Salutations! Sophie here and I hope you are ready to have some fun with cut files today. I think cut files are versatile and inexpensive tools to create with. Beyond using them with an electronic diecutting machine, they are perfect as stitching templates too. Here’s how.
Materials You Will Need
- Printout of selected cut file (I’m using the sunflowers digital cut file from 17 Turtles)
- Scissors
- Paper piercer (Mine was damaged, so I taped a needle to the handle and it works great too!)
- Needle
- Embroidery Floss / thread (Some floss have different tones in the same strand, like the pink one in the photo above. Using floss like these makes it easy to get different tones of the same color without having to switch thread colors)
- Washi tape
- Coloring medium (Paint, coloring pencils, water color etc.)
- Cardstock
- Foam mat (or a mouse pad)
Step 1
Roughly cut out the printed sunflower and attach it to a piece of cardstock. Use only a little adhesive to hold your die in place. I would suggest placing glue on areas outside the pattern. For a clearer view of where you would be piercing the holes later, you can use a black pen to outline the shape of the sunflower if you like.
Step 2
Using your paper piercer and foam mat, punch holes on the sunflower. Start at a corner and space your holes as evenly as possible. Try not to punch the holes too closely together, as the paper may tear when you stitch later.
Step 3
Separate the printout die carefully from the cardstock and erase any residual tape. Thread your needle, knot the end and stitch through the holes. Here, I used the embroidery floss as it is, to achieve a fuller looking bloom. If you like your stitched image to have a thinner outline, use less strands of the floss. Once all your stitching is completed, you can either knot the end or use a little washi tape to secure it.
Step 4
Color in your image using your medium of choice. Trim away excess cardstock around the image and you are done! As you can see from the photo, I chose not to stitch the center of my sunflowers. Instead, I left the holes empty and outlined them with a brown marker. You can use a French knot for the center or perhaps use some perfect pearls to dot it too.
And here’s a look at my layout using these stitched sunflowers:
Remember I mentioned using floss that come with different tones? The roses on the layout in my previous blog post were stitched using it. This resulted in blooms that had darker outlines in the middle and lighter pink tones on the outer petals.
Well, I hope you are inspired to create some stitched images of your own. Try different stitches and floss for completely different looks. If you are on the look out for some awesome cut files, don’t forget that you get to take 25% off your order at 17turtles with CK17TURTLES25. And, to make the deal even sweeter, you get to enjoy 25% in the Clique Kits shop using CKNOV25. Both promotions are till the end of November 2014. Do share and leave a comment should you find yourself picking up your needle! Happy stitching and creating!
Clique Kits 