Fabric origami business card holder

I thought it would be fun to try making the origami card case in the last post using fabric. I starched a piece of quilt-weight fabric and folded it into a case, then added some decorative stitching. For how to make your own, read on!

To make fabric stiff and crisp like paper, I used Stiffen Stuff purchased at Michael's.

After saturating fabric with the liquid, microwave it for 30 - 45 seconds to dry and stiffen it. If it's a bit wrinkled in the microwave, no problem. Just iron it flat, and you end up with a crisp sheet of fabric that stands up by itself. (Also see this post about using Stiffen Stuff.)

To fold the business card case or gift card holder, follow the steps here. Use an iron to press each crease into the fabric. When the fabric cools, the folds will be fixed in place.

Leave the finished case as is, or add some decorative top-stitching. To do that, unfold the case to the octagon stage and stitch along the diagonal corners on the right side of the fabric.

Stiffened fabric will now behave more like paper, so I found it's better to pull the loose threads to the back side and tie them off, rather than backstitching which makes extra puncture holes.

Flip the octagon over and fold the left and right flaps inward, exposing the square that forms the front and back outer panels of the case. Stitch around both panels. If it's hard to see where the folds are, lightly stick on some masking tape to make a guide for sewing.

Remove the tape and fold the case back up, giving it a final press with the iron again if needed.

The finished case has some exposed raw edges of fabric, but the starch glues the woven threads together and keeps them from fraying.

How to stiffen fabric

I've always wanted to experiment with stiffened fabric, so I picked up a bottle of the aptly named Stiffen Stuff at Michaels.

I sprayed both sides of a piece of quilting weight fabric until it was thoroughly wet. And then, because I'm an impatient girl who gets fed up with air drying, I laid the fabric on a paper towel and microwaved it for 30 seconds. It came out crisp like a sheet of paper! I pressed it for a couple seconds with an iron to smooth out any bumps, and voila.


Stay tuned for projects with stiffened fabric!

Updated project list:
Fabric origami box
Fabric flowers
Valentine heart garland
Fabric wall decals
Origami business card case

DIY stitched fabric notecard

I was rummaging through my fabric stash for guest room pillow possibilities, and I found a little piece of this vintage print. Tiny uniformed guards — so cute! I stiffened the fabric, printed a quote onto plain cotton with my inkjet printer, and stitched the whole works together with a paper insert for writing a message.


The best way to make stiff fabric that I've found is to use Stiffen Stuff (I bought this bottle at Michael's). Mist both sides of the fabric until it's damp. A plastic garbage bag makes a good work surface for this.


Then let the fabric air dry, or for immediate results, microwave it on a paper towel for about 30 seconds or until dry. Don't worry if the fabric gets crumpled up as your turntable spins it around. Press it with an iron until it's nice and flat.


See? The fabric should stand up by itself. If yours feels too floppy, mist on another layer and microwave again.


To print text onto fabric, I set up my document and inkjet printed it on a test piece of letter-sized paper. Then I positioned the plain fabric over it and taped down the leading edge that feeds through the printer first (you MUST tape this edge or you'll end up with a snarl!) I taped the bottom edge down, too, for extra security. Then I reprinted my document onto the fabric. I used unstiffened fabric for this, since it doesn't need the extra structure.




I cut the quote down to size and picked at the edges to fray them a bit for extra character.


Then I trimmed the stiffened fabric into a rectangle and folded it in half. The notecard needed a paper insert for writing a message, so I cut a piece of coordinating paper to the same size.


Then I zigzag-stitched the quote to the front of the notecard and tied the loose ends of the threads together on the reverse side. I used a straight stitch across the fold to attach the insert to the card and tied off the loose threads on each side.


A stationery set with different messages and fabrics would be a really fun gift for someone, right? Add coordinating envelopes and tie the bundle with a ribbon. Cuteness.

DIY fabric wall decals

More fun with fabric stiffener. Here's how to make some easy fabric picture frames for your wall. Or cut out anything your heart desires: silhouettes of your family, animal shapes for the nursery, lettering, ornate designs, party decorations... the world is your oyster. Hey, maybe consider doing an oyster.

I'd heard of people ironing starched fabric to walls and wanted to try it out. Sure enough, I was able to stick my stiffened fabric to the wall with an iron and remove it without harming my paint job. This is super for renters, indecisive decorators, or easily bored people. Note that if your wall is really rough, you'll probably have a hard time making these stick. Also for what it's worth, my walls are painted with flat latex paint.

What to do:
Prepare a piece of fabric with fabric stiffener. See this post where I used Stiffen Stuff in a spray bottle.

Measure your photo and determine the size of the opening needed in the picture frame. I used 5x7 photos, so I wanted to overlap the photo by 1/4" inch on every side. Thus the hole in my fabric needed to be 4 1/2" x 6 1/2".

To make a template for your frame, fold a piece of scrap paper into quarters. You can design one quadrant of the frame and cut through the layers to make a symmetrical border. Mark off one quarter of your frame opening (in my case, 2 1/4" x 3 1/4"). Then sketch a decorative border for the frame.

Cut out the paper frame and unfold to see if you like it, confirming the opening fits over your photo. If you're happy, fold the pre-stiffened fabric into quarters and trace your design onto the back side with a pencil.

Cut out the fabric frame and iron it flat to get rid of the fold marks.

Then iron the fabric frame to the wall. I tried to be quick about it, not leaving the iron pressed against the wall for very long. I'm pleased to report that this didn't harm my paint at all. Some outer bits of the frame weren't sticking at first, so I used the point of the iron to go over those again until everything was adhered well.

After the frame is ironed to the wall, loosen the edges around the picture opening with your fingernail until you've pulled enough loose to insert your photo. If too much comes loose, put the photo in and iron around it to stick the loose parts of the frame back to the wall.

Later I tried peeling these frames off the wall and they didn't leave a mark. Lovely!