Look Mom, No Glue!

The unimaginable happened to me this month..... I ran out of adhesive. Well, I had a tiny bit left, but not nearly enough to finish my projects for this month. So, while I waited for my glue to come in, I decided to do a layout only using my ATG to adhere the photo. Everything else I sewed in place.

I really enjoy sewing on layouts... actually I enjoy sewing on layouts more than sewing with fabric. Many people are afraid to do this... so I put together a few hints to make it less scary.

1. Set you sewing machine's stitch length a little longer than you would use for fabric. Mine is set on 3 for paper (and 2.5 for fabric).
2. Always practice on scraps of paper first.... every time. I've made a few errors in the past when I neglected to check the stitch setting and accidentally left the machine on zigzag.
3. Remember you can only stitch as far into the paper as your machine bed. Curling the paper up to get a little further over isn't really a good idea. Sometimes I may have to end a row of stitching and flip the paper around to do the next row from the other side. No one will know the difference except you.
4. Tack your paper in place with a little glue (not under where you will be stitching) or a binder clip to keep it from shifting.
5. Take your time. Once you stitch, there's no going back... so be sure of where you want to start and stop. Advance the needle by hand at the beginning and end of rows to get it in the right place.

Finishing off when sewing on paper is different than when you are using fabric too. Leave yourself long tails at the beginning and end of your stitching.

Flip the paper to the back and gently pull on the bobbin tail. This will pull a little loop of your top thread to the back. Pull thread through.

Now tie your two ends together in a knot. I usually trim the ends short and cover with a piece of acid-free tape.

thanks for stopping by!

erin