A Stitched Note for Dad

Today is a two-for-one (to make up for my dismal lack of consistent posting). When you're finished here, I'm guest posting at Navy Blue Shoe. Olga is lovely and I hope you'll pop over and say hello!

I had wanted to post this before Father's Day, but I couldn't be sure my husband wouldn't see it, as he's a frequent reader of this blog. It's not a new idea. I originally saw this stitched love note, swooned over it, and immediately recognized there was no way I'd be hand stitching an entire piece of notebook paper. Call me lazy. But then I found a piece of printed linen and the idea came back to life for me.

My son decided that he wanted to write a letter to his dad for Father's Day, so I marked off the lines on a piece of plain paper and had him write his letter on that. Then I took an excerpt from that letter, transferred it to the fabric using tracing paper and stitched it. 

I don't have a lot of embroidery experience (okay, virtually none), but it was surprisingly easy to do, especially with a child's printing. And while this was a sweet Father's Day gift, I think it's a fun idea for any time of the year, even if it's just to capture something funny or endearing your child has said, preserved in his own handwriting. 

The fabric I used doesn't seem to be available anymore, but I've found other products and links for you to assist in creating your own version. Also, here's the step-by-step. Forgive me for not publishing a photo tutorial, but I trust that I'm giving you enough information that you won't need it at all.

 

Materials:

Notebook paper fabric (see directions below)
Iron and ironing board
Masking tape
Plain white paper
Ruler
Pencil and pen
Tracing paper for embroidery patterns
Embroidery hoop
Needle
Embroidery floss or DMC Cotton Perle Thread #5 (I used the cotton perle thread because I wanted a slightly chunkier, rougher look to complement the handwriting. I found it right next to the embroidery floss.)
Iron and ironing board
Scissors
Canvas panel or other method of finishing
Staple gun (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Create your fabric base (and here are a number of options for you):

• Make your own printed notebook paper fabric (tutorial and notebook paper download from The Gunny Sack)
• Machine stitch a notebook page (tutorial from Ol' Stitcheroo)
• Purchase another style of notebook fabric - a writing tablet print (from Timeless Treasures' The Pixie Pops Collection, available from multiple sources, including EQuilter)

2. Once you have your fabric base, iron it and tape the corners to a flat surface. Place a piece of plain paper over the fabric and use your ruler to mark off the corresponding lines on the paper (this will leave you with a piece of paper that's lined exactly like your fabric). 

3. Have your child write on the plain piece of paper.

4. Place a piece of embroidery tracing paper carbon side down on the piece of fabric. Place the paper, face up, over the tracing paper and make sure the lines of the paper and the fabric match up. Use a ballpoint pen to trace over the letters on the paper. This will transfer the design to the fabric.

5. Working in small sections, place your fabric in the embroidery hoop and follow the transferred design, using a simple back stitch or the stitch of your choice (tutorial for the back stitch from CraftStylish).

6. When you're finished, iron your embroidered fabric to remove any wrinkles or impressions from the embroidery hoop. Finish as desired (you can line it with another piece of fabric and sew it together to create a heavyweight paper of "paper," you can frame it, or you can wrap it around a canvas, stapling it to the back, or you can wrap it around a flat canvas panel and tape or glue it down in the back (if you want it to look tidy, you can cover the raw edges with a thin ribbon, decorative tape, or a larger piece of felt that covers the entire back).

 

***Don't forget - head over to Navy Blue Shoe!

Comments

[Suzonne]

Thanks, Cassi! I appreciate that!

[Cassi]

I think this is such a sweet keepsake and great idea! I have featured it on The Crafty Crow today!

[Suzonne]

Thanks, Leah!

[Leah]

Love this! Thanks for sharing your sweet idea! :)

[teresa granath]

Oh goodness, this is DARLING!

[Peaches]

This is sooooooo cute! What a darling keepsake for your husband (and for your son when he grows up...maybe even show to kids of his own). I am in the same boat with embroidery -- love it but I'm short on skillz. Kids writing might be a good intro. Have you seen these? http://www.regretsy.com/2012/05/24/embroidered-kanye-west-tweets-by-supervelma/ ...When is Hudson getting a twitter account?