Sending out postcards during holidays has been the tradition of many families all over the world. In the past, store bought cards were the in- thing but eventually these were replaced with personalized ones, like those digital photo postcard printing that usually features the family of the one sending the postcard. But now crafters have taken holiday postcard custom to a new level with embroidery.

Those who have the time and talent make use of an embroidery sewing machine for this purpose. The machine makes it easy to make embroidered fabric postcards as opposed to sewing by hand. These specially designed embroidery machines like Brother SE350 come with a thread art that you can easily use. There are many free to download embroidery designs online and there are also premium designs which are more elaborate, detailed and elegant. Most websites offering these have an extensive collection of postcard embroidery designs.

Now for the basics, start with three pieces of fabric. This is where you make the embroidery. Follow the directions that come with the machine and the design. The instructions are pretty easy to understand so you will not have a lot of trials and errors. You can actually get it the first time, even if you do have a background on sewing.

If you are wondering where you will write the message, this is where the index card comes in. It is the fourth layer to your creation. After you have followed the instructions on how to embroider your design, you have to stitch your postcard all around using a tight satin zigzag stitch. This will ensure that all the layers are well in place and will not tear apart during handling and shipping.

As this is not your regular postcard, the United States Postal Service will require you to write the word \"Postcard\" on the back part, or the index card part. To make it more creative, you can use colorful gel pens for your personal message on the left side half of the card. On the right side, write your recipient’s name and address while leaving space on the upper right hand corner for the postage stamps. The stamp should be manually affixed on the card because obviously, this could not go through those postal machines.

These embroidered fabric postcards are not just for Christmas but for every occasion. There are many templates for every possible event that we celebrate like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s or Father’s Day, 4th of July, and birthdays. You do not have to exclusively follow the templates. You may want to combine some elements that you find on the template with your own photo so that you can further personalize it. That will serve a double purpose—you get to send a photo as well as a postcard in this way. Just stitch the photo using zigzag stitch so that it will be held tightly in place.

Fabric postcards are a nice alternative for this coming holiday season. They can be used as a ref magnet or framed to become wall decors. They could also function as personalized bookmarks. There is just so much use for these creative postcards and so many possibilities in creating their designs. Now you have an option between postcard printing and embroidery for your holiday greetings.


Nichole Vigil runs the great postcard printing services website where you can find many real unique postcards for your collection.