Still looking for a Mother’s Day gift for the cat lovers in your life? Hand-embroidered gifts might be just the thing for you. You don’t need to know any fancy stitches – all you need to know are a couple basic sewing stitches and perhaps a simple cross stitch.
Whether you decide to make tea towels, napkins, bibs, or tablecloths, it’s important to purchase good quality fabric. This writer recommends at least 130 thread count fabric. Anything less is too thin and is very difficult to work with.
You’ll also need to purchase some embroidery iron-on transfers. They’re printed with single-color ink on paper you cut out and iron on to your material. This writer uses Aunt Martha’s patterns. They come in a variety of themes, including very cute kittens.
Lastly, you’ll need to decide what colors you wish to use for your project. Embroidery floss is available from most craft stores in a wide variety of colors. Don’t forget to purchase some embroidery needles, too.
Once you’ve got your supplies together, you’re ready to get started. Here’s what you do:
- Wash and dry your fabric to remove sizing before stamping
- Preheat a DRY iron to the recommended setting, such as cotton setting for thick fabrics or wool setting for lighter fabrics
- Cut out the design you wish to stamp on your fabric. Only cut what you wish to transfer because once you apply heat, everything on the paper will stamp on the fabric.
- Heat the fabric by ironing. Stamps won’t transfer on to cool fabric.
- On a lightly padded ironing board or smooth, protected surface, place the pre-heated, dry iron on the transfer and slowly iron it for five seconds, keeping the iron moving.
- Carefully raise the edge of the pattern to see if the design has stamped upon the fabric. Repeat the previous step if it isn’t dark enough.
Written by Stephanie Newman
Stephanie is author of the blog, The Musings Of A Crazy Cat Lady, and a freelance writer whose work regularly appears on Examiner.com. Stephanie’s work has been featured on Catster and in print in Natural Awakenings Pet – east Michigan and the Oakland Press newspaper. She’s a professional member of the Cat Writers’ Association, Inc. and a member of Pet Professionals for Pet Adoption.
