Scrapbook Plus: Technique Tuesday- Sewing on Layouts 101

I'm not an expert but I would like to share what I know about sewing in layouts. Last week I was at the store and I was talking to some awesome ladies about the stitching in the layouts of this month's kit and one of the layouts of the March Kit of the Month. We were talking about tricks and tools and I decided to make this Technique Tuesday all about stitching and sewing.

I'm going to start with Stitching on Layouts with the Sewing Machine.

 *Always use a piece of scrap paper to test the machine. I do it every time because machines can be tricky.

*Keep the speed slow to avoid messing up and to control the paper specially in layouts.

* When sewing a thick layer (thick cardstock, chipboard, many layers of papers or ribbon on paper) always use the hand wheel on the side. If you are not sure of how thick is your layer, just use the hand wheel to avoid having your needle break.

*Don't make the stitches incredibly short because it can make your project tear.

*When you cut the thread leave a 1/2 inch form the paper. Then all you have to do is pull the thread on the back and the one in the front will come out of the back leaving a clean look.

*I always secure my stitches on the back with tape.

*When you want to go all around a page (like the one below) and you reach a corner move the needle almost as if you were going to do another stitch and then turn to really make a 90 degree angle.

 

 I made this layout with the April Kit of The Month using the Trend Setter Line from Fancy Pants.

 I love that stitching sometimes gives the illusion that is holding elements but of course is not. Don't forget to pick up the Ephemera pack where you will find cool die cuts like this hand, the key and the flower on the top.

 The kit also has cool buttons like the flower button and the pink button. See the effect of sewing in the triangles? It gives them some sense of unity.

 Lately I am addicted to enamel dots and you can find them in the My Mind's Eye Section of Scrapbook Plus in a variety of cool colors.

 Now let's talk about hand stitching. It looks great and is easy but it can be very time consuming. But there are a lot of tools out there to help you out. For my Beach Babe layout from last month's kit I used the Sew Easy. I love my tools and the Sew Easy is one of my favorites ever!! You can buy this little handle and  it will make the pattern to make a straight line but you can also buy the heads separate for other really cool styles. Do not forget the pad!! If you forget the pad underneath the paper the piercer won't work because it needs some cushion. I use tape to hold the end of the thread here too.

 

 Up next we have templates!! For my next layout I used the ones from Amy Tangerine.

  

 The Amy Tan Templates comes with a small protective mat, a piercer, 3 needles and 3 threads (pink, turquoise and yellow). Always have a few needles available, you can get a pack of them at Scrapbook Plus in the sewing section.

  On this layout I used the templates on a few layers so instead of using the piercer I used push pins to go through 4-6 layers of paper. I just needed something sharper to get to the back.

 I used one of the Fancy Pants Frames to write the journaling inside.

 For the stitching in the layout I used the thread that comes with the Amy Tangerine Embroidery Stencil Kit.

 I hope you enjoyed this post!!

If you have any questions just leave me a message in the comment section!!

Take Care!!

Jennie