3 excellent ways to make the back of fabric postcards

Yesterday you learned how to finish the front of your Valentine postcard we made using heart shapes cut on the Brother ScanNCut SDX225 electronic cutting machine. Now let’s finish it, so it’s ready to mail to a friend!

All layers of the postcard are trimmed to 4” x 6”

There are many ways to make the back of your postcard.

• I used an image of an old postcard and scanned it into my computer. Then I was able to print it on fabric – there are many printable fabrics on the market today. You can also print on good quality cotton that has been backed with freezer paper. Be sure to use an inkjet printer (not a laser printer) when printing on fabric.

Postcard back printed from the computer on fabric

• You can use a rubber stamp and fabric stamping ink. These are available from stores with scrapbooking supplies.

Rubber stamp for printing postcard back on fabric

• You can draw your own design on fabric for the back of the postcard using a drawing pen with permanent ink.

Now, let’s finish the postcard!

• Center the fabric postcard back over the completed front section.

Center postcard back on the front section.

• Press with a hot iron to adhere the postcard back to the front section.

• Trim excess fabric so you’re back to the original size of 4″ x 6″.

• Stitch around the outside edges of the postcard.

For this last step, you should use an even-feed or walking foot on your machine. I love the MuVit Dual Feed Foot on my Brother BQ3050  sewing and quilting machine. It comes with five different feet, and I’ll be using the open toe foot so I can see exactly where to stitch on my postcard edge. Because I was going to stitch through a lot of fusible web, I used a Schmetz non-stick needle. Experiment with different weights and styles of thread too!

I tried several different stitches for the outside edge of the postcard and made some samples of each so I could see how they worked. I finally settled on an overcasting stitch (1-21 on my Brother BQ3050), but I encourage you to try whatever stitches you have on your machine to see what works best for you. Zigzag and blanket stitches also work well.

Overcasting stitch on the Brother BQ3050

Use the dual feed foot with the open toe for accurate stitching on the Brother BQ3050.

Now your Valentine postcard is ready to send to a friend. Postcards can be mailed just as they are with a regular stamp. Make sure you have the stamp hand-canceled, so it won’t have to go through any machinery at the post office.

Displaying your fabric postcards

Once you start making postcards or are involved in a postcard exchange, you’ll want to display your cards so you can enjoy them all the time. Here are a few ideas for you.

1. Store your postcards in a photo album. These albums make a great coffee table book and you’ll be able to share your collection with others.
2. Put a small adhesive magnet on the back of a postcard so you can stick it to any metal surface. These magnets can be found in hardware stores. They come in ½” x 1″ rectangles, or on a roll that you can cut to any size.
3. Stick them on a door or wall in your sewing room. My friend Mary gave me this idea! Here’s a picture of her sewing room and some of the postcards she has received through postcard exchanges.

Fabric postcards displayed on the sewing room door.

I hope you’ll come back tomorrow. I’ll show you how I used the Brother ScanNCut SDX225 to cut shapes for greeting cards and how to use the drawing function on the Brother ScanNCut SDX225 to add extra interest!

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: Let’s make Valentine fabric postcards!

Go to part 5: Drawing, writing and cutting with the Brother ScanNCut SDX225!

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