An introduction to embroidery on paper

Embroidery on paper is the craft of sewing designs on to paper or thin card. It is an excellent way of making greetings cards, bookmarks and table decorations.

There are patterns available that enable you to produce beautiful results even if you are a beginner. All you need are blank cards, thread, a sewing needle, a pricking pin and a pricking mat.

This web site offers a number of resources to get you started. You will find links to these in the left-hand column.

There follows a brief history on how the craft of embroidery on paper developed.

A short history of card embroidery

We believe that card embroidery was strongly influenced by the string art pictures that were popular in the 1970s. One could buy string art kits that contained a paper pattern, a board, coloured string and nails. The nails were hammered into the board using the pattern as a guide. The string was then wound backwards and forwards around the nails to form a decorative pattern.

The technique works well with geometric shapes and simple pictures such as a yacht or a Fleur-de-lis.

Click on the picture on the right for a free template to make your own string art picture. Use your back button to return.

Embroidery on paper started in Holland

Dutch designer Erica Fortgens started writing books with instructions and patterns for making stitching cards in the early 1990s. In her book "Borduren op Papier", translated as "Embroidery on Paper" Erica explains how she got started designing stitching patterns. She made forty small dinner cards with gold embroidery to be used at a birthday party. The cards proved very popular and this encouraged her to make more patterns to embroider.

A thread and wool manufacturer called Madeira offered embroidery on paper kits for sale during the 1990s. They were sold under the trade name of Pickpoints. The pattern instructions for Madeira Pickpoints were published in Dutch. Only a few Pickpoints kits were produced.

Form-A-Lines stitching card kits produced in England.

In 1998 an English craft company called Card Inspirations launched some stitching cards under the trade name of Form-A-Lines. The first Form-A-Lines stitching cards were designed by Anne Harding and Linda Jefferson. David Jefferson then used a standard computer drawing program to convert their cards into the patterns for the first two Form-A-Lines kits. The kits proved very popular and more designs soon followed.

A specialist Stitching Cards web site was launched in 2004.

By 2004 the advances in Internet technology meant that software to serve digital stitching card pattern files automatically for computer download was now available. Stitching card designer David Jefferson decided to launch the Stitching Cards web site with a range of colourful pattern designs. Shoppers can select their patterns and begin making the cards almost immediately.

Related web links:

What embroidery thread should I use for stitching cards?

Sewing stitches used to embroider greetings cards

How Stitching Cards are made

String Art Fun

More craft links...