Post Cards

How I Make Postcards.

Post cards are a great way to sample new things.  I especially like to try new surface design techniques.  A fat 1/8^th of fabric will make 3 postcards.  I have been doing some sun prints with maple leaves and fabric paint this summer.  What about using childrens’ art work as a jumping off point?  Adding seed beads, buttons, ribbons, lace, stitches and other embellishments are possibilities.

You can think of a post card as a little quilt, a chance to work in mixed media, or a piece of fiber art. There are lots of tutorials and videos on line with ways to make postcards.  Just type fabric postcards into a search engine. Here are 2 I have read. http://killerbeedesigns.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/general-fabric-postcard-killer-bee-designs.pdf     http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/fabric_postcard.htm 

There are some considerations specific to postcards and I have some hints that may help.  

1.  To send a post card through the mail it must be what Canada Post calls a postcard.

Canada Post says postcards have minimum dimensions of 140mm x 90mm (5.6 x 3.6 inches) with thickness between 1.8 mm (0.007inches) and 20 mm or (0.8 inches).  I have used a maximum thickness of ¼ inch including embellishments.  Anything that is a not standard size usually requires extra postage.  Information from Canada Post is at https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGletterml-e.asp#1392028 

2. Materials to use.

1. Batting layer.  Most books and tutorials about postcards recommend a heavy interfacing e.g. Pelltex, Timtex etc. as the batting layer.  It gives the post card a nice stiffness but is hard to hand stitch through.

I prefer to use a scrap of batting and add a layer or two of a heavy non woven interfacing to stiffen my post card at the end.  This can sometimes act as the back of the postcard as well.

2. Front of the postcard.   I choose fabric for the front of my postcard and cut it about 5 x 7 inches and mark the 4 x 6 inch lines so I don’t let my design wander off the post card.  I decide if I need to add an interfacing to it as a stabilizer. This may be a heavy interfacing or a lighter one.  It depends on what kind of stitching I am planning.  A light interfacing is better for hand stitching or a small amount of machine applique but a  heavy one works better for thread painting by machine.

1. Quilting.  I add whatever I am using for batting and add some quilting, usually without a backing layer.  
2. Finishing .   The backing must allow the name, address and message to be written on it.  I use plain pale coloured cotton, heavy interfacing or stiff card.  It should hide any stitching so as not to interfere with the writing.  The edge finishing is usually satin stitch, zig zag stitch or a blanket  stitch done by machine.  I use a few dabs from a glue stick to hold the backing in place while I trim the card to size and finish the edges.  If you choose to do a zig zag stitch around the edge of your post card try to position the edge of the card in the center of the foot so the zig half the stitch is on the card and the zag  half is off the card.  

I usually sign my post cards with a fine tip pen as small as I can write across the bottom edge of the back with “hand made by Sandra Hamilton”.  Or I initial or sign the front.

Have fun making post cards.  If you want to practice try some Christmas ones All you need is a piece of Christmas fabric and a bit of glitz.  

 I usually ask for my postcard to be hand cancelled at the post office.  It leads to some interesting conversations.

The postcards above are for the EDQG brown bag raffle tomorrow night.  I hope we have a successful raffle.  It is to raise money to endow scholarships at the U of A.  

The Edmonton and District Quilt Guild is having what we call a brown bag raffle to raise money for the scholarships we endow at the University of Alberta's School of Human Ecology.  For anyone asking what a brown bag raffle is, it is one of those raffles where one puts the ticket one has bought in the "brown bag" next to the prize one wants to win
This years raffle is asking members to make a set of 3 fabric post cards to be used as the prizes.  To help in this effort I have written up the way I make postcards and here it is.

Postcards and some thoughts on how to make them.

Post cards are fun to make and a great place to try new things, use up little bits of left over fabric that are too pretty to throw away and to add embellishments.

This is how I make post cards and why I do it my way. Search fabric post cards on line to find lots of tutorials, other advice and to see some interesting post cards.

1.  To send a post card through the mail it must be what Canada Post calls a post card.

Canada Post says postcards are a minimum dimension of  140mm x 90mm (5.6 x 3.6 inches) with a thickness no less than 18 mm (0.007inches).  The maximum thickness in 20 mm or (0.8 inches)  According to my notes from a couple of years ago Canada Post gave 0.2 inches as the standard acceptable thickness.  The 0.8 inches is from the table where it says maximum acceptable and I would guess the extra postage might apply so lets stick to 0.2 inches.  It needs to be stiff enough to withstand processing without difficulty.  That is actually been given a limit to the amount of sag.  So “The Great Canadian Snapshot” size of 4 X 6 inches meets the post office requirement .  It requires the same stamp as a letter.  To look at the regulation yourself go here https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGletterml-e.asp#1392028


Most books and tutorials about postcards recommend a heavy interfacing  e..g. Pelltex, Timtex etc.  I am not fond of them because they are hard to hand embellish and I find they can be expensive especially if you get the ones with glue on both sides.  So what do I use.
Top layer  Fabric of whatever suits my intended design or happens to be falling out of a box or needs a new home.  This is a good place to use things that can't go in a functional quilt that will require washing.  Who washes postcards?

Middle layer.  As likely as not I will use a scrap of batting.  It is often right there as it has been trimmed of something else.  It stitches nicely.  It allows your quilting to show.

Backing.  Now we have to think a bit about our choices.  It needs to be pale so it can be written on, and fairly sturdy.  I often use couple of layers of interfacing.  I buy it at a regular fabric store and choose the stiffest non woven available.  I use both iron on and non iron on or sew in.  Deco bond is one brand that is available.

I think of postcards as fabric or mixed media art and if I use these terms I don’t have to quilt it. Quilts are considered a 3 layer sandwich held together by stitching.  Timtex or other stiff material is often used as batting.

Ideas for the quilt top:
1. Applique: Machine applique using fusible web
Machine applique without fusible web
Other favourite applique method
2. Piecing. Any block that you like can be used.  The finished block has to be 6 inches or less x 4 or less.  A block that finishes at 4 inches square will require sashing on 2 edges.
3. Thread play, painting foiling, embellishment but watch the thickness.
4. Any other technique you want to try.
Search the internet for Fabric Post cards for tutorials.  Here are a couple of addresses to get you started.
http://killerbeedesigns.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/general-fabric-postcard-killer-bee-designs.pdf
http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/fabric_postcard.htm

Weekly Art Project Week 7 Pumpkin

Pumpkin.

This quilt was inspired by the season, Halloween and Jean Wells book Intuitive Colour and Design.  While reading the book it occurred to me that her technique would work for a quiltlet about pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns.  I couldn't find any carved pumpkins so went to the grocery and photographed the boxes of pumpkings wainting to be taken home for carving.  This is the picture I selected.

And then after pulling out a bunch of orange fabrics I decided I could add to the challenge by restricting myself to my scrap bucket.  After all I only needed small pieces.  And then I quilted it using my new 6 inch arc ruler on my Janome with the new ruler foot.  It was a fun exercise.

Weekly Art Project Week 6 The Hag

Weekly Art Project.  Week 6

The Hag

This quiltlette was inspired by the season, its Halloween here and it is quite a deal.  All the stores are decorated and selling candy and decorations.  It gets more commercial every year.  

I have a doodle that looks like a ghost (glued into my journal maybe 4 or 5 years ago)  and I drew the face to add to it.  I want to do a quilt of the ghost of sewing rooms past.  Maybe for next halloween!

Once I added the face to the background I couldn't figure our where to go next.  It finally came together slow step by slow step.

Weekly Art Project - Week 5

Fall Colours 4 - Left Behind.

There was a leaf on the tree behind my house all winter last year and there are a few still there this year.  While playing around in my journal to come up with a design it occured to me that I could use quilted lines made with my new rulers as a way to suggest branches.  The brown boarders got added when I thought it was a bit unfinished.  The blue fabric is hand painted.

This is the photo I started with.  I love the tree towards the left with the crocked truck.

Weekly Art Project.  Week 3

This is another interpretation of the same photo.  As the leaves on one of the trees I can see from my kitchen window changed colour they formed an arch against the trees behind them which were still green.  I found it hard to avoid making my piece releastic.  I kept wanting to add leaves instead of concentrating on the arch shape.  I will be interested to hear what you think.

Fall Colours 2.  Applique.

Hand painted and commercial fabric, coloured pencil (to make the sky blue so it would read as sky) machine quilted,  I added a few hand stitches to give more texture accross the lower front piece.