How To Make a Fabric Postcard - Directions Plus...

Make Fabric Postcards - They're Fun and Easy

The directions for how to make a fabric postcard follow, and keep in mind; quilters have methods to their own quilting madness. There are no hard and fast rules other than the dimensions and thickness restraints required for legal mailing. The most important thing is to be creative and have fun!!!

Here are some of the things you need to get started:

Fabric for back of the postcard, make it plain or light in color so it is easily written on
Scraps of fabric for the front
Thread
Rotary Cutter and mat
Wunder Under or Peltex or both
Embellishments (ribbon, sequins, beads) are optional

I use double sided fusible Peltex because it is so easy to work with. Simply fuse quilted fabric and back of postcard fabric to the Peltex creating a sandwich. The Peltex with fusible stuff on both sides only requires an iron pressed onto the fabric and that’s it. Stitch the edges and you’re done.

You can find Peltex (or Timtex, pretty much the same thing) in the section of a fabric store where they sell interfacing and fusible web. It's thicker than normal interfacing and has a lot of body. Wonder Under is the fusible web, but you could use any one you like. Do not use Heat n Bond.

Some other things you'll need include an iron and ironing board, a sewing machine with a good sharp needle in it, and a pair of scissors. Add some surface embellishments if you are so inclined. Just keep in mind that the post office says the finished postcard must be 1/8" thick or less.

First, cut a piece of the Peltex to slightly larger than the finished size you want. The finished postcard is sized 4" x 6", so I cut the Peltex about 4 1/4" x 6 1/4". Cut a piece of backing fabric (something plain, because you're going to write on this later!) to around 4 1/2" x 6 1/2". And cut two pieces of Wonder Under, exactly 4" x 6" each. I also make postcards by cutting Peltex exactly 4" x 6". I finish the quilting on the fabric topper and then fuse the whole thing together and trim away the excess fabric.

Iron one piece of WU to the Peltex and the other to the wrong side of your backing fabric: Follow the directions for whatever type of fusible web you're using, because they vary a bit, but if you're using WU, you do this step with a dry iron on fairly high heat (wool setting). Now lay something down to protect your ironing board surface in case you get a little sloppy with the fusible web. Use a large piece of the release paper from some Wonder Under I used a while back, but if you don't have that you can use a silicone pressing sheet or even an old flattened paper grocery sack.

Now start constructing the front of the postcard. You can make a little quiltlet to size and then fuse the whole thing onto the Peltex. But here's a fun fast and easy way to make one that doesn't involve any piecing or appliqué at all. Find some larger chunks of fabrics in your scrap pile and lay them on the side of the Peltex that has the WU on it. (You need to remove the release paper from the WU before doing this.)
Once you like how it looks, follow the manufacturer's instructions to fuse the background fabric(s) to the Peltex. For WU, that means pressing for 10 seconds with lots of steam. If you've already been doing some fusing, these should be scraps that already have WU (or other fusible web) attached to the wrong side. That's easiest. But if you don't' have any scraps or fabric pieces that have fusible web on them, you can lay some small pieces of fabric on the web side of some WU, use a pressing cloth and fuse them and create some fusible scraps. Then remove the release paper and just start cutting some shapes and placing them on your background until you like what you see. Fuse it, just like you did the background in the last step.

Then the next step is to quilt it. Keep in mind, at this point you're quilting through just the front and the Peltex, with no backing. If you want to embellish - buttons, beads, sequins, couched fibers, etc. - I do that after quilting, but before adding my backing fabric. That way you can hide your knots with your backing. Then you center the backing fabric on the back of the postcard, WU side down, and fuse it in place. Steam. Now you lay the whole thing on your cutting mat and trim away the extra stuff - front, Peltex, and backing - and square it up so that it's exactly 4" x 6".

Next step is to seal the edges somehow - partly for looks, partly for practicality so that the whole thing doesn't start to peel apart in the mail. You can use most any sort of stitching around the edge as long as it holds the layers together, but I usually do a basic satin stitch. Once you've sealed those edges, your postcard is nearly done!

The US postal service wants you to write "postcard" on the back. And if you've used fabric backing, you need to be sure to do your writing with a pen that's both permanent and fabric-safe. I use a Pigma Micron. Some people do this step on the computer, printing it on their backing fabric before they attach it. Still others have rubber stamps that say "postcard". Be sure to use a self-adhesive stamp (39 cents) and rub it firmly onto the fabric with a brayer, but don't try to iron it in place. The postcard must be hand canceled at the post office. It's fun to give your postcard a name like "Flitzen Lake" or "Crescent's Collage" and sign your work. The postcard is a piece of art and sending it in the mail will certainly make someone smile. The love and heart that went into making the postcards is felt immediately by everyone that gets them.

Gift it Forward Project ● Fabric Postcards • Unique Fabric Gifts