Monday, January 25, 2016

Stitched Fabric Flower Cards

          I acquired some of my Mother's cards to use for birthdays, get well & sympathy and especially note the card is from my Mother if they knew her personally.  Sometimes I don't have a card I need, so I use scrap fabric to make them.  A set of them also makes a nice gift.
      I have posted other cards I've made on this blog.  Type in the word "card" in the search box to the right, or go to the Sewing Tutorials Page above to find them.
          Here's the run down of how I made these cards using some scrap fabrics I got on the HWY 127 yard sale last summer.



          Bought this Singer Quantum about a year and half ago via Craig's list. Under the dark cover, you can place a spool for use as a continuous bobbin according to the features list I read.  I thought that would be great for quilting!  However, that will only engage for embroidery.  A massive disappointment.  That would be a great feature for machines made for quilting, hint, hint.
       
                  Despite this let down and its age, I have enjoyed using this machine.  It stitches like butter.  Quiet and easy.  I haven't embroidered with it yet, but I have tried out some of the giant stitch patterns such as this flower that can be made in 2 sizes.  The stitches are beautiful.  I'm not aware of anything this size my Ellisimo can make.
Perfect size for a card.
Card is from half sheet of card stock.
After stitching the flower on scrap fabric & trimming,
 lightly use a paper glue stick to temporarily hold the fabric in place.
Center piece as much as possible.
This may require more trimming.
          Do a straight stitch on the edge to hold fabric in place. You can stop at this point if you have a fabric that has a nice frayed look. Stitch about quarter inch in, and fray.
          Here the stitch is as close to the edge as possible.  To help be more accurate, the inside edge of the open toe foot was used with the needle moved to the right. Easy to guide the edge of the foot along the edge of the fabric.
   On the inside front, place some more glue.

 Using the straight stitch as a guideline, place the piece of fabric to fit on the inside front.
 
Then choose a decorative stitch that doesn't create big holes in the card stock.

          After a couple of cards, I noticed how messy my corners were.  So, practice & decide the best way to turn your decorative stitch to continue the pattern.
 
It took some practice, & more trial an error.
 I never did do a great job keeping the stitch next to the edge.
          Trim off the turning stitches if you have them, take out fraying threads and move on, hoping the receiver doesn't have an eagle eye for mistakes.


        Blank cards come in handy for any occasion.
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Info about making an envelope
       The envelope can be made from a template using one sheet of paper that works perfectly with this "half page" card. Just do a web search. Some are PDF files. However some are jpeg (picture files) and if so, right click on the picture & download as an image which will print on a full sheet of paper. Use that as a template to trace around, so printer ink doesn't need to be used every time you make an envelope. No resizing should be needed to print. I used the ruler & rotary cutter to cut out 6 at a time.  Use a glue stick to hold.   (info updated 4/21/18)

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4 comments:

  1. Your stitched cards are beautiful and you're right, a pile of them makes a great gift. I personally like to give them to hostesses. Yes, I've made stitched cards too. :-) I've never though of adding a rectangle of fabric on the inside, though. That makes a very nice finish. I myself glue a rectangle of thick paper, but I really like your idea. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely cards! What a great gift they would make. I need to keep this one in mind!

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  3. Really nice idea! Thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday.

    ReplyDelete

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