Yesterday, my quilt guild hosted a workshop on how to make fabric postcards. It’s a fundraiser for the guild and postcards sell for $5.00 each. I’ve made fabric postcards with the kids, but was curious to learn their method of construction. I gathered my fabrics scraps, printed out the 3-1/2″ FPP Christmas blocks I planned to work on and took the Elnita EC30 with me.
Once I arrived, I quickly realized this is a serious endeavor for the guild. Most of the postcards on display as inspiration pieces were truly miniature works of art. One workshop participant even remarked that she’d spent two days on her postcard. Honestly, I thought this lady was kidding until I accepted the workshop leader’s invitation to learn how to create the postcard pictured above. It took me almost 3 hours!
I guess the style would be loosely known as “mixed media” or “art quilt” – not a style I typically do. Now that I understand the design process and learned how to FMQ on my Elnita EC30, I’ll be able to construct future “art quilt” type cards much faster. It was also a LOT of fun and a great way to use up scraps.
Hints:
1. Create your 4-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ miniature quilt top FIRST, except for quilting and other embellishments.
2. Add batting (fusible or glue baste regular batting)
3. Machine quilt and embellish, including adding ribbon border/trim
4. Attach postcard back printed on 110 or thicker cardstock with glue stick.
5. Sew around perimeter of postcard using thread to match ribbon border.
This little Elnita EC30 never ceases to amaze me. Anything I ask it to do, it does beautifully once I figure out how to set the machine up for success. For FMQ, it likes a 90/14 quilting needle and a thread tension of 3. I also use the convertible quilting foot so I can adjust the foot height to skim just above the quilt top. I worried about FMQ with a 5mm wide zigzag plate instead of a straight stitch needle plate, but it did fine.
Come Stitch With Me 