Monday, April 4th, 2011
If you’re stitching the Going, Going, Gone! Bookmark pattern as we did, on a Tokens & Trifles Trinkets Star Card, here are illustrated instructions for finishing.
Embroidered Baseball Bookmark
The Going, Going, Gone! kit contains all the materials needed to complete a bookmark like this.
After stitching the star, if you have your own idea about how you’d like to finish your bookmark, yay! Go for it!
Step 1: Cut star from tape
Using the “empty” Tokens and Trifles Trinkets™ card as a stencil, trace the star shape onto the white side of the Treasure Tape™ sheet and cut it out. Save your tape scraps! We’re going to use them later.
Step 2: Adhere Tape to Backing
Note which point of the star points up, then peel away the white paper backing on the tape and press the tape star to the white card backing. Cut around the pink star shape.
You remember which point is up, right?
Step 3: Add Tape Scraps to Ribbon
With the top point pointing up, peel away the pink layer from the tape and center the ribbon on the backing with a long tail on top and a short tail on the bottom,* front side of the ribbon (if there is a front side) facing up.
Using tape scraps (which you saved, right?), cut pieces to stick on the front side of the ribbon where it will adhere to the needlework along the edge of the star. Here’s where an image comes in handy.
It’s hard to see in the picture because the pink protective layer on the tape blends with the red ribbon, but note the arrows pointing to the two outlined shapes. Those are scraps of tape that I cut and adhered to the front side of the ribbon. I don’t worry about the middle of the ribbon; I want tape to seal the edges of the star. I used the Trinkets card as a stencil to get a perfect fit along the edge.
*Choices
How your orient the ribbon is up to you and how you plan to use the bookmark. You might want the ribbon to extend beyond the top of the star only (no short tail below the star), or you might want the long tail extending from the bottom.
A long tail from the bottom of the star means the star has to stand straight up from the book to be right-side-up. A long tail from the top of the star means the star has to drape over the book to be right-side-up. Think of the ribbon doing a U-turn: it goes up between the pages in the book then turns around and hangs down over the book. (See the picture below.)
Step 4: Press Embroidery to Backing
Taking care to match the edges, press the back of the stitched star onto the taped ribbon and backing. Trim card edges as needed, and trim ribbon edges. If you want, dab a bit of glue on the cut ribbon edges to prevent fraying.
Ta-da! You’re done! Wasn’t that easy and fun?
Ideas to Spare, Ideas to Share
Right now, the bookmark back is blank. The white card surface is a great place to personalize the bookmark with the recipient’s name, your own, and/or a note.
Or maybe you’d like to decoupage the back with pictures of your favorite team or players, or with bits cut from a game program. It’s probably a good idea to do this before you adhere the needlework; you don’t want to get decoupage glue on the needlework, unless, of course, you want to decoupage the front as well as the back.
Or maybe you want to take the bookmark or backing to a Stitch N’ Pitch game and get autographs of your favorite players!
Or, or, or…something else. You tell me.
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
Not a fan of dangling bookmarks? Fine. You can still craft hand-stitched bookmarks that mark a place in the book and keep the needlework outside the book where it’s visible. What is this marvel of modern stitchery? The bookband.
Embroidery + Elastic = Bookband
Turn just about any bit of finished needlework into a bookband by adding elastic cord to make a loop. I used a Funk & Weber Designs Embroider Me! bracelet that was awaiting beads and a clasp and a recycled 1/16″ gold cord, probably off of a gift package.
Use a giant tapestry needle to open two holes on either end of the bracelet. Make the holes large enough so that you don’t need to thread the 1/16″ cord onto a needle, but can hand-feed it through the holes. I used my yarn-sized tapestry needle.
The loop, needlework plus cord, is about 16″ in diameter. I’d go smaller for mass market adult books.
Secure Cord
I found the elastic cord didn’t knot very well, so I tightly wrapped the cut end to the loop with some of the size 8 pearl cotton I used on the bracelet.
If you’re a beader, you might use a large crimp bead or tube or use wire to wrap the two legs of the cord together.
I dabbed glue on the cut ends of the cord to keep the metallic gold covering from fraying.
Front and Back
Because we finish the back sides of our bracelets with pretty stitching, the bookband becomes more or less reversible. Cool, eh?
Ta Da!
The elastic band marks the page while the needlework remains snug against the cover, visible but not dangling.
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
Several of the Funk & Weber Designs Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy cross stitch bookmark pattern models are two-sided. They don’t have to be, of course; both sides can be stitched and finished alone. However, if you want a two-sided bookmark, this tutorial demonstrates one finishing method.
Step 1
Stitch front and back designs on fabric. Backstitch over 4 threads around the perimeter of each with size 8 pearl cotton. Trim front and back pieces 1/2 inch beyond the backstitching.
Step 2
Finger press hem toward back side of needlework. If you’ve used a pulled backstitch, it’s probably enough to finger press the fabric. A hot iron works, too.
Align the front and back fabrics, wrong sides together. Think sandwich: the backstitches are the crust.
Step 3
Begin in a bottom corner. Match the backstitches from the two fabrics, and whip them together. (Not sure what a whip stitch is? Slip your needle upward, under the bottom backstitch, then under the top backstitch, being sure not to catch any fabric. You’re picking up the backstitches only.) Leave a 4- to 6-inch tail on your working thread to secure later. If you’re adding the optional beads, now’s the time. I added a bead to each whip stitch. You can add them to every other stitch, every third stitch, etc.
Step 4
Now bring your needle up through the next two backstitches, and on and on and on. How simple is that?! If you’re not using beads, your working thread will look a bit like a rope as it spirals around the backstitches. If you’re using beads, you won’t see the working thread very well.
Step 5
When you’ve whipped two sides of the bookmark, stop! If you’re adding batting, do it now. I measured the length and width of my bookmark along the backstitch lines then cut a piece of felt slightly smaller than those dimensions. The felt gives the piece a soft pillowy feel, hides the internal hem, and prevents the back side from being seen through the front. You know how you can sort of see the printing on the back side of a two-sided document? Well, you can sometimes see the needlework on the back side of a two-sided piece. If you don’t want a pillow effect, try a thin piece of fabric instead—maybe muslin or the same fabric you used to stitch the piece.
Step 6
Continue whipping the backstitches together until you reach the center top. Stop! Instead of attaching a bead here, attach a split ring or ribbon. I tend to attach a split ring even if I’m using a ribbon instead of a hook. I tie the ribbon to the split ring. A large ribbon will require a larger split ring. Take extra stitches through the ring or ribbon to secure it.
Step 7
Finish whipping all the backstitches, joining to the backstitches where you started. Don’t forget the bead on the last stitch if using beads.
Step 8
Tie the thread ends together in a secure knot (square knot works great), then hide the thread tails inside the hem, between the two layers.
Congratulations–you and your cross stitched bookmark are finished!
Jan teaches Riley to stitch a bookmark during a Stitching for Literacy outreach program at an Anchorage Public Library.
