DIY stitched fabric notecard | How About Orange

September 16, 2013

DIY stitched fabric notecard


I was rummaging through my fabric stash for guest room pillow possibilities, and I found a little piece of this vintage print. Tiny uniformed guards — so cute! I stiffened the fabric, printed a quote onto plain cotton with my inkjet printer, and stitched the whole works together with a paper insert for writing a message.


The best way to make stiff fabric that I've found is to use Stiffen Stuff (I bought this bottle at Michael's). Mist both sides of the fabric until it's damp. A plastic garbage bag makes a good work surface for this.


Then let the fabric air dry, or for immediate results, microwave it on a paper towel for about 30 seconds or until dry. Don't worry if the fabric gets crumpled up as your turntable spins it around. Press it with an iron until it's nice and flat.


See? The fabric should stand up by itself. If yours feels too floppy, mist on another layer and microwave again.


To print text onto fabric, I set up my document and inkjet printed it on a test piece of letter-sized paper. Then I positioned the plain fabric over it and taped down the leading edge that feeds through the printer first (you MUST tape this edge or you'll end up with a snarl!) I taped the bottom edge down, too, for extra security. Then I reprinted my document onto the fabric. I used unstiffened fabric for this, since it doesn't need the extra structure.




I cut the quote down to size and picked at the edges to fray them a bit for extra character.


Then I trimmed the stiffened fabric into a rectangle and folded it in half. The notecard needed a paper insert for writing a message, so I cut a piece of coordinating paper to the same size.


Then I zigzag-stitched the quote to the front of the notecard and tied the loose ends of the threads together on the reverse side. I used a straight stitch across the fold to attach the insert to the card and tied off the loose threads on each side.


A stationery set with different messages and fabrics would be a really fun gift for someone, right? Add coordinating envelopes and tie the bundle with a ribbon. Cuteness.

25 comments:

Grandma G said...

Aw, so cute! And I love the quote! Hey, guess what? I can even buy fabric stiffener locally. Pretty amazing, huh? :)

Mum

Jessica Jones said...

Wow, way out there in the boonies??

I tried some Aleene's stiffener for this, but Stiffen Stuff is better. What kind do they have in town?

Grandma G said...

I'm not sure what kind... it's been a while since I saw it. Probably Aleene's, tho, since they carry other Aleene's products.

Mum from the boonies

rebecca at thisfineday said...

Love love love this! So creative and adorable. Thanks for posting. Pinning now!

jabbott said...

Love it,and thd quote

Sharla said...

I don't have an inkjet printer. Do you think this would work with a laser printer?

misako mimoko said...

love it!!
thanks for sharing :D

RhondaBuss said...

Thanks Jessica. I'm thinking Christmas cards!

Sewing Princess said...

Great idea! I think you could use interfacing instead of the Stiffen product. Just suggesting this for those who can´t source the product locally (e.g. me). What zig zag settings did you use?

Jessica Jones said...

Er, the default on my machine, whatever that is. :)

Jessica Jones said...

Sharla, I haven't tried it with a laser printer, but you could google to see if other people do it. Looks like yes--here's one article:

http://cqmagonline.com/vol04iss02/articles/437/index.shtml

anieph. said...

I love this! Such a cute idea! Putting this on the to-do list for over the weekend. Thanks!!

Also- I thought this was super fitting (i'm probably the only one who gets joy out of it) but when blogger asked me if I wasn't a robot the text contained 'winnie'!!

Jessica Jones said...

What?! No way!

Wildrose said...

What a lovely idea!

Ann said...

So fun! What a great gift idea!

Blue said...

Super cute project! Maybe it'll entice me to get out my sewing machine and then I'll also do all the mending and other sewing I've been meaning to do.

Also, I'm pretty sure I used Stiffen Stuff to hold my bangs up in junior high. My hair did look a lot like that after-microwave picture of your fabric.

Centering Coach ~ Amy Rodquist-Kodet said...

Those zig zags look so straight, ironic!
PS: I drove through Covington last night on the way to a concert in Cincinnati - I sent zig zagging hugs to you and Alex, hope you felt the love.

Jessica Jones said...

Ha, that explains the warm fuzzy moment I had that came out of nowhere! Alex didn't receive his because he was in Chicago. Tough luck, dude.

Jessica Jones said...

Also: Blue, you are hilarious.

Stephanie said...

Great idea! Thanks

Unknown said...

So adorable!

Mel xx

Nancy said...

So cute. This idea would be also great for making some pillows.

Unknown said...

I am just saying I recognize that fabric....I am CERTAIN there is a picture of your old auntie in a dress made of THAT FABRIC! I think I was 4 or 5 years old...wait, I HAVE that dress upstairs in my house even as I type.

Kristin

Jessica Jones said...

Ha, no way! I hope you appreciated the awesomeness of the print when you were 4. :)

Anonymous said...

We love this quote and really love the combination you created with the quote and the stitch-card. So unique and beautiful! Thank you for this wonderful post

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