Hello SCT fans! It’s Lisa Dickinson here today with a fun design tip to share! I love adding hand stitching to my layouts for the texture and dimension it lends to the design, but I’m definitely not an expert seamstress. To get straight, even stitches isn’t easy if you’re free-handing it, so I found a great way to ensure neat stitching using my computer. Here’s the scoop!

Supplies | Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Patterned paper: American Crafts, Crate Paper, Bella Blvd; Alphabet, stickers: American Crafts; Metal flair: Crate Paper; Clip: Bella Blvd; Enamel dots: Doodlebug Design; Electronic die cutting machine: Silhouette Cameo; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L; Other: buttons, embroidery thread

I began with a 12 x 12-inch page in my computer program (I’m using Adobe Illustrator) and typed up my journaling box. To create the stitched lines, I used the line tool, but applied a dashed stroke to it instead of a solid line. The dashes will serve as the template for stitching.

 
To keep the dashed lines from printing too dark, and possibly showing through my thread, I applied a 50% black stroke to the lines so they printed a light gray. Once the design was complete, I printed the page on white cardstock using a large format printer. I have the Epson Artisan 1430 but the Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is the newest model.
 
 
To make the stitching easier, I used a thumbtack to punch holes at the start and end of each printed dash. With a pre-punched hole, the stitching looks crisp and you don’t have to worry about the paper tearing. Even after I adhered the blocks of patterned paper to my page, the holes were visible on the backside of the cardstock, so I could still stitch a perfectly straight line!
 
 
After selecting some colorful blocks of patterned paper to apply to the design, I was ready to stitch, using coordinating colors of embroidery thread. I typically use 4-5 strands of the thread to fill the holes without tearing them!
 

The result is a fun, stitched background that matches the lines and angles of the design. Not computer savvy? You can easily replicate the technique using a ruler and pencil to draw the lines!

 
 
 

Ready to show us your stitching?! We’d love to see your projects using this technique! Happy scrapping!

Find more of Lisa’s creations here: Blog | Instagram | Pinterest