Crafter's Know-How | THE BLANKET STITCH

Soundslike the most cozy thing on the planet, but does involve needles, so a word of caution.

The so-called Blanket Stitch is a super easy embroidery technique to encase a piece of fabric - or in this case, a postcard - in cute trimming that evens out the edges and creates a neat finish.

Fitting, because I too love to wrap myself up in a cuddly-wuddly blanket with not much more than a good book. Granted, it might just be a tad too hot for sheep's wool and piping hot tea; but a summer's night out on the balcony with a little padding under the bum sounds good enough for me.

Sleeping is easily my favorite thing ever. Or more accurately, the time leading up to a deep slumber.

Lounging on the bed in a comfy night gown wrapped in sheets of linen and lost in between the pages of a far-off world, slipping effortlessly from one day to the next with the occasional memory of an activity seemingly long passed popping up here and there; making lists in your head with the deliberate intention of finishing each item with efficiency and precision once the sun rises; then realizing that there is no way you will ever get anything done if you spend most of your time as a couch potato drooling over fictional characters, hugging knitted blankets and teddy bears named Buttercup. Which I no longer have. Of course.

Anyways, ultimately the energy slowly slips out of your body leaving you either perfectly relaxed (occasionally) or completely and utterly exhausted (most days).

To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure if this has anything to do with the blanket stitch, but it sure felt fitting when I first started writing...

So as it turns out, the blanket stitch simply got its name from its original use as a reinforcement stitch intended to prevent fraying of edges on blankets.

Well there you go. The blanket stitch and blankets and sleeping officially go together like copy and paste.

So there.

Here, I used the stitch as decorative edging on postcards that will be sent out to friends and family over the next few weeks.

I find it looks pretty cute and gives the cards a little something extra. What do you think, do paper and embroidery go well together?

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
- sewing needle
- embroidery thread
- fabric or postcard
- scissors

Step 1: Thread your needle with the embroidery thread and tie a knot at the end to secure. Bring the needle from the back of the fabric to the front close to the edge of the fabric.

Step 2: Reinsert the needle back into the fabric a short distance away from your starting point, parallel to the fabric's edge. Don't pull the thread all the way through so that a small loop forms.

Step 3: Insert the needle into and through the loop from the top down and pull tight. This first stitch will look a little wonky, but we will fix that in the end, so don't worry about that for now.

Step 4: Continue along the edge of the fabric pushing the needle back into the fabric creating another loop and threading the needle through the loop. Try to keep your stitches evenly spaced. If necessary, you can mark where your stitches should go beforehand using a pencil.

Step 5: If you run out of thread, you can simply exchange it for another like so: After finishing a stitch, tie a small knot around the thread at the back of the fabric and weave your needle back along 3-4 stitches. Snip off the end.

Re-thread your needle and starting 4-5 stitches away from your final stitch, tie a small knot and weave back to where you left off. Continue stitching as before.

Step 6: Once you've worked your way around the fabric and have reached your starting point, simply finish the last stitch and connect it with your first stitch by inserting the needle into the first stitch. Bring the needle to the back of the fabric and anchor it into place.