There are a number of ways that you can achieve a “patchwork” feel to your scrapbooking pages, and indeed this style can be used to great effect on cards too.

I call this a “style” as opposed to a technique because, as I am about to show, you can achieve the look in a number of ways.

In the layout below (also shown in THIS Page Tour Video) I have created the feel of a scrapbook page by cutting squares of paper, distressing their edges and then using a sewing machine to stitch around the edges.

To save on time I only stitched where it would be seen outside of the photoblock. I was either in a hurry, or I was running low on the right coloured thread (or possibly both, LOL !) 

I then used double sided tape to stick the squares to the background Mulberry paper.  It was much easier to do this than actually sew the squares in place.

I also used the sewing machine to create this “patchwork feel” (below).  I used the zigzag stitch and sewed in straight lines/corners.  I got this idea from a skirt in a shop window actually, the material looked like patchwork from afar, but when I studied it there was just stitching “inferring” patchwork. 

Also, I stitched the maroon panel on three sides to make a pocket on the page.

I noticed, when I turned over the page, that the pattern made by the stitching on the white paper was actually rather effective, and so you could easily sew a contrasting thread onto light paper (or vice versa) and create a nice effect.  Maybe good for more masculine pages and cards?!

Other ways to create a patchwork feel for pages is to Fake It!  Just draw stitching along the edges of paper or, as in the case below, I have actually photocopied some scraps of actual material and then added my hand drawn stitching.  Of course you can buy rub-ons to do the same thing, but drawing the stitches is a lot cheaper and more flexible for corners and the like.

Here’s a close up of the hand drawn stitches.  Quite effective don’t you agree?

And finally, here is a card I made using my sewing machine.  Quite a lot of stitching on this one, but it definitely give a card that extra special feel.  I stitched the patchwork onto a separate piece of cardstock first and then adhered that to the front of a card blank, which also hid the back of the brad holding the ribbon in place.

And here is a close up of the stitching.

Of course you can actually hand stitch your layouts and cards, but don’t forget the sewing machine, or better still your pens!