a thought on HAND STITCHING

Welcome! What a blessing to have each of you here and making the launch of t*t*d such a success!  Thank you!  This week we have a great thought for you, it is a thought on hand stitching the very popular trend that is popping up on so many layouts, and why not, it is beautiful, adds gorgeous texture and an inexpensive way to make your layouts exceptional!

Hand stitching has become prevalent in the paper crafts industry, seen often in scrapbooking and card making. It has been embraced in the paper craft community and is where we would like to direct our thoughts today.

Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is the fundamental process underlying a variety of textile arts and crafts, including embroidery, tapestry, quilting, appliqué and patchwork.
For thousands of years, all sewing was done by hand. The invention of the sewing machine in the 19th century and the rise of computerization in the later 20th century led to mass production of sewn objects, but hand sewing is still practiced around the world. Fine hand sewing is pursued by both textile artists and hobbyists as a means of creative expression.  
(source:  Wikipedia)

There are several ways to create designs for your stitches:  

• Pre-made templates that have designs you follow to pierce your holes   
• Anything you can use as a template: a die-cut, brass or masking template, a plate or even a child’s hand.
• Tools that create pierced patterns
• Freehand --- no pattern, just go for it and stitch, OR--

--draw your pattern directly on your paper lightly in pencil, then pierce & erase the marks.   

--print or draw on vellum and then use that as a guide and pierce through it onto your paper.

 Sample by Joni Parker

Sample by Steffanie Seiler

The most commonly used stitch in scrapbooking is a backstitch:

 

Photo credit: Sublime Stitching

However there are many other fun stitches you could try.

There are several “mediums” that you can use to create your stitches
Floss, thread, twine, ribbon, jute or even fun crazy stuff...like shoelaces!

So why would you use hand stitching on your scrapbook layout?  

• As an accent
• To add texture
• To outline
• To adhere things (ribbon, clear items, title letters, etc.)
• As a border, (whole page or around smaller items such as a photo, journal block, etc.)
• To create words on your page ( title, subtitle)
• To convey feelings

In addition, speaking of feelings, just what kind of feelings could stitching convey?  

• homespun, warmth, comfort, like your grandmother’s well-worn quilt
• whimsy and fun (pattern & color used)
 

Looking for video on how to make some of the speciality stitches?

Check out Needles 'n Thread's video collection

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Here are a few more thoughts on hand stitching from our Thoughtful Girls

                                                              

Colleen’s thought:  I love Hand-stitching on a layout, even if it is just a small bit since it adds so much detail and texture.  After I had paper and pictures down, I wanted to bring something similar to the red vertical strip over to the left page, so I added the red stitching just inside the die-cut.  I love to stitch over lines already on
the paper, so I used a combination of metallic and cream thread to stitch over the ornament string.  Finally, I generally write my journaling on strips, but I did not want to cover that much of the background paper, so I stitched my journal lines instead. This did not take away as much white space, giving the eye more space to rest.

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Jennifer's Thought:  When I thought of stitching, I thought of a quote from the author E.M. Forster: "Woven into the Robe of God". The quote comes from an essay that warns of the burdens of property, so this inspired a page about my boys' love of Legos, specifically new Legos. I pictured a robe weaving across the page, so I hand drew some lines, punched holes, and backstitched. I added embellishments/paper punches to each wave of the robe and stitched them together with different stitches. I think the result looks richly quilted, which was my intention. 

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Devra’s thought:  I love that stitching can add texture, that it can be subtle or bold and that it can very simply, change the whole look of my layout.  Since I stitch on my layouts regularly, I wanted to do something different this time.  One thought I got from an idea book was to stitch around die cut letters in a title. I thought about it a long time and came up with the idea of the rainbow, followed by the supporting words, and finally the photos to support the rest of the design.  The title came out bigger than I had anticipated, but it is supposed to be a focal point. I wound up over thinking everything else on this page, trying to get it perfect. I reminded myself that there is no such thing as perfect, and it all fell into place. I even found embellishments with stitching printed on them to play off the title. Lastly, I added the two buttons with thread to tie it all together. 

 

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Steffanie'sthought: I love hand-stitching on my scrapbook pages.  I usually do simple straight lines or maybe a zig-zag or a cross-stitch.   This time I got this idea to do some lines of grass using a template.  Before long, clouds and a kite popped into my head...and suddenly I was stitching the entire scene!  I don't think I have stitched many shapes before this.   My original plan was for some patterned paper strips beneath the photos.  But as I got going, I challenged myself to create my page without patterned paper.  Could I support the theme and look I wanted with just stitching?  I think I did!  It just goes to show, you can let hand-stitching do as little or as much as you want for your project!



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Carolyn’s thought: I must say this "thought" was a challenge for me. Hand stitching on a layout, this is a challenge for me as an artist. I have seen it done many times. I like the look, but the thought of stitching on paper really took me out of my comfort zone.  I chose to draw my title directly on white cardstock, piercing the holes by hand, and then stitching with black floss using a simple backstitch.  I have to say I was not pleased with the result and would have been happier had I made the title larger, it would have been easier to stitch.  After finding the green frame, I noticed the small circles and decided to add French Knots to add texture and mimic the black center of the flowers in the green pattern paper.  Although I chose to keep my stitching to a minimum on this layout, I will use this technique again. 

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Joni’s thought:  I approached this *thought with the intention to combine hand stitching with machine stitching.  I wanted to have a muted background so I began with canvas and using a 5x7 frame as a mask, misted the canvas.  I then machine stitched a clean simple border accent.  I created my scroll and title patterns with templates and hand stitched in the un-misted areas so the bright colors would really stand out.  I found the balloon transparency and thought that looked fun above the airy scroll pattern.   I was pleased at how the contrast of muted and bright colors along with the contrast of the machine and hand stitching helps convey the message of laughter and fun.

 

 

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We thought you might like to try some hand stitching on your next work of

He{art}.  If you do, we would love to see what you create.  Please share your work and thoughts with us using the Mr. Linky button.

 Be sure to join us on our facebook page. 

 

Comments

[Margie Van Evera]

Wow! I love all the layouts - everyone did an amazing job with the hand stitching. Can't wait to do this!

[Beth Hallgren]

Blown away by all your amazing layouts ladies!!! Beautiful examples of hand and machine stitching :)

[Amanda okanogangirl]

Wonderful inpsiration, and a great source of information as well!!

[photochic]

Awesome! I love everyone's projects! :)

[Devra]

Words taken out of my mouth...BLOWN AWAY by everyones LOs! Incredible Ladies!

[Ashley Horton]

I am all about some stitching!! Love each of the sample layouts for this thought!! Beautiful work, Ladies!

[Carolyn Ewy]

Wow! Great layouts and stitching ladies!

[Stephanie DiSabato]

Love all the different ways to add stitching on layouts!

[Cassie W]

I love stitching on my layouts. I have been doing a lot of stitching lately. I uploaded a layout I created for my design team, but it has a great stitching detail. Thanks for the great inspiration!

[ScrappinEweRobyn (Robyn)]

I tried to post my LO but could not figure it out............will play along when I get it. Thanks for everyones time and ideas!

[Gena McCauley]

I love hand-stitching on my pages. You all did a fabulous job showcasing this technique! Thanks for another wonderful challenge!