Creating Unique Fabric for Craft Projects
One free motion stitching project is to create your own fabric. To do this, lay down a piece of mesh. Then find pretty fabrics and trims and threads in a color scheme that you like. I chose these teals, greens, blues and white, mixed in with shiny silvers and golds. Then arrange these bits on top of the mesh, and place a piece of Pellon water soluble stabilizer on top of this and pin it all down. The water soluble stabilizer allows you to stitch over top of all the fabric pieces, keeping everything together until you’re done stitching. Once you pin everything down, take it to your machine and stitch simple patterns and lines really close together. The smaller pieces of fabric used require closer stitching to catch all the threads.
Here is the front and back of my fabric after I finished stitching. It’s easier to see the stitching from the back.
After you’ve stitched it all over, rinse it in warm water to remove the stabilizer. It doesn’t take long. Then hang it flat to dry.
Using the fabric to make cards
Once its dry, measure the sizes of pieces you need to put on the front of greeting cards. A good idea would be to stitch a border inside of this size so that the thread ends get sewn down. I forgot and ended up cutting out my size first and then had to stitch around the border after. My fabric ended up in the throat plate a few times because of this. I could also have done a nice satin stitch around to make a pretty finish. But didn’t.
After you have stitched around the border and cut your pieces, you can use double sided tape to adhere them to the cards.
What you’ll need for making unique fabric scrap cards
- Sewing machine, machine needle, thread
- Free motion/darning foot
- Mesh or another lightweight backing fabric
- Pellon https://www.amazon.ca/Soluble-Stabilizer-Embroidery-Seneme-Stabilizers/dp/B08NPJ43QZ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=1355699665807943&hvadid=84731658340130&hvbmt=bb&hvdev=c&hvlocint=4076&hvlocphy=32&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=b&hvtargid=kwd-84732354865952%3Aloc-32&hydadcr=20699_13378831&keywords=14%2Binch%2Beau%2Bh2o%2Bgone%2Bwash%2Baway%2Bstabilizer%2Bfor%2Bembroidery&qid=1674685562&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRUJJSkU1Mlg0V09XJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODk1NTA2MlA3SE1DV05LSjFGUCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTk5NjY1M05IOVgxN1FROThPTSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1 (or similar brand) water soluble stabilizer (this looks like a thick plastic film and is not sticky
- Blank cards or card stock
- Fabric scraps, yarn, trim, ribbon or thread ends
With this fabric you can also make other free motion stitching project such as bookmarks, felt or wood-backed ornaments or journal covers.
Now go a head, get stitching!
