How to Make Fabric Postcards

In this tutorial, I will demonstrate how to make Fabric Postcards. These postcards are a great way to use up scrap fabric, orphan blocks, and embellishments. They are quick and small sewing and quilting projects that allow you to unleash your creativity.

You can give them instead of a card on various occasions such as birthdays, Mother's or Father's Day, or other holidays. You can also create get-well or congratulations postcards.

Although these postcards can be mailed, keep reading this post to learn more about sending them.

You can also watch our video to learn more about making fabric postcards.  These are quick small sewing & quilting projects that you can use your creativity.

WHAT YOU NEED to make fabric postcards

• Fabric Scraps or orphan blocks or fabrics
• Fusible Stabilizers like Pellon 808 or 809 (Purchase from Joann or Amazon) or use scraps you have!
• Heat ‘n Bond Lite double-sided fusible web interfacing (Joann or Amazon)
• Printable Postcard Template for Backing (optional) - Find the link at the end of this tutorial.
• Embellishments like ribbons, bows, buttons, ric-rac (optional)
• Sewing machine
• Scissors and basic sewing supplies
• Pinking Shears (Joann or Amazon) or Rotary Pinking Blade (Joann or Amazon) (optional)

Sample postcards and inspiration

I am sharing a few I've made to give you some ideas on where to start making your fabric postcards.  We also have another page with 25+ Fabric Postcard Tutorials for further inspiration.

For these postcards, I used leftover Valentine fabric from a quilt.  One of the prints in the collection has motifs.  I cut out some of the motifs and placed them on the postcard.  I then used a blanket stitch around each motif, a zig-zag around the outside, and cut the edges with pinking shears.

I have a box of extra fabric pieces cut for previous quilts. These leftover pieces can easily make fun postcards since you only need a small 4" x 6" rectangle. 

The postcard above was made from extra half-square triangle blocks left from my Star Stream Quilt.  I sewed them together into a rectangle and used a decorative flower stitch from on sewing machine to quilt it.

I cut this last one from extra fabric leftover from my Wavy Table Runner. I then quilted between the fabrics using a decorative star stitch.  So, look through your orphan blocks; there may be some to use!

Can I mail a Fabric Postcard?

Fabric postcards are usually made 4” x 6”, the standard postcard size. But can they be mailed with the postcard rate?  

Fabric postcards can be mailed but most likely will require at least US Letter postage. The USPS requires postcards to be very thin, a maximum of .016 inch thick.  Most fabric postcards will exceed this thickness, so mailing them with letter-size postage would be required.

Fabric postcards must also be hand-stamped because they can get caught in the machines. If they do go through the postal machines, they could get damaged.  So, you may consider mailing them in an envelope that will protect your work! Fabric postcards will fit into small padded envelopes or legal-sized envelopes. 

If your postcard in the envelope is heavier than 1 oz, extra postage will be needed. Consult with your local postmaster for recommendations on mailing the fabric postcards.

Printable Postcard Back

I’ve created a free printable PDF backing that you can use for your postcards. This can be printed on cardstock and then applied to the back of the fabric postcard to give it more support and give you a place to write a message.

To get the Free PDF Printable for the postcard back, look at the end of this tutorial after my signature.  A link will be included in the list of links to supplies for this project.

Let’s get started making fabric postcards!

INSTRUCTIONS to make fabric postcards

Step 1: Cut and Assemble Blocks

Sew together fabrics or cut one fabric to approximately 4" x 6". Some ideas for creating your fabric postcards follow.

Applique

To use a fabric with motifs, fuse Heat 'n Bond Lite to the back of the motif fabric. Follow the instructions on the Heat 'n Bond package for fusing. 

Use a sharp pair of scissors and carefully cut out the motifs.

Cut a piece of background fabric, 4” x 6”.  Peel the paper backing off the cut-out motifs and fuse them onto the background fabric with an iron.

Leftover Cut Fabrics

Do you have cut pieces of fabric saved from other quilt projects? Below I have some leftover triangles cut from a Valentine quilt and some squares and triangles from another quilt.

Arrange and assemble these fabric pieces into a block that is at least 4” x 6”. Once the block is sewn together, trim it down to 4" x 6".

Be creative with the arrangement of the blocks.  For the first fabric postcard I made with the fabrics shown below, I arranged the half-square triangles in a rectangle (see earlier in the tutorial for a photo).

The half-square triangles can be turned and arranged in another layout to create an on-point square.  A leftover strip added the side of the block will make it at least 4" x 6".

Orphan Blocks

Another option to make fabric postcards is to use orphan blocks or leftover fabrics that have been sewn together.

The photo below shows leftover fabric from a table runner.  I cut this fabric into 4” x 6” blocks to create wintery fabric postcards.  This was so quick and easy since the fabric was already sewn together!

Finished Fabric Postcard Blocks

Below are some assembled blocks.  If necessary, trim the blocks to 4” x 6”.

Step 2: Add Stabilizer

Before quilting the blocks, add a piece of stabilizer to the back.  This is a great project to use leftover pieces of fusible stabilizer.  Look in your stash and find something fusible to support the quilting stitches.

If you need to purchase, look for a fusible stabilizer like Pellon 808 or 809.

I don't recommend quilt batting since it may show along the edges of the finished fabric postcards.

Cut out 4” x 6” pieces of fusible stabilizer. Iron the stabilizer to the back of each block.

Step 3: Quilt the Postcards

Quilt the postcards as desired.  This is a perfect project to try out some fancy stitches on your sewing machine.

After quilting, you can add other stitch embellishments, ribbons, bows, and buttons onto your postcards. Be creative and try out different techniques and embellishments.  I'll share some of my ideas below.

For the postcard below, a leaf stitch was stitched on the pinwheel, and a button and bow finished the embellishments. Hand sew on buttons or even sew buttons with a sewing machine zig-zag stitch.

The postcard below has some buttons and a flower applique sewn on.

To finish the appliques, quilt around the motifs with a zig-zag or blanket stitch.

The wintery postcard below has a star stitch across the seams.

For the postcard below, a feather stitch is stitched across some of the seams, and some buttons were stitched on with a sewing machine button stitch.

Step 4: Add a postcard backing

Once you have finished quilting the postcard, add a backing.  You can use another light-colored fabric or print our printable postcard back onto cardstock for the backing. Find a link to the free printable at the end of this tutorial.

Fabric Backing
To use a fabric for the back, cut a piece of fabric 4" x 6" for backing. Light colors like white or cream work best.  Fuse a piece of stabilizer to the back of the fabric to give it more stiffness.

Cardstock Backing
Download the printable PDF and print it onto a piece of cardstock. Each printout includes two backs. Cut out each postcard back along the lines. The cardstock backing doesn’t need any extra support.

Fuse the Backing to the Quilted Fabric Postcard
Cut a piece of Heat ‘n Bond, 4” x 6”, and fuse it to the back of the quilted fabric postcard.

To fuse, use a hot, dry iron. The Heat' n Bond only takes around 10 seconds to fuse to the fabric. For detailed instructions, refer to the package instructions.

Remove the paper backing from the Heat 'n Bond. Place the quilted fabric postcard front and the postcard backing together, wrong sides together. 

Fuse the cardstock and fabric postcard front with the iron.

Step 5: Finish the outside edge of the fabric postcard

Finish the edge of the fabric postcard to keep it from fraying and to keep all the layers together.  This can also add another bit of decoration to the postcard.

One option is to stitch around the outer edge of the postcard.  Use a decorative or zig-zag stitch over the postcard's edge.
Another option is to trim around the postcard with pinking shears to add a decorative edge.  The first postcard below has just the pinked edge.

For this postcard, I stitched a zig-zag stitch just inside the edge and then used a pinking blade to cut around the edge.

The fabric postcards are complete! Below are some samples of finished postcards.

Some other projects that use scrap fabrics:

• Fidget Quilts
• Scrap Fabric Upcycling Ideas
• Heart Mug Rug Pattern
• String Pieced Potholder