Hand on Paper Steps 1. Draw your design on a piece of scrap Difficulty: ★★★★☆ - Somewhat difficult. paper or choose an image you want to Adult supervision is required while working transfer to embroidery. with a needle. Tips: Make sure that size of the image is Time: 1.5 hours (depending on your design) aligned with the paper that you’re going to on.

Materials

❏ Scrap paper and pencil or printed image 2. Place the paper you want to use for for your embroidery design embroidery on top of a piece of cardboard. ❏ Thick paper like card stock or handmade Then place the image on top of your paper, ​ paper so that the design is situated where you want it on your paper. ❏ Removable tape ❏ Cardboard ❏ or ❏ Embroidery floss or ❏ Needle threader (optional) ❏ Embroidery needles ❏ ❏ Glue stick Secure them in place with a removable tape.

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template. You can hold the paper up to the light to make sure that your is pierced completely. If you notice any incomplete holes, you can pierce them again.

3. Punch holes with a tack or pin along all the lines of the design by pressing the tip of the tack or pin through the paper and into the cardboard below1. Try to make these marks every ¼ inch. 5. Now it’s time for hand embroidery! Tips: Keep the tack or pin perpendicular to Start with one of the colors for your outlines. the paper surface. You can use the embroidery floss as it is or split it and only use some strands (make it Tips: Make sure that your embroidery needle thinner). Thread the floss into the eye of a fits easily into the holes. You may need to needle. Do not knot the thread. adjust the tack or pin size or needle size if the holes are too small.

You can use a needle threader for this step.

4. Once your pattern is completely pierced, remove tape and take your paper 6. Begin on one end of your pattern. out from between the cardboard and Insert the needle from the back of the paper, and pull the thread through, leaving about 1

1 Pre-piercing the stitching lines helps prevent any inch of tail on the back side. Use a small accidental​ creasing in the paper while embroidering the piece of tape to secure the end of the thread. designs.

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Try to tape away from unstitched dots in the Tips: Do not pull the thread too much to avoid pattern, so that you don’t have to pass your paper tearing. needle and thread through the tape while 8. At the end of each line or section, you stitch. secure the end of the thread with a piece of tape. You can change the thread color or type of stitches depending on which part of the image you are working on.

7. Use basic stitches for embroidery on paper.

❖ Back stitch

9. Continue until the entire design is embroidered.

❖ Running stitch

❖ French knot 10. Now let’s take care of the back of your embroidered paper. Remove the tape from the back and off excess ends of the threads.

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11. Apply glue to the back of the embroidered paper and lay it on top of Enjoy your embroidered piece or turn it into another piece of paper or to the front of a a unique note card! folded card.

Gently press and smooth it out with your hands.

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