I decided that the branch from my recent Noel baubles design would work as a platform for the cheeky mouse. I added the star decoration to give a Christmas feel to it. In retrospect it looks to me as though the mouse is about to bounce on the branch to make the star wake the cat. What do you think is going to happen?

To help those who are not so technically advance in the field of image editing I have published a step-by-step illustrated tutorial on the Pinbroidery web site. This shows how to take a screen snapshot of the pricking pattern using the “Print Screen” button. It then shows how to change the pattern size using Microsoft Paint, a program you will have on your computer if you use Microsoft Windows.

If you find this tutorial useful please let me know in a comment to this post or the Pinbroidery post.

Card blanks are best purchased locally since they would cost a lot to post overseas relative to their actual cost. If I try searching for blank cards the results are dominated by British suppliers since search engines tend to give local links first.

So I am appealing to our overseas readers (outside of the British Isles) to tell me where you purchase your blank greetings cards. You can do this in a comment to this post. I am particularly interested in finding card blanks in Canada and France since this is where most queries of this type come from.

The illustration (right) is from the Stitching Cards Bookmark Flower 1 pattern.

If you cut a single panel from a standard greeting card (104mm x 152mm) and fold it in half this will be the basis for the bookmark. When the stitching is complete you can close the card to hide the back of the work.

A UK mail order company called Craft Creations sell ready cut bookmark blanks that measure 50 mm x 179 mm (2 ins x 7 ins). They are single sheets of card so you would need two for each bookmark – one to cover the work on the back. They also sell envelopes to fit the bookmarks and clear polypropylene display bags made to fit the bookmarks with an envelope.

It is possible to purchase clear plastic covers to protect your bookmarks. If you put “clear bookmark covers” into a search engine it will come up with a number of places to get them. Add your country to refine the search.

Another way of protecting them is with “transparent self-adhesive film”. This is often sold in office supplies shops for covering books.

If you are making a lot of bookmarks you might consider a “laminator” machine for creating the protective covers. I have seen them advertised from under £30 in Staples office supplies.

Another possibility is to incorporate your bookmark as part of a greetings card. This could be fixed in such a way that it can be removed to use as a bookmark. An example of this is the bookmark card posted in the Stitching Cards Forum gallery by PamD. The bookmark is attached with brads and ribbon.

The card is made using the Stitching Cards Bookmark Flower 6 pattern. The greeting is stitched with a Stitching Cards font.

Do you have any bookmark tips?

1. Choose an easy pattern.
A simple pattern such as my free embroidery on paper flower pattern is a good way to get started. It is worked in basic stitches that are easy for beginners to follow.

When you get more experienced you can tackle the free flowering vine pattern from the Stitching Cards web site (illustrated on the right).

2. Read the general instructions.
The steps in embroidery on paper are explained with simple diagrams in my Prick and stitch for beginners – a guide to making stitching cards article. It starts by listing the equipment you will need and then takes you through the process with clear diagrams.

3. Gather your tools.
For your first attempt you will want to get started without spending a lot of money. If you can use equipment that you already have to hand then all the better. A couple of articles to look at are Improvising a pricking mat for stitching cards and Finding a substitute pricking tool.

4. Choose your thread.
I like to work with metallic thread because it is strong enough to stand up to the abrasive nature of the holes in your card. It looks wonderful when it catches the light and glitters in a way that makes the design look sophisticated and expensive. You can read more about thread in the following article: What thread do I use for my stitching cards?

5. Follow the step-by-step instructions.
If the instructions look complicated don’t be put off. Follow them one step at a time. Occasionally people say to me that they can not see how a shape is going to work. It usually turns out that they have not actually tried it yet. Take the stitching one step at a time. Look at the finished diagram and compare it with what you have done. If you make a mistake it is easy to go back. I find the best way of undoing the work is to take the needle off the thread and use it to pull the thread through to the back of the card one stitch at a time.

Good luck with your first attempt at embroidery on paper. Use the comment facility below to let me know how you get on.

The illustration is the Free Flowering Vine Pattern from the Stitching Cards web site.

Jackie used the free Form-A-Lines Christmas tree pattern for her example card. In the above picture you can see a standard sized design on the left and Jackie’s card on the right. She has reduced the size of the pricking pattern by a third.

You can alter the settings in Adobe Reader to scale the picture to the size you want.

1. Open the pattern file in Adobe Reader and select “Print” from the “File” menu.

2. This will open a print dialogue box.

3. In the “Page Handling” section look for “Page Scaling” and select “Tile all pages” from the drop-down menu (see the above picture).

4. Another box will then appear below this called “Tile Scale”.

5. Set this to the required percentage. Jackie used 67% on her card.

6. The pattern can now be printed at the chosen reduced size.

Alternative method

Another way of reducing the pattern size is to select a narrower size of paper when you print the pattern and set the Adobe Reader “Page scaling” to “Fit to paper”. For example if you select “Executive” as the paper size (if it is listed on your printer) this is 7.25 inches wide so the pattern will be reduced by about 20%. You do not need to change the actual paper in your printer to do this.

I use small glass seed beads and bugle beads in my designs and I find that a size 10 English beading needle works well with these. The consequence of a thinner needle is that it becomes harder to thread. It is best to keep to single stranded threads when using a beading needle. Multi stranded threads will be hard to get through the eye of the needle as one of the strands will insist on not cooperating.

I find the best way to get the thread through the eye of the needle is to hold it as close to the end of your fingers as possible. Move the eye of the needle on to the thread. This is easier than the usual way of pushing the thread towards the needle.

There are needles designed to be thin and easy to thread. These have a twisted wire body and a lager eye that collapses when pulled through the bead. I find the needle too flimsy to be useful for card embroidery. They are great for stringing beads but not so good for passing through the holes punched in the card. I am sure they are fine when you get used to them and maybe I should persevere. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has mastered these needles.

The picture above shows a size 10 embroidery needle at the top, a size 10 English beading needle below this and a twisted beading needle with a larger collapsible eye below these. I have included some 2mm seed beads and 7mm bugle beads as a comparison.

When using a beading needle it is important to keep the pricked holes small enough, otherwise the needle is likely to fall through it and may drop off the thread.

Fine needles are easily lost when you put them down. I use a square of black foam rubber to stick the needle in when I have run out of thread. That makes it easy to find when I am ready.

Related articles:

About seed beads used for prick and stitch card making

About bugle beads used for prick and stitch card making

It will depend to some extent on the size of the holes you are pricking and the type of thread you are using. The size of pricked hole will vary with different pricking tools. I like to use a Pergamano pricking tool which gives a smallish hole. I find that a Number 10 embroidery needle works well with this. It allows the needle to pass through the hole with a slight resistance, thus stopping it falling through. If your needle slips through too easily there is a danger that it could slip and fall off the thread. Then the hunt is on to find the needle.

On the other hand if the needle is relatively large so that there is a lot of resistance passing it through the hole you will soon get sore fingers.

The above diagram shows a typical fan stitch leaf (leaf 1) and the same leaf stitched using a loop stitch (stitch 2).

The stitching sequence for leaf 1 is as follows:

“Out at” means starting on the back of the card, through the hole to the front.
“In at” means from the front of the card, through the hole to the back.

Out at A in at B.
Out at A in at 1.
Out at 2 in at A.
Out at 3 in at A.
Out at 4 in at A.
Out at 5 in at A.
Out at 6 in at A.
Out at 7 in at A.

Working from side to side helps keep the thread flatter at hole A.

I have kept the numbers/letters in the same place on leaf 2 for this explanation. I have also drawn the thread from A to B in red for clarity, on leaf 2.

The stitching sequence for leaf 2 is as follows:

Out at A in at B.
Out at A in at 1.
Out at 2, under the stitch at A-B and in at 3.
Out at 5, under the stitch at A-B and in at 4.
Out at 6, under the stitch at A-B and in at 7.

I have stitched the leaf both ways to show the difference.

You can see from the back view that leaf 2 uses less thread on the back of the card.

The loop stitch was originally demonstrated by Dutch designer Joke de Vette in her book “Er op uit met borduren op papier” published in 1999.

This article was inspired by a thread by in the Form-A-Lines Forum, started by Katharine, on the subject of loop stitches.