off and attach them to the gingerbread using icing.

You can create, for example, curtains for cottage windows, butterfly or bird wings, various leaves, or entire flowers.

5 important things for free lace

The essential condition this time, more than ever, is truly perfect icing: flexible, stretchable, and without unnecessary air. This is so that the lace elements have the necessary strength after drying and can be manipulated (albeit with appropriate caution).

Equally important is that the decorating base must be solid. For flat lace, preferably use hard cardboard (you can draw the desired shape on it beforehand), which you place in a clear polypropylene bag. Wipe it with a drop of edible oil to create a fine film that will help the lace peel off more easily.

For three-dimensionally shaped elements, use any 3D cutters, but ordinary spoons or bowls also work well - cover them with aluminum foil before decorating and also wipe with oil.

When decorating, make sure the lines are solid and uninterrupted; it's advisable to reinforce the edges of elements with a chain line.

Free lace must always dry perfectly. Therefore, leave it in the air for at least 24 hours, but you can also place it in an oven heated to 50 degrees Celsius for 1-2 hours, or you can use a fruit dehydrator.

Watch the 1st tutorial video

I've divided the videos for you. In the first video, you'll learn how to create flat lace.

Watch the 2nd tutorial video

See how you can insert free flat lace into gingerbread to give your gingerbread an airy effect.

Watch the 3rd tutorial video

In the video, we'll decorate free lace on a 3D cutter and then place it on gingerbread.Here you can see the difference in how free lace creates a lightened effect compared to decorating directly on the gingerbread.