When fabric found its way into scrapping I thought it had no right in doing so. This was a paper craft and not for fabric, but I was wrong. I can honestly say it’s here and here to stay. After seeing heaps of way’s it has been used in scrapping my mind has changed considerably and I am even using it in my creations.

There is now a vast assortment of papers and embellishments that are made with fabric adorning scrap pages. Some of the brands that have fabric ranges are Making Memories, Michael Miller Fabrics, Paperwishes – stickers, Exotic Journey and more.

Scrapping with fabrics adds a whole new world of dimension to what could of been a simple layout. Using fabrics in your creations is only limited by your imagination. Some of the techniques used are:

• Gather Strips For Flowers - Tack stitch down the centre of a bit of fabric and then gather to create stem for flowers.
• Ribbon Ties – create borders or sections of fabric strips tied into ribbons.
• Gathered strips – same as doing for flower stems but if you use a nice stitch and gather nicely it can give added dimension to a layout.
• Sew directly onto layouts; sew strips of fabric onto layouts as if they are printed paper.
• Torn strips, - use as blocking pieces and fray the edged for added embellishment.
• Make Titles – you can create a reverse title in word and then adhere the printed title to the back of fabric with double sided tape and cut out then adhere to your layout. Be sure to print out on acid free paper.
• Cover chipboard. – fabric is a great alternative to covering all those chipboard embellishments.
• Inking on fabric – most fabrics hold inks & paints very well. You can take a plain fabric and spice it up by adding your favorite stamp to it.
• Photo Corners – create your own fabric photo corners
• Tags – make fabric tags just like the ones you can buy from Making Memories.

Using fabric you can do almost anything with it, handy ways of  making sure your fabric is stuck to your creations is by using either of these method’s; glue, staples, brads, eyelets, double sided tape, spray adhesive or running it through a Xyron. Amazing hey!!

When thinking about the choices of fabric to use in your layouts almost everything is great to use. I would suggest you stay clear of using any wool blends or pure wool on your layouts as these attract. Moths and the last thing we want are for layouts to be eaten.
You can source your fabric out from bargains bins, scrap packs from dressmakers, old clothes and op shops. I would also suggest that you make sure all fabric is clean and free of any sorts of chemicals before using.
So next time you are thinking about using those fabric scraps go ahead and do it, be daring. You will be surprised how good it looks. And the added bonus with fabric; if you make a mistake you can unstitch it and iron it out and start again.

Enjoy the new world of fabric in scrapping!