I love sewing on paper! The stitches give a handmade feeling to my artwork and add touchable
texture. I use a 1970’s Singer
sewing machine nicknamed “Frances” after my grandma who taught me to sew on this
same machine. Frances doesn’t do
fancy stitches but she’s sturdy and reminds me of good times.
Today we’ll create a paper appliqué project using strips of paper sewn to a base sheet. If you don’t have access to a sewing machine
you can get a similar effect by drawing the stitches on your project with a fine line
marker.
For this project you’ll need assorted patterned
papers, cardstock in contrasting colors, glue, scissors, a butterfly punch and
a sewing machine or a contrasting color fine line marker.
Cut the patterned paper into strips, either 1/4 inch by 11
inches or 1/2 inch by 11 inches. You
can also cut some in both widths and mix them up. I used between eighteen and twenty strips per base sheet.
Lay the strips down on a piece of 8.5 x 11 contrasting
cardstock, leaving about 1/8 inch space between each strip. I like alternating two patterns with
the cardstock acting as a third strip but you can use any number of patterns you like.
Once you’ve laid out a pleasing pattern, glue all the strips onto the base cardstock page.
Next sew a line of stitching across all the strips in
contrasting colored thread. Add
additional stitched lines every inch across the page. This anchors all the strips and makes it easy to cut out
shapes. If you drew your stitches instead of sewing you may have to use some extra glue to anchor the edges once you cut out your shapes.
Now comes the fun part: cut your stitched paper into
shapes! These can be simple
squares, punched shapes, rectangles edged with decorative scissors or a shape
cut with a template. Have some fun
with this and try out all your tools.
We’re going to use a teacup template to make our card
(Download TeacupTemplate). Print and cut
out the teacup template. Lay it
down on the backside of your stitched page and trace around it. Cut out teacup including space inside handle using a sharp scissors or exacto knife. Punch a butterfly shape out of your appliqué paper.
Cut out foam, napkin and saucer shapes from the template and
trace them onto your papers. I
used white cardstock for the foam, pink cardstock for the saucer and patterned
paper for the napkin. Pounce ink
on the foam shape to give it softness.
You could also add glitter ‘sprinkles’.
Assemble your card. Fold an 8.5 x 5.5” piece of cardstock into a 4.25 x 5.5" card. Glue the napkin shape to the bottom of
the card and stitch down. Glue
saucer, cup and foam to your card.
Glue butterfly on the edge of the foam.
Add a sentiment such as “I like you a latte” and your card is done! Alternately you could stamp flowers above the teacup’s rim instead of adding the foam shape (stamp first and then glue cup and butterfly over stamped image).

The stitched paper can be used for additional projects such as a mat for photos or even as placemats when covered in clear contact paper.
I hope you enjoy this process. Let me know how your projects turn out!