Fabric Postcard Tutorial

Updated Fabric Postcard Tutorial

You can see all the fabric postcards I’ve made over the years in my Flickr album here.

There are many ways to make a fabric postcard.  I’ve made this updated tutorial to show how I make them.  They are a lot simpler to make than you might think.

The supplies you will need are as follows:

4”X6” front base fabric

Fabric scraps for your postcard front design

4”X6” piece of stiff Peltex

4”X6” light to medium wight fusible interfacing

4”X6” piece of paper or cardstock (not too thin) for the address and message side

You can also use a tightly woven fabric for your message side, but I find it easier and more fun to use paper that can be decorated also.

You will also need a bit of Transfer Webbing if you decide on a pictorial design.  There are a variety of transfer webbing available, I use the light weight Wonder Under.

Trace your design on the paper side of the transfer webbing.  Loosely cut outside your traced lines.

(Your design will be backwards from the way you trace it, so be sure to trace any alphabets backwards to begin with.)

Fuse your traced designs to your fabric choices.

Then cut them out on the lines.  Allow the pieces to cool until they will release from the paper easily.

I press my design base fabric to the Peltex.  It is not fused, but the layers will stay together better until you begin sewing on them.

Trim the interfacing a smidge before fusing it to one side of your paper.  You don’t want any hanging over, it will fuse to your ironing surface.  Set the paper message side aside until needed.



With the paper removed from the back of your cutout pieces, arrange them on the base fabric and Peltex where you want them and fuse them to the base fabric.

Be sure to leave 3/8” around all sides as that is the space the binding will cover.



Now you will stitch around your design as desired.  You can fuse all of your design at once or you can fuse the pieces as you are ready to sew them.

This method is raw edge appliqué.  It is my favorite to use on postcards.  Pull your thread tails to the back on the Peltex side and tie them off.

My next pieces on this postcard I fused the webbing to the back of fabric scraps, then cut them with a cutting die through a cutting machine.  

When the papers were ready to release, I fused the flowers where I wanted them on the base fabric.  I then stitched the stems and the flowers.

Once you are finished with your postcard design, align the front and back and stitch them together roughly around the very outside edge.  This will hold the loose fabric edges in place while adding the binding.  It will be covered later by the binding.

Most people will just zigzag (satin stitch) around the outside of their postcard to finish it.  You can do that now, or follow my binding method that I show following.

I like my binding method as it finishes the edges as well as giving the design a framing.

Choose your binding fabric and cut a 3/4” strip long enough for all four sides of your postcard.

Press this strip in half lengthwise.

I measure and cut the side lengths first then the top and bottom.  I do this no matter whether my postcard is landscape or portrait mode.

With a glue stick, run the glue along the edge of the paper side of the postcard.  You don’t need a lot of glue, just enough to hold the binding until you sew it down permanently.

Lay that paper side down on one side of the binding.  Just a tad away from the fold.  Each end of the binding should meet each edge of the postcard.

Now run the glue along the front edge of the postcard.



With your fingers, wrap and press the binding to the front.

Repeat these binding steps for the other side and then the top and bottom.

Your front will look like this.

The back will look like this.

Choose a thread color to stitch your binding.  I have started choosing a color that blends with my base fabric...but not always.  It is a personal choice.

I’m sure you are thinking the glue will gum up your needle, but it will not.  I sew through this glue and paper and then with the same needle I will sew a quilt.

Begin with a straight stitch sewing backwards on the overlapping binding to just off the edge then forward to the inside edge of the binding.  With your needle up, switch to a zigzag satin stitch.  I choose a medium stitch width and a length that makes the stitches sit nearly side by side.  Use a scrap of the Peltex to decide on your satin stitch length.  No two machines are alike.

Pull your thread tails forward and slightly to the left so that they will get caught inside the satin stitching.

 This now is the reason I fuse interfacing to the back of the paper backing.  The satin stitch will perforate the paper.  The interfacing assures you that your backing will continue to remain connected to the postcard.

Secret to your binding looking straight:  Rather than following the inside edge of the binding that you are sewing down, find a spot on the outside edge of the postcard to follow.  This will keep your binding looking straight.  Sometimes the satin stitch will catch a lot of the binding and sometimes just a bit of it.  But if you use the outside edge as a guide, the binding will look even and straight all the way around.

Once you catch the thread tails in the satin stitch, hold them straight across the edge of the binding.

Satin stitch for a couple of inches, stop with your needle down on the inside, lift your presser foot and move the thread tails to the right side out of the way to trim later.

Continue stitching across to where the binding meets again.  Switch to a straight stitch and stitch to just off the edge then backwards to where you stopped where the bindings meet.

Turn your postcard, set your machine to the zigzag again.

Align your needle at the back edge of your previous satin stitch to stitch over the top of it.  Don’t forget to find your outside edge guide to follow as you stitch.  Sew the remaining sides in this same way.

When you reach the beginning, satin stitch to the outside edge of your first satin stitching.

One last time, turn your postcard, change your stitch to a straight stitch, align your needle just inside the first row of satin stitching, change the needle length on your machine to a very close stitch length and stitch several stitches along the edge.  This will keep your stitches from coming loose.

Trim all the thread tails from the front and back close to the stitching.

The back sometimes looks like this.  That means there is a little bit more binding to the back than to the front.  It’s difficult to get it exact, but it does happen occasionally.

  

With very pointed tip scissors, pull up on the thread ravels and trim them close to the backing.

All nice and neat now.  Sometimes there is a thread or so on the front that might also need trimming.

I use Fray Check for the postcard corners, but a thin, very small amount of glue can work also.

And actually, you really don’t need to do this last step if you don’t want to.

I will put a very tiny amount of Fray Check on the binding ends to keep them from raveling.  Put a bit on then wipe it with your finger.  You don’t want too much, it will make the corners hard.

And, DONE!



With a paper backing, adding some extra fun on the address side of the card is simple.

Fabric postcards can be mailed at the rate of a first class stamp (not a postcard stamp).  If extra doodads are added to the design, an additional 20cent stamp is required for non-machinable.

Most of my postcards arrive to their destination as if they were hand delivered.  Other times they occasionally arrive with the usual postal marks.

I am more than happy to answer any questions you may still have or help out with any fine tuning details you have questions about.

Happy Mail Day!

Annie

Postcard Mail Art

I’ve gotten quite lucky of late to receive Postcrossing names that are open to receiving handmade art postcards.  It helps to satisfy my desire to make art on a small scale.  Then send it out into the world.

This first postcard is a terrible blurry photo.  I can’t believe I didn’t notice that.  I have to post it at a small size in order not to damage anyone’s eyesight.

This next one was a request for a private swap.  We decided on collage.  My favorite art.

This next card started with this collage base of paper strips.  This was my first time using Collage Medium.  I definitely don’t get along well with this glue medium...yet.  This is the only process photo I took.



But I was happy with my end result.

Next, this postcard was quite fun to create.  The Postcrosser said she liked postcards about postcards.  So this was my design side.  She’s been in Postcrossing for a lot of years and had already sent and received some 5,000+ postcards.  I’m rather certain this will not be a duplicate.

This last postcard was an experiment with paint and stencils and a bit of Distress inks.  The background got kind of busy on me but I didn’t totally dislike it so I continued to add stenciled numbers, washi tape and modeling paste through stencils.

    

These Tim Holtz paper dolls women seemed a good fit for this correspondence postcard.  After being pen pals since they were young girls, they finally get to meet in person.



HAPPY ART MAIL DAY!

Postcard Crazed!

I’ve been a crazed postcard paper crafter lately.

All of these postcards have been mailed for Postcrossing .

  Although I don’t get to create a handmade postcard for most postcrossers, I do get pretty lucky sometimes and get to make several to send across the world and across my own country.

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Many of them have been to try out a technique.  This one is watercolors painted using a brick stencil as a guide.  Once I removed the stencil I gave the bricks a bit more fine tuning of color.

    

Then gave the brick wall a collage.  The flowers are die cut from white and painted with watercolors.

Adding a bit of number ephemera, washi tape and die cut numbers.

These city buildings die cuts are always a favorite the way others use them.  I painted them with watercolors...oh, so many times!  A strip of washi tape along the bottom.

I’ve made this typewriter postcard before with a different background.  I love this stamp.  The background is Distress Oxide Spray.  I then added Washi Tape bits.

Sometimes a Postcrosser requests a private swap.  She requested a fabric postcard.

This next card started with Distress Oxide Spray.  I then ran it through my BIGkick inside an embossing folder for texture.  I used a steam roller (brayer) to flatten the texture a bit.  Then I blended over the surface with an Oxide ink pad and blending tool.

    

I used glossy clear texture paste mixed with a red acrylic paint.  Then applied it pressed through a stencil.

I used a graphite pencil to give the letters shadow and depth.  Using a water brush to fine tune the shadowing.

    

White modeling paste was pressed through a chevron stencil.  Water based inks usually will tint the white modeling paste.

The stencil used on this next card is a very thin flimsy one.  I wanted to know how it would work trying to press modeling paste through it.  It worked well enough with care, but I prefer to stick with the sturdier plastic stencils.  

I used modeling paste through stencils on this next card.  I then used a cutting die to cut the circles.  I stamped words on the yellow backing paper before adhering the top card to it.  The flower is a die cut painted with watercolors.



If you’ve stuck with me this far, then you can have a chance of receiving this next postcard in your mail.

This postcard was made with rejected and extra pieces of bits and bobs.  Some art might be rejected for its original purpose, but it can soon become a perfect part for another art piece.  I love this postcard.  I wasn’t able to let it go for awhile.  But it is time now for it to travel to a new home.

Simply let me know in a comment if you’d like to received it.

HAPPY MAIL DAY!