Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Happy Tuesday! :) My mother-in-law's birthday is today (Happy Birthday Katie!) and I wanted to send her a fun and unique card. So I thought about making a ribbon card, but decided I wanted to somehow incorporate a few bright and beautiful fabrics that she loves. I had heard of fabric postcards being done before, so I surfed around a bunch of different sites about fabric postcards. I found many different ways to do it, as well as different specifications and such that is required by the USPS. I put a bunch of different suggestions and thoughts together and came up with this way to make a fabric postcard. Yay!

Regulations and tips with sending a fabric postcard via USPS (found on a bunch of different sites):
+ Postcard must be 4" x 6" and no thicker than 1/8" *EDITED: Postcards can also be 5" x 7" - which means more room to write :) Thanks Elisa!!
+ It is probably a good idea to pay a little extra to have your postcard hand-canceled instead of risking it getting stuck in the machine that cancels them
+ A regular stamp will stick just fine in the corner, no glue or extra adhesive necessary
+ Put "POSTCARD" on the back at the top, to clarify, I guess :)
+ You can place the postcard in a clear envelope if you have embellishments that may fall off during transit (I have not tried this)

Supplies:
+ 2 pieces of heavyweight fusible interfacing - each 4" x 6"
+ 1 piece of white cotton fabric (I used heavy cotton quilting fabric) - 4.25" x 6.25" - I made the front and back pieces a little bigger to be able to trim down rough edges once the postcard was near finished
+ Fabric for the front of your postcard - I made a patchwork front! 4.25" x 6.25"

+ Iron-on transfer paper with your postcard back (message) printed onto it
- When making the back of the postcard on your computer document, be sure to make your document size 4"x6" and also be sure to set up your message on the left side and the address on the right side. I also put my return address in the upper left corner and put "POSTCARD" across the top.
- I left about 1/4" around the edges of the postcard back to be able to sew around the postcard at the end
- Make sure you print it mirror image so it will transfer correctly!
+ Or you can use a fabric pen to write your message
(I wrote on one of my other postcards - see the pink patchwork postcard below)
+ Rotary cutter & mat or scissors
+ Ruler
+ 2 sewing pins

+ Sewing machine & thread
Following the directions included in the iron-on sheets package, iron the postcard back transfer onto the white piece of fabric. Be sure that it is positioned correctly and that text is not falling off the edge (I almost did that, oops). Probably also a good idea to trim around your text area (I didn't do that so I could reuse the rest of the sheet later on), so you don't iron on extra transfer material stuff (which I did, oops).
It will now look something like this:
Next, iron one sheet of the heavyweight fusible interfacing to the back of the postcard front.
It will look something like this:
Now, iron on the other piece of heavyweight fusible interfacing to the back of the postcard back. I used a scrap piece of material to cover it while ironing to be sure I wouldn't mess up the transfer I had just ironed on.
The back of the postcard is under the polka dot fabric. :)
If you also printed out a message to go on the front, go ahead and stitch that to the front (you can also do this before ironing the interfacing on).Now you have two pieces like this:
Pin the two pieces together with right sides facing out.
Trim off excess.
Now you're almost finished! Stitch around the edges to finish. You can use a zigzag stitch or a decorative stitch. I used a straight stitch and went around the postcard 3 times to add a decorative feel.
VoilĂ ! A fabric postcard!
What a fun way to send snail mail! :)

*Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a decorative pillow or Le Creuset Baking Dishes!

15 comments:

  1. Very cool!!! You are so good at keeping up with this blog, too!

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  2. These are adorable. Im going to have to make some! =)

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  3. I too have been making postcards as of late. I looked at different sites as well and read that they can either be 4x6 or 5x7. I stuck to the 5x7 size as it gives more room to write. I also sent them out and they arrived without any problems. Yours are very cool and origional...very beautiful. Have a great day.

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  4. You made that sound so easy that I think I could do it! Now all I need is a sewing machine. HaHa Maybe one day when I find a free one on Craigslist I will give it a try.

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  5. Amazing, oh so cute!!!

    Hey, so I completely made over my blog. You should take a second look!! Thanks!
    www.cherishscupoftea.blogspot.com
    ((Don't forget to follow))
    {{I'm already a follower of yours}}

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  6. These are just darling! I'll be linking in my Saturday Week in Review!

    Joanne @ Ready, Set, Craft!
    www.readysetcraft.blogspot.com

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  7. Super fun idea. I think using pinking shears around the "happy birthday" note, around the whole postcard, or on other applique parts would make it look like a postage stamp which would be cute.

    Yoshi (libertunity from Swapbot)

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  8. uhm, yeah, my birthday is Jan 4th so plenty of time... *grin*... seriously adorable and thanks for the tutorial!
    collagecafe04 from Swapbot

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  9. so nice! i like it! ;-) Great job

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  10. Love these! I'm in a worldwide postcard club and must try these!

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  11. I loved and I pointed out in here and there today :)

    http://rafaribeiiro.blogspot.com.br/2012/04/daqui-e-dali-16.html

    Kisses inspiring to you ♥

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  12. I have to make this kind of postcard. I do love snail mail. Thank for the idea

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