Sew Nice

The hobby and craft industry is like one huge, creative family. Everything from beading and sewing to painting and scrapbooking can be found at the Craft and Hobby Association tradeshow, so it only makes sense that if you’re interested in one hobby, you might crossover to another. I’ve seen many signs of hobbies that have transcended their original purpose and moved into the pages of a scrapbook. My favorite crossover technique is sewing. Whether by hand or with a machine, there’s always room for a needle and thread on a layout.

Sewing can be used for a variety of reasons on your pages including to hold items down, to add a decorative border or just for embellishment. Since there are about a million different thread colors, it’s really easy to get just the right color to go with your patterned paper. Here are a few ways to use sewing effectively on your next layout.

• Create a border around your page with a zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine. Hint: Try doing it with colored thread to add a truly unique element.


• After adhering your patterned paper to the page, use a straight stitch to trace the inside edge of the paper. This will give additional separation from the cardstock.


• Hand-sew a couple of pieces of paper onto your page using a few cross-stitches (the shape of an ‘x’) and some embroidery floss.


• Take sewing to a new level and do it with ribbon. Try threading a piece of ribbon through eyelets down the side of your page for a very unique and fun embellishment.


• Use your sewing machine to create your own patterned effect on your cardstock by creating shapes. Run your paper through your machine in flower or heart shapes.


• For a different look on a border, try switching up the stitch as you’re sewing. This is especially effective if your machine has a several different stitch settings.


• Try hand sewing a few buttons onto your layouts as a great embellishment that won’t take over the page.


• Cut your patterned paper into shapes and sew them down around the outside edge. This will give the same effect as inking, by adding dissonance between the pattern in the paper and the cardstock.


• Use your sewing machine to attach a few pieces of fabric to your page. This fabric can be used with patterned paper or in place of it.

I hope you’ll try this fun and easy technique. One last hint is that it’s always best to adhere your paper or fabric to the cardstock before you start to sew so that it doesn’t slide around. It really is “sew simple”!

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