You guys know that I am all about the stitching and I know I've said it before, that if I can stitch on it...well, I'm probably going to stitch on it. Nothing is safe from the needle on my layouts, including foam letters.
I've used this a technique a couple of times and I've maybe even shared it before on different layouts so forgive me if I have.
With this layout, I wanted something to draw more attention to the name "Drew" in my title. He's such a ham for the camera and he's so special and I wanted his name to reflect the same with a special detail.
To stitch on foam letters, it's the same as stitching on anything else, but there are a few things to be aware of.
Tip #1
The first tip (and probably the most important) is making sure that when you pierce your holes you are going straight down. When I am piercing holes for stitching on paper, the way I hold the piercer, like a pen or pencil, it's at an angle and so I'm piercing at an angle. It doesn't matter when you are piercing on a piece of paper because paper is thin and it's a shallow hole. When you are piercing on something thicker, like the foam letters, it matters. That angled hole makes it much more difficult to stitch. It's not impossible by any means, but it definitely slows you down. You end up trying to push the needle through only to find that it won't go straight and you've got to kind of dig to find the angle so the needle with go through. The best solution is to just make sure that you are piercing the holes while holding the piercer straight up and down.
Tip #2
Don't pull your stitches too tight. The foam has some spring and give to it so if you pull too tight, you start pulling the thread too deeply into the foam. You want it to be secure, but not too tight and you want to make sure you are seeing that stitched detail.
Tip #3
Have a baby wipe, damp cloth, or some adhesive remover nearby. The backside of foam letters are pretty sticky and stitching through them can gum up your needle. It helps to clean it off when you start feeling some resistance going through the holes.
I promise, stitching on foam letters is just as easy as stitching on paper, it's just those few things to be aware of.
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