How to create handmade greeting cards is easy. Here is one technique for you: embroidery. I bet you already have all that you need to make your own hand-stitched greeting cards. You will find that paper embroidery can be done in a mum of time, and it is a fun project to take along with you to take advantage of those stolen moments. To get you on your way here’s a DIY tutorial for handmade baby announcement cards. It is a video showing you how to hand stitch a greeting card. It is a simple pattern, and the video shows you all the steps involved.
How to Create Hand-stitched Greeting Cards for Baby
Video tutorial
Embroidered Greeting Card Supplies
Now that you have seen the ‘DIY hand embroidered greeting card’ – video, let’s look at what you’ll typically need to make them:
- Punching Awl
- Card Stock:
white piece, accent color piece, folded card piece + white envelope of 4 ½ “ x 5 ¾ “
- Thread: DMC embroidery floss
- Cross Stitch Hand Needles Size #26 4/Pkg
~ suitable for 18-22 count fabric
- Glue: Glue stick, glue dots, spray glue is recommended
- Pattern for Gift Box to punch – Download our free bib embroidery pattern or choose free hand stitching baby pattern from other sources below.
- Cork board or similar, for punching holes in card.
OK. This video has shown you the basic technique involved. Now let’s get creative and make your own.
Free Birth Announcement Hand Embroidery Design
I promised the day before yesterday in my photo birth announcement that I would do a give away today, and I designed this cute baby bib embroidery pattern for you. Like it?
If you sign up for the newsletter (see menu bar on the right), you’ll be led to my website area where I store all my free patterns, designs and tutorials that I have been giving away.
The pattern comes in 2 versions: one featuring the B/W lines that you could hand stitch. And the other design, shown here, is colored in.
Simply download it, print it and cut the paper to size and pin in onto your paper or mini-canvas to embroider. Use the techniques shown in the video. If you are a beginner: keep it simple. If you are advanced, well, then you know what to do. :-)
Of course, you could totally change the colors, and in particular, you probably want to make it baby blue or delft blue on white to announce your baby boy.
Other Free Designs for Handmade Greeting Cards for
Baby Boy / Girl Birth Announcements
If the baby bib design is not that suitable for your card, here are some other sites with free baby embroidery patterns, charts, designs, … whatever you might call them. Hope you can find what you like. Or at least, be able to find one that sparks your own imagination so you can make your own design. You will find that there are quite a few embroidery pattern out there that are from your grandma’s era. However, I found you some other ones that I actually really quite like:
Blue Elephant Embroidery
This is my kind of line drawing that is just perfect for card making. And, as you can see, with some fabric quilting around the embroidery design, it works well as a wall hanging too. It’s simple, unique and happy.
The maker of the blue elephant is Corinne, from SoSeptember.blogspot.com. Design for inspiration.
Ark of Noah Embroidery
The Ark of Noah cross stitch pattern is one of several cute free Baby Cross Stitch Patterns from Bev’s Country Cottage. Personally, I would simplify the ark to use it for a card, unless it goes to someone really special who would keep and frame it.
Baby Bear Embroidery
Baby Duck and other Baby themed Embroidery Patterns by Ellen Maurer-Stroh. Click “Free Patterns”. There are quite a few embroidery designs here and many are rather detailed. Really lovely, but perhaps too much work for a baby announcement card.
One option is to outline some of the designs, rather than make them filled with color. Up to you.
Baby-themed Embroidery
Sweet & Easy Baby Designs by Carrie from Free Patterns Online.
You can print these design out and use pin the paper on top of your fabric and start stitching away. You can remove the paper later. Or you can trace it first on thin tracing paper and use that instead of your regular printing paper. It depends a bit on the design. Another way of transferring the design onto your ‘canvas’ is to use a special pen whose ink washes out, or chalk.
I suggest you start with something simple, that you really like.
More Unique Embroidery Designs
Want more? There are lots more unique and beautiful embroidery designs you could add to your home made birth announcement cards. Flip through any of these gorgeous books with embroidery designs: Lovely Embroidery Design Books
