Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Stitched wedding invites

As I mentioned before, I thought it'd be nice to share the wedding invitations I made a couple of years ago.

One day when I was browsing through a bridal magazine, I saw an advertisement for custom invitations with a stitched border. I can't remember the exact company, but they looked something like this:


Chic by Weddding Tulle


I made a few samples and decided I liked the look. Not knowing I might want to blog about it in the future, I didn't take pictures during the process, so this is not a tutorial. But the pictures of the finished product are self-explanatory I think.

First I drafted the text in MS Word so that I could fit two invitations onto an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper.

Then I visited a local rubber stamp/card making shop for paper supplies. I took the cardstock to Kinkos and had the invitation (and RSVP cards) printed there. I wanted dark brown ink so these were color copies.

After cutting everything to the right size (you'll want to spring for a paper cutter if you don't already have one), I used a gluestick to lightly adhere (baste) the invitation to the backing, a chocolate brown cardstock.

Next I headed for the sewing room. Any sewing machine can sew paper, and it's actually pretty fun!


Thread: I used a Gutermann 100% silk thread, you probably want to experiment to see what looks best for your project. I threaded all tails to the reverse side of the invitation and tied them off.

Needle: No sense in wasting brand new sewing machine needles - save your old needles that you would usually just discard, they are perfect for a project like this.

Paper sewing tips: Slow and easy does it. There's no fixing mistakes when it comes to sewing paper, the needle holes are permanent, so it would be wise to print a few extra invitations just in case! Ask me how I know. Since I was trying to be very precise as to where the corners turned, I marked those points lightly with a pencil; when my needle got to that point, I stopped in the "needle down" position, lifted the presser foot to turn the paper 90 degrees, then put the presser foot down and resumed stitching.


This invitation worked well with the style of my wedding, as it was a somewhat casual, outdoor garden affair. A more formal wedding may need a more formal invitation to indicate that tone to the guests. Another consideration is quantity - there were only 30 people at my wedding including me and the groom, so I don't think I made more than 20 invitations. If you've got a 100+ guest affair? Then you've got a lot of paper cutting ahead of you.


The RSVP cards have a dotted border printed on them that mimics the stitching on the invitation. The purple flower is from a rubber stamp.


The address stamp that I had printed was a major time saver. I hand wrote our address bordered by a few whimsical dots, and the stamp store was able to take this and turn it into a rubber stamp. I used this wherever a return address was needed and I still use it today. (Of course, I understand you can't see it because I covered over all personal info with the stars, but trust me, it's cute).

Assembly line preparations. Here I'm cutting the RSVP cards.

Stitching would be a great way to embellish other cards too. Every Christmas I say I'm going to make stitched cards but I never get around to it in time! There's always next year...

21 comments:

BCN - UNIQUE designer patterns said...

Christina .- I work so nice. you really had a lot of patience and did a good job., congratulations. greetings, Paco

Myra said...

You could also do that for other invites or announcements. I made all of our baby announcements, just not sewn, but with threaded ribbons, etc.

cidell said...

Are you for hire? Because I don't know that I would have the patience to churn out such fun and pretty invites!

Tany said...

The wedding invitations are FABULOUS!!!

Dr. Bennett said...

Hi Christina! I just started blogging again and found your site. LOVE this idea. When I teach kids to sew we start out by machine sewing along mazes, so they'll learn how to pivot and how to follow a line. Who knew what a valuable skill this would be for them?
Love your blog, and everything you make-- :)

Meg said...

This is so Martha Stewart of you! (But in a good Martha Stewart way, of course.) Love 'em.

Jillian said...

I love your invites. They are so unique. And thanks for posting this...I totally had a a-ha moment about the rubber address stamp. I really need to order one of those for my wedding invites!

Anonymous said...

Ooh these are very nice!! We're just at the stage where we need to make our Save the Dates, but I think we're going with more of an Enigma machine, 1940s style since we're getting hitched at Bletchley Park...

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

Very cute! I like seeing creative wedding invites that don't feed into the wedding industrial complex.

loopylulu said...

These are the best invitations. I always like things with a more personal touch and I think that particularly applies to weddings.

Anonymous said...

Love the invites...now let's see the dress!

Anonymous said...

Invites look great! I've been speculating on "sewing" our invites, since a) I would rather spend the cash on something people actually remember (say drinks!) than something they toss and b) I spend so much time at the machine, the Man is kind of marrying that too...

I have two questions - did you buy paper and have Kinko's print on that, or did you use theirs? And how long do you think it took you? I'll probably have to make 40-50 invites, plus we're doing destination, so it's going to be more like a wedding novel than an invitation.

Thanks! I love reading your blog!

Christina said...

Hi Sam - I bought the cardstock myself and took it to Kinkos, they should be able to print on anything you bring. And I don't really remember how long it took! I just know it was many hours. I didn't do it all at once either, I broke it out into several work sessions.

Nancy K said...

They are lovely. My dil's mother made her invitations, but there must have been a 100 of them! She layered handmade paper and then threaded a tie through the top to hold all the layers together. I don't know how long it took her, but
like yours, a lot of work. At least you only made 20 or so.

Melissa said...

What fabulous invites! Now you must blog a post of your wedding dress so we can see you with your wedding day glow. Bravo on the invitions, you're so creative!

Adriana B. said...

Really fabulous! I think this is a great idea for any occasion, not just weddings.
BTW, the Burda 7653 is a really cool pattern. I received my Bazaar, Lucky and Glamour recently and they all feauture loose fitting at top (pleated) and tapered at the hem silk-ish trousers. I am definitely going to try a muslin and see if my 5'4" stature could handle the style. Thanks for pointing this pattern out!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful invitations! I made my invitations too (although I didn't stitch on them). I did help my sister stitch on her wedding programs with her sewing machine.

Cennetta said...

Very Chic! Did you say you work for Hallmark?! lol

Little Hunting Creek said...

What a genius idea! I may steal it to make a birthday card. So different, and very creative and chic!

Leslie said...

OMG that was so me in 2005. I saw something on paper-source and decided I had to make my own, mine had glued-on grosgrain ribbon. I bought a rounded edge punch, adhesive dispenser (is that what the red thing is in the last photo??), and a paper cutter. I printed everything on my home printer though, no stamping or hand addressing! We had 85 people. I love love the stitching edge, and your invite colors were beautiful.

Johanna Lu said...

Your stitched cards are amazing, I'm a sucker for all things with top stitching and these cards just take the prize :)