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Low-Sew Holiday Fabric Postcards Tutorial
By Marie Segares, Underground Crafter
These quick and easy fabric postcards also make great gift tags and ornaments.
Skill Level
• Easy
Finished Size
• 4” (10 cm) x 6” (15 cm)
Materials
• Fabric for front of postcard. Use assorted scraps, fat eighths or quarter yards in holiday prints, quilt blocks, or remnants of other projects.
• Backing fabric. If you plan to send your postcard in the mail, use white or another light color for best results.
• Double-sided stiff fusible interfacing (such as Fast2Fuse).
• Double-sided paper backed fusible.
• Thread in your choice of color for stitching and bobbin.
• Rotary cutter, cutting board, and 4” x 8” quilting ruler OR fabric scissors, ruler, and marking pencil.
• Iron.
• Teflon pressing sheet.
• Sewing machine.
• Basic sewing supplies including seam ripper, pins, small scissor for snipping thread ends, etc.
• Embroidery floss and embroidery needle (optional, for embellishment).
• Permanent or fabric markers (optional, for embellishment).
• Buttons, beads, lace, or other finds (optional, for embellishment).
Pattern Instructions
1. Prepare fabric, interfacing, and fusible
• Cut piece for front of postcard to 4.5” (11.5 cm) x 6.5” (16.5 cm) for each postcard. If using scraps, sew pieces together and then trim to desired size.
This square scrappy quilt block was trimmed down to size for a fabric postcard.
• Cut piece for back of postcard to 5” (13 cm) x 7” (18 cm) for each postcard.
• Cut double-sided stiff fusible interfacing to 4” (10 cm) x 6” (15 cm) for each postcard.
• Cut double-sided paper backed fusible to 4.5” (11.5 cm) x 6.5” (16.5 cm) for each postcard.
2. Create front of postcard
• Heat iron on cotton setting (or the highest heat for the fabric you are using) and place Teflon pressing sheet on ironing board.
• Create a sandwich for the front of your postcard by placing the stiff interfacing on top of the Teflon sheet and the fabric (right side up) on top of the interfacing. Press firmly down on the fabric with the iron for 30 seconds or as directed by the interfacing package.
• Allow the piece to cool and then gently peel away from the Teflon.
• Embellish and decorate the top of the postcard as desired. You may want to embroider; use your sewing machine to write, create symbols, or quilt; or add buttons or other embellishments. If using the sewing machine or embroidery floss, choose a light color floss or bobbin thread so that the thread won’t be visible through fabric once the backing is applied. Trim any excess pieces of thread before continuing to the next step.
This postcard front was embellished with decorative sewing machine stitches.
3. Attach back of postcard
• Heat iron on cotton setting (or the highest heat for the fabric you are using) and place Teflon pressing sheet on ironing board.
• Place the paper backed fusible with paper side down on the Teflon pressing sheet. Place the fabric for the back of the postcard (right side up) on top of the fusible. Press firmly down on the fabric with the iron for 30 seconds or as directed by the fusible package.
• Allow the piece to cool and then gently peel away from the Teflon. Remove any bits of fusible that are still attached to the Teflon.
• Peel off the paper backing of the fusible.
• Place front of the postcard facing down onto the Teflon, then the back of the postcard facing right side with the exposed fusible adhesive facing the front piece. Position the pieces to make sure you have your front and back aligned appropriately. Press firmly down on the fabric with the iron for 30 seconds or as directed by the fusible package.
• Allow the piece to cool and then gently peel away from the Teflon. Remove any bits of fusible that are still attached to the Teflon.
• Trim the postcard down to 4” (10 cm) x 6” (15 cm).
Add ornament hanging (optional)
• To create an ornament, thread your embroidery needle with floss in a similar or lighter color to the thread you will use to seam the edges. Tie a knot at the end of the floss and then insert needle from the back of the postcard to the front from the top corner. Insert the needle from the front to the back on the opposite corner. Adjust length of hanging and then fasten off floss, tying a small knot in the back.
Seam edges with an overcast stitch
• Attach the zig zag foot to your machine. Adjust the zig zag stitch settings on your machine to make a short length of stitch (such as 0.5) and a long width of stitch (such as 3.5).
• With the postcard facing right side up, align the outer edge of the postcard so that it just touches the outer right position of the needle. Slowly work the zig zag stitch along the edges of the postcard, creating an overcast stitch edging.
• If you’ve added the ornament hanging, be sure to move more slowly over the knots to cover them with the overcast stitch and to avoid tangling up the hanging in your machine.
• Trim off excess pieces of thread.
Prepare for mailing
• If you plan to send the postcard in the mail, write “postcard” at the top of the back piece with a permanent or fabric marker.
• Use the marker to write a vertical line down the center of the card. The recipient’s address will be written to the right of the line while your message will be written on the left of the line.
• Place a stamp in the upper right corner of the postcard before mailing. Since your postcard may be too thick to be processed by a machine, additional charges may apply. For best results, use a first class mail (letter) stamp rather than a postcard stamp.
That’s all from Underground Crafter!
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Today’s Question: Snowmen vs. Reindeer – Which do you like more?
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