How to make a gift card holder
Gift cards... love them, hate them? They are everywhere and make great gifts especially for teenagers and those 'difficult to buy for people'... we all have those kinds of people in our lives! :)
So how do you make a gift card seem more personal and impressive? By making a cross stitched gift card holder!
These little holders are so sweet and easy to make... no-one else will know how easy they are to make so let's keep it as our little secret!!! :)
What do you need to make a gift card holder?
A few easy-to-find craft supplies, your cross stitched piece and, of course, your gift card!
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You will need some felt and embroidery thread as well as a pair scissors or a rotary cutter (to cut the felt!) and some velcro dots.
I like to use some iron-on interfacing to strengthen the stitching, but you can make a gift card holder without this, it's not essential but I would recommend you use it if you can.
How do you make a gift card holder?
There are a few different ways to make a gift card holder, this one is just one of the ways. You can find the 'envelope' method here, or, you can use the method I've outlined below (I don't have a name for the method below... just making it up as I go along!)
Choose whichever one you feel would be easiest for you to make. If you're unsure on which method to use, the method below is a bit easier.
Let's get started!
You can use almost any small design as long as it's smaller that your gift card. The design shown here is one of our designs from our 'A Year of Christmas Stitching' extra charts that is available for email subscribers. You can subscribe by signing up at the bottom of this page. This design will be available on the 15th June 2021, so make sure you sign up for our emails! ;)
First you need to prepare your stitching. I always add iron-on interfacing at this point. It makes your stitching a bit more robust for any handling it will receive. Just follow the manufacturers instructions...it's really easy! Once you've added the iron-on interfacing, trim your design to one square from the edge of the stitching on three sides - the sides and the base. You will need a strip of Aida on the top of the design to form a flap. Use the diagram below for cutting the penguin. If you are not using this design, just cut the design to leave a strip of Aida similar to the diagram.
Now you need to start making the actual felt holder. You will need a strip of felt that is twice as long as the gift card.
Make sure the felt is wide enough to accommodate the blanket stitch you will be doing to join the edges together.
I left approx. 1cm on both sides.
Take the penguin stitching and place it at the top (narrow end) of the felt, making sure it is centered (see picture below). Attach the design to the felt with a row of cross stitches. You can use one of the thread colors from the design or a thread that's the same colour as your felt. A sharp sewing needle rather than a cross stitch needle makes this part a bit easier! This will be the back of the gift card holder - the design will fold over to keep the gift card inside the holder and the little penguin design (or whatever design you are using!) will be seen on the front.
Fold felt in half (with the cross stitch piece on the outside) and then blanket stitch both sides. I used three strands of thread so that the stitching would be quite bold, but you can use two strands if you prefer.
Of course, if you have a sewing machine you can just whizz up the edges with the machine :)
Next add the self adhesive velcro dots - one to the back of the stitching and one to the felt gift card holder. Thank heavens these are self adhesive... can you imagine trying to stitch these on?!!!
And now all you have to do is admire your handiwork and then pop in the gift card!
Happy crafting! (and gift card giving!)
-Rhona
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