How to Make Your Own Fabric Stickers

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Things You'll Need

  • Stencil, cookie cutter or die cut

  • Tailor’s chalk pencil

  • Scissors

  • Iron

  • Double-sided adhesive sheet

Whether you need embellishments to adorn a scrapbook layout, journal cover, handmade greeting card, gift bag or piece of home decor, fabric stickers can add eye-catching color and touchable texture. Instead of buying the accents at a scrapbooking or craft store, create your own fabric embellishments to customize the size, shape and type of material. Use the simple technique to turn scraps of denim, canvas, felt or cotton material into homespun adornments for your next craft project.

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Step 1

Choose fabric to coordinate with your craft project. Select pastel-colored flannel to turn into stickers for baby shower invitations, denim to become accents for a teen's scrapbook album or material with a Christmas motif to embellish holiday gift bags, for example.

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Step 2

Select a shape stencil, cookie cutter or die cut to help you create the fabric sticker's size and shape. Consider solid designs such as flowers, hearts or stars that will be easy to trace and cut.

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Step 3

Flip over the fabric and trace the shape onto the back of the fabric with a tailor's chalk pencil, available at craft and sewing shops.

Step 4

Cut out the fabric shape with sharp scissors.

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Step 5

Iron the piece of fabric to eliminate wrinkles or creases that may affect the sticker's ability to adhere to the craft project.

Step 6

Stick the fabric shape to the top side of a double-sided adhesive sheet. Without removing the paper backing that will expose the bottom layer of adhesive, use sharp scissors to cut out the shape.

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Step 7

Peel off the paper backing and place the dimensional sticker onto the background carefully to avoid wrinkles or bubbles. Smooth the accent with your fingertips to affix it securely.

Tip

When using loose cotton fabric or denim, for example, keep the edges of the fabric stickers from fraying by cutting out the shape with pinking shears. You can also apply a spray designed to “seal” fabric edges, available at sewing and craft stores.

Save time by eliminating the need for the double-sided adhesive sheet. Run the fabric shapes through a device such as the Xyron Create-a-Sticker machine that applies a layer of adhesive to the back of the accent with the turn of a handle.

Warning

Avoid using glue to turn a fabric shape into a sticker. The liquid adhesive will seep through the front of the fabric embellishments, leaving a sticky residue.

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