Lizzie here and I want to share with you a tute on how to create fun and kitschy hand stitched cards.
I promise you, it looks a lot harder to put together then it is. Don't let me intimidate you!
Supplies:
Cardstock
Scissors
Needle
Thread (variety of colors)
Paper piercer
Pencil
Eraser
Let's take the pencil and draw our design. For this set of cards I am creating a fun and funky floral theme. Remember to draw lightly and have a good eraser near by for your mistakes.
Now we take your piercer and start poking holes. The first holes you want to punch are at the intersections of your stitches. As you see above, I have a leave with lines going in a few different directions but there is some crossing going on. Poke thru here first. Then work your way around and try to keep your holes close yet far enough so they do not tear into each other. When working with CutCardStock, it's nice to know you have a thick surface and you hardly have to worry about the holes merging together!
Once you have all the holes pierced out that have intersecting lines, go to town with the rest of the piercing! This is actually my favorite part of this project. Stab stab, jab jab... no one gets hurt and you get some frustration released! Don't judge! I said no one gets hurt! That's a good thing right?
Hopefully you have a nice feel of the design you are going to stitch up. This is where you take your eraser and get rid of all those lines. Sure we are covering it up with thread, but that doesn't mean we can leave it all dirty and smudgy... we want something super cute here people!!
Once you have a nice and clean design complete with a million holes, it's time to get your thread and let the creative stitchery inspiration hit you.
Here are a few tips for stitching:
- When stitching in a circle or a curve, poke the holes as close together as possible. The more holes you have, the tighter the curve or circle will come out.
- Use a basic back stitch when creating solid lines.
- Make sure to count your holes on areas you want to have a running stitch. These need an even amount of holes. Before you poke your holes, map them out first.
- Think about your color pallet and the cardstock you are using. Will the colors show up? Do the colors flow together? I drew inspiration from the colors of the Basis A7 Envelopes.
- Invest in a nice set of needles. Sure you can buy a pack of needles from Walmart for a dollar... but the eye of those needles are so small and the weight of the needle is so flimsy it's not going to be a good time. Most fabric stores have great embroidery or tapestry needles that are thick and have a nice big eye. Perfect for full strands of thread!
- You do not need to spend a ton of money on thread. When using thread in this fashion, there is no need to spend extra money on fancy thread. I'm sure your BFF won't be able to tell if you are using grass feed only alpaca thread imported from South America or thread straight from the shelves off the kidds craft aisle.
Lastly with my cards, I added a lil flair by using buttons. It gives the card a lil pop of dimension which goes great with the texture of the stitching.
I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to create your own hand stitched cards. You can use this technique for anything you want to add a kitschy flair to. So go have fun with this up and coming trend in the paper crafting world and don't forget to show me what you create using my tute! I love gawking over your creations!!!
Don't forget, the WHOLE MONTH of April, all A7 Invitation Envelopes are 10% off! Head over to the shop and let the colors combos of the sets inspire your next project.
CutCardStock.com Products used:
So cute.... I will definitely be doing this. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteVery cool Lizzie.
ReplyDeleteOh. My. Gosh.
ReplyDeleteThese are terribly cute. Must make some soon.
Yeah, awesome! How long does it take when you make a card like this? Like from First punch to last knot?
ReplyDeleteCass, it doesn't take that long. The longest part is figuring out what to stitch and drawing the pattern. Of course, the bigger it is, the more time. The card featured in the tute took about 45 mins from first punch to last stitch. I would say that is about the average!
ReplyDelete