Technique Tuesdays - sewing

It seems that Technique Tuesdays will sometimes be Technique Wednesday!  Today's technique is sewing.  There are different ways to do holes, thread and sewing into cards and pages.

1. The Sewing machine
I got a Quik Fix Singer sewing machine that does 8 different stitches. (I have tried some cheap craft sewing machines and had no luck.  I didn't want to use my really good sewing machine so I thought I would try this little Quik Fix.  It is working out fine. )  One thing to remember is that paper is not forgiving like cloth is.  Once a hole is made - you have a hole.  On paper I don't knot off the thread which means that you have to be careful when cutting the ends because if you pull the thread out of the hole, it is hard to get thread back in.

This card has both straight stitch and zig zag.  There are a variety of threads you can get in small spools that will last you for a long time.  

2. Making holes by hand

Close To My Heart has a neat Stitch guide and Ruler that go over a Foam mat. You can choose which guide to follow.  There are straight stitches, zig zag, circles, stars, hearts, and other shapes.    The Stitching Guide has half of a variety of sizes of shapes and you can flip the guide and get a complete shape when you punch.  There is a Piercing and Embossing Tool kit that helps get the holes in.  1- you can use floss in the holes 2- you can use markers to make lines between the holes.  It appears that it is the holes and not the thread which makes you see this embellishment.

You can see the hand stitching on the bottom.  The guide is on page 181 of the Annual Inspirations Close To My Heart catalogue.  

Hint on Cutting:

One of the basic things to do is to "cut" your paper.  You can use a paper trimmer or scissors.  More about that in a later blog.  If you notice the butterflies on the first card are 3-d as well as cut close to the image.  Large scissors are important as well as small scissors but sometimes when you want to cut closer, it is best to use a craft utility knife on a cutting mat.  Close To My Heart has a great VersaMat which has one side for cushioned stamping, self-healing and easy-to-read grids and the other side is for cutting.  It is 13x13.  

Hint on mailing:

When you use "bling" you need to check with the post office as you may have to pay more for hand-stamping.  Going through the machines can tear up the envelop and your hard work on the card.  The people at the post office will be glad to test as see if it can go regular mail or if it needs hand stamping.