How to sew unique fabric cards and gift tags

These fabric hearts are easy to make and can be used as gift tags, cards, Christmas tree ornaments .....
Fast 2 Fuse is a double sided fusible interfacing so you can iron fabric on to both sides to make a sandwich.



For these 3 shapes I used a rectangle of fabric about 12" (300mm) by 6" (150mm).  Cut 2 of these in fabric and 1 slightly smaller in fast 2 fuse.  The fabric rectangles need to be bigger than the fast 2 fuse or you will end up with sticky bits on your iron.



Place 1 piece of fabric with wrong side facing up, then the fast 2 fuse, then the other piece of fabric with right side facing up.  Using a hot iron press the 3 layers together, making sure you iron right up to the edges so that the whole piece is bonded together.  Turn over and iron the other side.


As you can see on the left, the fabric is now quite rigid.  Draw the shapes that you want to use for your fabric gift tags on to the rectangle and cut them out.  Gentle curves are the easiest shapes to sew round.


Choose your thread colour: do you want the edging to stand out or blend in with the fabric?  It is possible to use the same cotton thread that you use for any sewing, but then you need to stitch round each shape twice to give a smooth border.  I have found that a thicker machine embroidery thread works well for fabric gift tags and you only need to stitch once round each shape.  There is of course the option of metallic threads for something that will really stand out. Don't forget you'll need a special needle for metallic threads.  Any haberdasher will stock them.
 
Set your machine to satin stitch.  That's a wide zigzag with almost no space between the stitches.  Try it out on a scrap piece of the fabric sandwich that you have just cut the fabric gift tag shapes from.  If your stitch length is too small you may find that the stitches pile up on each other and the fabric doesn't move forward as you sew.  If the stitch length is too large then you will have gaps showing between the stitches.  Find the stitch length that suits you and your machine.

Take the first shape that you want to sew for your fabric gift tags and position it on your machine so that the right hand edge of the zigzag will be just beyond the edge of the fabric.  This will give a neat edge to the shape. 

Sew all the way round the shape.  Keep your machine running slowly so that you can ease the shape around the curves.  When you arrive back at the beginning, overlap the stitching slightly to anchor the threads.  

For the fabric heart I usually begin sewing at the centre top, sew down one side, then start again at the centre top and sew down the other side.  I find that this seems to give better curves that match each other.  For the fabric ball I just sew round in one go.  For the fabric bell, begin sewing at one of the bottom corners so that you can put the extra line of stitches in to show the inside of the bell. 

If there are any parts where your stitching hasn't quite reached the edge of the fabric, the excess fabric can be trimmed but be very careful not to cut the stitching itself.

Now add whatever embellishments you want.  For the fabric heart I sewed a loop of embroidered trim to the top so that it can be attached to a present, for the fabric ball I wrote 'Happy Birthday' - lovely original birthday card - and for the fabric bell I attached a loop and a clanger for the bell in sequins.
 

Happy sewing!











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