Machine Embroidery
Handmade Cards & Tags
By Rebecca Kemp Brent
Need a gift that's quick and easy, yet personal and thoughtful? Use your embroidery machine to craft something for everyone on your list.
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Scrapbooking and paper crafts are all the rage, and stores from specialty shops to discount retailers are stocked with novel papers. Some, particularly handmade papers, have a lot in common with the nonwoven stabilizers found in embroidery workrooms. Both are created from a web of fibrous strands bonded into a thin sheet, and both can be embroidered.
Embroidering on Paper
Here are some basic guidelines for embroidery on paper. For more details, see Creative Machine Embroidery's Paper & Embroidery magazine, available on newsstands or from www.sewnshop.com. Keep in mind that rules can be broken. Experimentation is encouraged, and test-stitching is always a good idea.
Start your search for stitchable papers at an art-supply store or in scrapbooking or craft stores. In addition to fibrous handmade papers, look for machine-made mulberry papers or rag papers, which also have a fibrous structure. Cardstock, a stiff paper with a smooth surface, can be used for some designs and is ideal for card making. In general, crisp or brittle papers, such as tissue and vellum, won't support the stress of embroidery. But they can be used as embellishments or as a base to which embroidered papers are added.
There are lots of products available for assembling gift cards and tags. Choices include double-stick tape, glue stick, adhesive sprays, craft glue, and adhesive dots from scrapbooking suppliers; fusible web to bond fabrics and papers; and eyelets, brads or staples for decorative effects.
Stabilizer is critical for paper embroidery, both to prepare the paper for embroidery and to secure the decorative paper in the embroidery hoop. Hooping paper directly will crease or tear it. Hoop the stabilizer instead, and affix the paper to the stabilizer with temporary adhesive.
Use tear-away or cut-away stabilizers for paper embroidery. Consider the paper's durability and thickness when choosing the stabilizer; removing tear-away could rip some papers, while cut-away stabilizer may show through thinner or more transparent papers. Avoid water-activated adhesive stabilizers, since the water may weaken the paper or make dyes or inks bleed and run. If the stitches pull away from the paper during test stitching, add an additional layer or two of stabilizer.
If possible, leave the stabilizer in place after embroidering, and trim it along with the embroidered paper. If the stabilizer must be removed to avoid show-through, lift the paper edges away from the stabilizer, and use scissors to trim close to the stitching.
Needle holes in paper are permanent; choose the finest needle that will accommodate the embroidery thread. Size 75/11 embroidery needles work for many designs and papers, but size 60/8 universal needles leave even smaller holes and are more appropriate for lightweight papers.
Test-stitch a sample with the actual thread, paper and stabilizer to see which needle works best for a particular project.
Most embroidery threads work fine for paper. Experiment with glossy rayon and polyester threads, variegated threads and even metallics. Heavy or coarse threads require larger needles, punch larger holes and may shred the paper. Save them for couching or other surface techniques.
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