August 30, 2008

Embroidering onto Cardstock

Embroidering on cardstock is a wonderful way to add a personal touch to your holiday and greeting cards. You’ll be giving your friends and family the gift of yourself, along with all your good wishes.

Used Designs: 01 - 02 - 03

You can find cardstock at most stores, including craft stores and scrapbooking stores. It comes in a wide variety of colors and quality.
Choose a high-quality cardstock with long fibers.

Fold the cardstock in half and trim to a card shape.

Spray a piece of medium-weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive.

Hoop the stabilizer firmly.

Press the inside flap of the card onto the stabilizer.

Embroider the design. When embroidering a design onto cardstock, use a size 11 (or smaller) sharp needle, not a ballpoint or universal needle.
If you find that the cardstock is ripping or tearing, then switch to a higher-quality cardstock, and make sure you’re using a size 11 sharp embroidery needle.

After the design has finished embroidering, remove the stabilizer from the hoop and trim the excess stabilizer away.

Cover the inside of the card with decorative paper.

And, you can slip a freestanding ornament or bookmark inside the card as an extra-special touch.

Next we’ll make an envelope for the card.
Cut a piece of paper 2 1/2 times the width of the card, and add 1 1/4″ to the length. Place the card on the edge of the paper, centered vertically, and overlapping the edge by 3/4″.

Draw a vertical line 1/8″ to the right of the card.

Move the card so that the left edge is perfectly aligned with the line you just drew. On the right side, mark 1/8″ from the top and the bottom. We won’t draw the entire vertical line this time; if we did, that mark would show on the inside of the envelope.