How To - Embroidery on Paper - Fundamentals

How To - Embroidery on Paper - Fundamentals

by Stephen Wilson in fundamentals



ANITA GOODESIGN | Anita's Tutorials

Embroidery on Paper

Stitch one-of-a-kind cards — far more special than store-bought



SKILL LEVEL

Beginner Friendly

HOOPINGS

Single Hooping

TECHNIQUE

Paper Embroidery



Embroidering on paper is a neat technique that involves machine stitching onto card stock or scrapbook paper. Each card-related embroidery design offers a placement stitch for the base paper product — usually a blank 5" x 7" card. Some designs also include a base fabric that is applied over the front of the card, adding extra dimension and a handmade feel.


You can also glue or spray-adhere a decorative paper to the inside of your card to conceal the bobbin stitches. Create a mixture of fun holiday or birthday cards using this technique — and rest assured they'll be far more special than any store-bought card!



MATERIALS LIST

◆ Tear-Away stabilizer

◆ 5" x 7" blank card or cardstock

◆ Cotton base fabric

◆ Embroidery threads

◆ Curved-tip embroidery scissors

◆ Embroidery tape

◆ Embroidery hoop

◆ 75/11 embroidery needle



Step

1

Hoop Your Stabilizer

To begin, hoop a piece of Tear-Away stabilizer, pulling it drum-tight in the hoop. This stabilizer is the foundation that supports every stitch, so make sure there's no slack or puckering before you start.




Step

2

Run the Placement Stitch

Run the first machine step. This stitches a placement outline directly onto the stabilizer, showing you exactly where to position your card in the next step.




Step

3

Position Your Card

Lay your blank card right side up over the placement stitch, lining it up inside the stitched outline. A few small pieces of embroidery tape will hold the cardstock steady while it stitches. Watch the orientation carefully — if you're using a card that opens, make sure the front of the card is the side laid into the placement stitches.




Step

4

Tack Down the Card

Run the next machine step to tack the cardstock securely to the stabilizer, then gently peel away any tape you used. This tacking outline also marks exactly where to lay your base fabric in the next step.




Step

5

Add the Base Fabric

Lay your base fabric right side up over the front of the card, making sure it covers the card's front on all sides. Run the next tacking stitch to lock the fabric in place over the card.




Step

6

Trim the Excess Fabric

Using a pair of curved-tip embroidery scissors, carefully trim away the excess fabric right up to the tacking stitch line. Take your time and avoid clipping the stitches — clean trimming here gives your finished card a neat, professional edge.




Step

7

Check Your Trimming

Once trimmed, your base fabric should look like this — a clean panel of fabric tacked neatly within the stitched outline, ready for the decorative embroidery.




Step

8

Stitch the Decorative Design

Following your design's numbered machine steps, change thread colors as indicated and run the remaining decorative embroidery. Watch the design come to life across the fabric front of your card.




Step

9

Remove and Flip

Once the machine has finished stitching, remove the design from the hoop. Flip the card over so the back side is facing up, ready for cleanup.




Step

10

Trim the Back

Use your curved-tip scissors to trim along the edge stitching on the back of the design, removing all the excess stabilizer for a clean, tidy reverse side.




Step

11

Finished Card

Your embroidered card is now finished! The fabric-fronted design gives it a beautiful handmade, dimensional look that's ready to gift or display.




💡 PRO TIP

To finish the inside of your card, hot-glue or spray-adhere a piece of festive or themed scrapbook paper or cardstock over the back. This neatly conceals the bobbin stitches and gives your card a polished, store-quality finish.



Your Embroidered Card Is Complete!

Once you make one, you'll want to stitch a whole set — mix colors, designs, and papers to make every card your own.


Download Files

Embroidery on Paper | Anita's Tutorials | Anita Goodesign

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How To - Folded Fabric - Fundamentals

How To - Folded Fabric - Fundamentals

ANITA GOODESIGN | Anita's Tutorials Folded Fabric Crisp edges and a seamless finish — one fold at a time SKILL LEVEL Intermediate HOOPINGS Single Hooping TECHNIQUE Folded Fabric Folded fabric is a technique we love for the stunning visual effects it creates. With very little effort you can achieve clean, crisp edges and a seamless, professional-looking finish. The technique is wonderfully versatile — use it inside appliqués the way you would traditional paper piecing, as borders in your quilting collections, or even as the main design element of a block. Every folded fabric design is digitized around three key machine steps: a placement stitch that shows exactly where the fabric will sit, a folding stitch that creates the clean folded edge, and a tacking stitch that locks the fabric securely in place. Follow along with the tutorial below and you'll always know which direction your fabric needs to be placed. 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Step 3 Place the Batting Place a piece of batting over the squaring stitches, making sure you completely cover the stitched outline on all four sides. It is fine for the batting to extend a little past the line — you will trim it precisely in a later step. Step 4 Run the Batting Tacking Stitch Your next machine step is the tacking stitch for the batting. This step stitches the batting down and locks it firmly to the stabilizer underneath. Step 5 Trim the Excess Batting Using a sharp pair of curved-tip embroidery scissors, carefully trim away any excess batting outside the tacking stitch. Cut as close to the stitch line as you comfortably can, taking care not to clip the stitches themselves. Step 6 Run the Base Fabric Placement Stitch Once trimmed, your batting block should look like this — neat and tacked inside the outline. Now proceed to run the next machine step, which is the placement stitch for your block's base fabric. 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You will notice this placement stitch overlaps a small portion of the fabric you laid down last — that overlapped area of stitches is intentional and will help guide your placement. Step 16 Lay the Folded Fabric Face Down Lay your fabric right side facing down, aligning its edge so it covers the spot where the placement stitch overlapped the last piece of fabric, as shown. NOTE: Be sure your fabric is cut large enough to cover the entire placement stitch area before you fold it back. Step 17 Run the Folding Stitch The next machine step is the folding stitch. This single line of stitching is what gives folded fabric its signature crisp, clean edge. Step 18 Fold and Press the Fabric Now fold the fabric back over the folding stitch line, pulling it taut and pressing the fold firmly with your finger. You can run a piece of embroidery tape along the edge to help hold the fold in place until the tacking stitch is complete. 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Step 24 Run the Border Folding Stitch Then run the next machine step, which is the folding stitch for the border. As before, this creates the clean folded edge for your border strip. Step 25 Fold and Crease the Border Fold your border fabric up and over the folding stitch line, giving it a good firm finger crease. You may place a piece of tape along the edges if needed to hold the fabric taut against the folding stitch. Step 26 Tack the First Border Using a thread color that matches your border fabric, run the tacking stitch for the first folded fabric border. Once it is secured, your first border is complete and you can remove any tape you used to hold it. Step 27 Repeat for the Opposite Border Repeat the same folding and tacking steps for the opposing side's folded fabric border. STOP once both the top and bottom borders are tacked down. Step 28 Trim the Excess Fabric Tabs Now use your scissors to trim away the excess fabric tabs from the left and right sides of your first two borders, as shown. NOTE: This is a vital step in folded fabric borders — trimming these tabs keeps your machine's foot from catching on loose fabric when it travels around for the left and right placement stitches. Step 29 Check the Trimmed Borders Once you have finished trimming the excess tabs of fabric, you should have something that looks like this — two clean, tacked borders with tidy corners. Step 30 Complete the Remaining Borders Repeat the same three-step folded fabric process — fold, crease, tack — for the remaining borders until all of them are complete and your block is fully framed. Step 31 Remove and Trim the Block When the design has finished running, remove it from the embroidery hoop. Using a ruler and rotary cutter, trim your block to a 1/2" seam allowance on all four sides. 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How To - Tile Scene - Fundamentals

How To - Tile Scene - Fundamentals

ANITA GOODESIGN | Anita’s Tutorials Tile Scene Build a stunning multi-block scene — one block at a time SKILL LEVEL Beginner Friendly HOOPINGS Single Hooping TECHNIQUE Appliqué & Piecing A Tile Scene is a single piece of original artwork that has been divided up and digitized across several quilt blocks. You stitch each block on its own, then piece them back together so the separate panels reunite into one complete picture — in this tutorial, a charming bumblebee. Anita Goodesign has crafted many tile scenes over the years, from quaint cottages and gentle nods to nature to more ornate scenes. Whatever theme you choose, the technique is the same, and the payoff is a beautiful stitched scene you will be proud to display. 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How To - Cutwork - Fundamentals

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ANITA GOODESIGN | Anita’s Tutorials Cutwork Fundamentals Master the art of cutwork embroidery — one window at a time SKILL LEVEL Beginner Friendly HOOPINGS Single Hooping TECHNIQUE Cutwork Cutwork embroidery is a technique where certain areas of your project’s base fabric are removed, or cut out, to create a striking negative-space effect. Cutwork designs include a special marking stitch, so you always know exactly which areas need to be trimmed. The key is leaving your Wash-Away stabilizer intact beneath the fabric you trim, giving the open windows a surface to stabilize against until the design is finished. A quick rinse in hot water then dissolves the remaining stabilizer, leaving a stunning series of “windows” peeking through your fabric — a wonderful, low-density way to add detail to clothing and linens alike. MATERIALS LIST ◆ Wash-Away stabilizer ◆ Base fabric ◆ Appliqué fabric ◆ Embroidery threads ◆ Coordinating bobbin thread ◆ Curved-tip embroidery scissors ◆ Ruler ◆ Rotary cutter and mat ◆ Embroidery hoop ◆ 75/11 embroidery needle Step 1 Hoop the Stabilizer Begin by hooping a piece of Wash-Away stabilizer together with your base fabric, pulling both layers drum-tight so there is no slack. The stabilizer sits underneath and supports the open areas you’ll cut later. (In this example, the base fabric is blue cotton.) Step 2 Run the Marking Stitch Run the first machine step. This is the special marking stitch, and it stitches an outline that shows you exactly where the cutwork openings of the design will be — think of it as a map for the trimming you’re about to do. Step 3 Slice Into the Base Fabric Using a seam ripper or curved-tip embroidery scissors, gently slice into the base fabric inside the marked area. Cut through the top fabric only, taking care not to nick or puncture the Wash-Away stabilizer underneath, since it needs to stay intact to support the window. Step 4 Cut Out the Fabric Once you have an opening, use your scissors to carefully cut away all of the base fabric that sits inside the marking stitches. Trim close to the stitched line for clean edges, again leaving the stabilizer below untouched. Step 5 Check Your Window Once trimmed, your cutwork window should look like this. Notice that the Wash-Away stabilizer is still fully intact inside the opening — that intact layer is what holds the window stable while the rest of the design stitches out. Step 6 Stitch the Cutwork Edges Run the next machine step. This is the specially digitized stitching that wraps and secures the raw fabric edges around each window, finishing them neatly and creating the signature cutwork look. Step 7 Run the Appliqué Placement Stitch Continue to the next machine step, which stitches a placement outline for your first standard appliqué. This light outline shows you exactly where to lay your appliqué fabric in the following step. Step 8 Place the Appliqué Fabric Place your appliqué fabric right side up over the placement outline, making sure it extends past the stitched line on all sides so the entire outline is covered. Smooth it flat before moving on. Step 9 Tack Down the Appliqué Run the next machine step — a tacking stitch that holds the appliqué fabric firmly in place against the design. This locks the fabric down so it won’t shift when you trim it. Step 10 Trim the Appliqué Now carefully trim away the excess appliqué fabric, cutting close to the tacking stitches without clipping them. Once trimmed, the design will look like this, with the appliqué shape neatly revealed. Step 11 Stitch the Decorative Details Continue on to run the decorative embroidery steps. Follow your design’s numbered machine steps in order, changing thread colors whenever the design calls for it, to build up the finished detail. Step 12 Finish All Machine Steps When every machine step is complete, your design should look something like this — the cutwork windows, appliqué, and decorative stitching all finished together inside the hoop. Step 13 Trim to Size With the stitching finished, remove the project from the hoop. Using a rotary cutter and ruler, trim the piece down to your desired finished dimensions, keeping your cuts straight and even. Step 14 Rinse Away the Stabilizer Rinse the finished design in hot water to dissolve any remaining Wash-Away stabilizer. As it washes away, the open cutwork windows are revealed. Press gently with a dry towel and lay the piece flat to dry. Step 15 Your Cutwork Is Complete You’ve now created a beautiful cutwork design! The crisp open windows and layered appliqué are ready to show off on a garment, pillow, or linen of your choice. 💡 PRO TIP The secret to clean cutwork is to leave your Wash-Away stabilizer completely intact beneath the areas you trim. Always cut the base fabric only, never the stabilizer below — it supports the open windows while you stitch, then rinses away at the end to reveal crisp, professional edges. Your Cutwork Design Is Complete! Rinse, press, and admire the windows you’ve created — then add elegant cutwork detail to garments and linens alike. Download Files Cutwork Fundamentals | Anita’s Tutorials | Anita Goodesign

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