Friday, November 20, 2009

I'm in stitches!

I love the look of hand stitching in my layouts! I think it adds such interesting visual and tactile appeal. However I am a frugal scrapbooker. I am sure there are all sorts of fancy tools to create this but for me a needle, some thread, a heavy spoon and a corn holder is all it takes!


Here are the supplies:


The first step is to sketch out what you want to stitch. If you have a Cricut and the pens, you can use that to sketch something for you. (My demo is on notebook paper.)



After you sketch use the corn holder to pierce the paper. The spoon makes a great mallet! (Make sure that you work on a protected surface.) Doing this step makes it much easier to stitch in the end. I have been told this is a very hillbilly way to scrap! lol



Now you are ready to stitch! You can use thread or embroidery floss. For a bold look, use all the threads together. For a more delicate look separate them. Just use a simple up and down motion going through your punched holes.


When you reach the end, tie off the thread on the back of your page (use a little tape to tape of the end to hold in place) and you are done! If you want a full line instead of a segmented one simply reverse your stitches. Go back along the same holes that you just passed through in the opposite direction (if you came up a hole, this time go down it.) This creates a full, solid line.


That is it! Simple, and such a nice touch. You can stitch as much or as little on a layout as you like. Here are some examples from my previous pages...

Here the small X stitches look like they are holding the photos in place and add visual detail.


This page was created for a challenge. You had to piece together lots of papers to resemble a quilt. The stitching reinforces that connection.


Finally the vines on this page could not have been created any other way.


I wish you lots of time to scrap this weekend...and get to stitching!

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