Making fabric postcards with your embroidery machine Fabric postcards have recently surfaced in quilting and fiber arts communities and I think the progression to machine embroidery is very exciting. Our beloved machines can stitch them up beautifully and quickly. The postcards are very easy to make and can be stitched up quickly. I have stream lined the process so you can cut your fabric beforehand and eliminate any trimming! You can also use these designs for any 4" designs that you currently have. You will want to reduce the design slightly so that the design will fit into the 4x6 frame and use my postcard frame design. Fabric postcards are sent through the postal service like a traditional postcard but will need to be hand cancelled. You can ask your carrier to do this when you take them to the post office. Fabric postcards are popular to swap and are often done in themes by online groups. They can be done very elaborately or very simply depending upon what you want to do. Below I’ll fill you in on the process and the many choices you have. Fabric postcards have recently surfaced in quilting and fiber arts communities and I think the progression to machine embroidery is very exciting. Our beloved machines can stitch them up beautifully and quickly. The postcards are very easy to make and can be stitched up quickly. I have stream lined the process so you can cut your fabric beforehand and eliminate any trimming! You can also use these designs for any 4” designs that you currently have. You will want to reduce the design slightly so that the design will fit into the 4x6 frame and use my postcard frame design. Fabric postcards are sent through the postal service like a traditional postcard but will need to be hand cancelled. You can ask your carrier to do this when you take them to the post office. Fabric postcards are popular to swap and are often done in themes by online groups. They can be done very elaborately or very simply depending upon what you want to do. Below I’ll fill you in on the process and the many choices you have. Supplies:
How to make the postcards I will use the term postcard back for the side that will be addressed and postcard front for the decorated/embroidered side of your postcard. I’ve digitized these designs so that you can precut all your pieces to save fabric and time - eliminating trimming to make them easier and faster to make. You can cut them with your rotary cutter or use the enclosed template for cutting. They will measure exactly 4x6 inches.
First let’s start with the postcard back – the postcard side of your design
Stitching the front of your postcard – the pretty side
Other info: The finished post card size is 4x6 – You can use your existing embroidery designs for these by reducing them just a bit and using my plain fabric frame postcard design Mailing – When you mail your postcard you will need to ask your postmaster to hand cancel them. If you pay postcard rate, they are less expensive to mail but if for any reason there are problems with delivering it, it won’t be forwarded on. If you want to ensure that your postcard is forwarded on or returned to you if there is a problem, you will want to pay for first class postage to send it. Another consideration is whether or you want to protect your postcard. During the postal process, you can get smears or other marks on your cards. Some don’t mind and think it adds to the charm of the postal experience. If you’re not one of them, you can place your cards inside a clear protective sleeve (card sleeve) once they’ve been handcancelled. The possibilities are endless with these postcards. I plan to design some machine quilting patterns and decorative designs and create holiday postcards that you can add family photos inside so be sure to watch for upcoming designs. For an interesting look piece two pieces or more of fabric for your background piece and then hoop it or add other embellishments. You can use ribbons, yarns, fibers, variegated threads, netting, tulle, even beads. You can cut out and fuse motifs on fabric and layer… You will want to make sure that whatever you use it is securely attached to your card and that your card is no higher than 1/8 “. I will also be adding rubber stamps to my site and the Oregon PatchWorks site so that you can purchase these if you prefer for stamping the back of your postcard. You will need to use a dye based ink and not a water based ink. I would recommend purchasing one of the Stampin’ Spot craft ink sets from Stampin Up. You get one color family of 12 colors for $25.95. This ink can be used on fabric and on paper too though if you use it on paper you need to allow for more drying time. You will want to heat set it also. If you would like more information about these inks, you can visit my Stampin’ Up website here: http://www.debbiehicks.stampinup.net/Welcome.aspx You can also use stamps to decorate these postcards - truly the possibilities are endless. I hope you’ve enjoyed making your fabric postcard and look forward to bringing you many fun designs to try! All the best, If there is something you would like to see or you would like something special made into a postcard, email me – debora.hicks@comcast.net
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My name is Debbie Hicks and I am the digitizer behind Too Cute Embroidery. I live in Sacramento, California, with my husband of 25 years and two adult children, who are both students, Sarah, 23, and Chris, 21. I am a quilter and have loved sewing for some time. I got into embroidery a few years ago when my friends started getting embroidery machines. It wasn’t long after that I began learning to digitize. I love to create cute things for others – whether it’s a gift for a friend or my embroidery designs. I love happy children’s designs and things designed to make you smile – but enjoy a variety of styles and types of designs. I currently digitize part-time and sell designs through my site as well as Oregon PatchWorks and Adorable Affordable Design Mall. In the next year, I will be offering my designs for retail sale as well. Quality is my top priortity – that and creating designs that people enjoy stitching out – because that’s what it’s all about. I think it’s very important for us to find some playtime and time to be creative in our too-busy lives. I have just teamed up with Digitizers World to offer live on-line lessons both in using Embird and Studio software and look forward to connect with embroiderers and helping others learn and grow in their embroidery. I also am creating videos and video lessons to help embroiderers in learning the basics to use their computers and would invite anyone who has been struggling with their computers to visit me so that I can help them out! I hope that my tutorials will be helpful to you and help you to do what you need to do quickly and easily. Smiles, Too Cute Embroidery |
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