Card Making With a Quilt Pattern

Create a greeting card using a quilt pattern.

Greeting cards are available for every occasion, but sometimes it just isn't possible to find the right one. Using some scraps of fabric you can create greeting cards with your own special touch. Your friends and family will delight in receiving a card that you have put a little of yourself into. Decide on a quilt design for your cards using a variety of coordinating fabric pieces, then grab your craft basket.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric pieces
• Scissors for fabric
• Fusible webbing
• Scissors for paper
• Iron
• Ironing board
• Pinking shears (optional)
• Cardstock
• Straight edge
• Craft knife
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Double-sided tape
• Buttons (optional)
• Decorative trim (optional)
• Craft glue (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut 5-inch squares from a variety of coordinating fabrics that will create your quilt design.

   Cut fusible webbing into 4 7/8-inch squares using paper-cutting scissors.

2. Place a fabric square with the pattern side down on an ironing board. Lay a fusible webbing square on the fabric square with the sticky side down. The fabric square will be slightly larger than the fusible webbing.

   Iron on the fusible webbing according to the instructions that come with it. A few seconds is usually adequate.

   Peel the paper backing from the fabric square. Save the paper backing to protect the ironing board in a later step.

3. Repeat the ironing process with five or six fabric squares of coordinating fabric.

   Cut the fused fabric into 2 1/2-inch squares. Use pinking shears for decorative edges, if desired.

4. Cut a 4 1/4-by-5 1/4-inch rectangle from cardstock using a straight edge and a craft knife.

   Place a fabric square on the cardstock with the webbing side down. Fuse the fabric to the cardstock with the iron. Using the reserved paper backing from Step 2, protect your ironing board from the fusible webbing that extends beyond the edges of the cardstock rectangle.

5. Continue to iron fabric squares onto the cardstock until all surfaces are covered and your design is completed. Don't worry about being exact about the piecing of fabric. Decorative stitches will conceal imperfections.

6. Turn cardstock over periodically as you fuse pieces and trim excess that overlaps the edges. Use these smaller pieces to fill in your pattern.

7. Sew decorative stitches with a sewing machine along the fabric seams. A zig-zag stitch works well. Stitch along the outside edges of the cardstock with a straight stitch to complete the rectangle.

8. Cut an 8-inch-by-11-inch piece of cardstock in half and fold it to form a card. Attach the quilt piece to the front of the card with double-sided tape.

   Decorate the finished card by gluing buttons or trim to the card with craft glue, if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a rotary cutter and a cutting mat, if you have them, to create exact squares.

References

• Craft Apple: Patchwork Cards Tutorial