Stitch your Story tutorial

On the afternoon of the 19th, I spent a fun three hours with participants from as far away as Maryland, USA, stitching postcard-sized stories. Facilitating the workshop was part of the artist residency agreement, but it was more fun than "work".  Participants had the option of simply stitching their story, or adding fabric applique shapes to their stitched stories.

The intention was to record the workshop and then pare down the 3-hour video to a manageable size for viewing. In all excitement of setting up and getting ready, I neglected to toggle the "record microphone" switch, so, although the participants could hear what I had to say, there is little there (actually, nothing there) of my voice to share with all of you.

HOWEVER - Jen did a great introduction, along with thanks to the supporting partners and information about the artist in residence program at Omineca Arts Centre.

I took lots of pictures and offer them to you as a picture (rather than video) tutorial. Enjoy!

Stitch your Story

There are many ways to stitch your story. For this workshop we stayed with hand stitching and very basic stitches: running stitch, back stitch, stem stitch. There are tutorials online for stitch techniques if you are not familiar with them.

Supplies:

You'll need fabric, glue stick, scissors, embroidery floss, needles, pins, tissue paper, pencil and paper, interfacing or stiff card stock, and thin batting or felt.

Here are the layers we'll use, from back to front of the card:

• 2 pieces white fabric for backing (4" x 6" - standard postcard size)
• 2 pieces stiff interfacing (4" x 6") or thin cardstock slightly smaller than 4" x 6"
  
• felt or batting slightly larger than 4" x 6"
• Background fabric for the front of your card, slightly larger than 4" x 6"
• Fabric scraps of various colours (optional) for applique
  

I like to use embroidery floss that is 6-stranded. I can separate strands and use 1, 2, 4, or 6 strands, depending on how thick or strong I would like my stitching lines to be.

Method:

On your paper, draw a 4" x 6" square and plan your design. Don't make it too complicated, or the shapes too tiny.

Trace your pattern onto a piece of tissue paper. remember to trace the outside edges, as well.

Use another piece of tissue paper to trace patterns of applique shapes. These are the shapes you will cut out of the scrap fabric and collage onto the background.

Cut out those shapes and glue them to your background fabric. If you choose to simply stitch your picture, skip this step and the next one.

Pin the felt or batting to the back of your background fabric and stitch around the edges of your applique shapes. I used a running stitch here, but you could also use a whip stitch or a buttonhole stitch.

Pin your tissue pattern over the front of your card and stitch through the lines you drew and through the batting/felt. I used a stem stitch for my #heartsofpg lines.

Once all of your lines are stitched, gently peel away the tissue paper.

Add more stitched details, as you like (this is from a different postcard)

Once you've finished the front, it is time to work on the back of the postcard. Set aside the front for now.

Layer together the white 4" x 6" piece of fabric and the two pieces of interfacing or light card stock. Mark your postcard lines.

Stitch those lines. Once you've done that, put the back and front of the postcard together (wrong sides together) and baste the edges with a running stitch.

Trim your postcard to 4" x 6".

Use your favourite edge stitch to finish your postcard. Will you use a buttonhole stitch, a whip stitch, or pull out your sewing machine for 3 or 4 rounds of zig zag stitch?