Stitches, string and thread are just a few things that are an essential part of any sewing project. But, they’re also great accents you can add to a scrapbook layout. If you like using any of these on your digital scrapbook pages this post is a “should read” for you today! This is actually the first in a series of posts all about creating your own stitches, strings and other things.

Stitches add an additional layer of interest to pages, and they can be used for so many things. Use them as embellishments on tags or journal cards. Use them to tack down photos or other ephemera. Use them as you would real stitches by stitching embellishments or papers together. Use them to create or accent a frame. Use them for just about anything!

I know there are a lot of ready-made stitching element packs out there. Like these Decorative Stitches by Valorie Wibbens:

It’s kind of hard to find free ones but occasionally I’ll run into one. As of this writing, I was not able to find any nice free packs.

And if I had to guess, you likely already have some stitches in some of the kits you’ve already purchased…a lot of designers will include these in the elements portion of a kit.

But maybe you don’t already have any stitches. More importantly you might really want to create your own custom designed stitching. Either way, you’re in luck. Today’s post is going to be about how to do just that.

Using drawn lines, doodles or brushes and some styles it’s easy to create your very own, unique stitching…

Stitches With Brushes

One of the easiest ways to create your own stitching is by using brushes. There used to be more than a few free ones available. While working on this post I discovered the free ones are now few and far between. But there is one that is worth a look. Once again, Brusheezy comes to the rescue. I found this set of 16 progressive sewing brushes:

A quick reminder before I go further…I use the current version of Photoshop Elements (PSE – 2024). Some of my screen shots may look different than what you see on your screen depending on the version you are using.

These brushes are specifically listed as progressive. This means that when using the brush, the cursor must be dragged while holding down the left mouse button to be able to see the brushes work. Actually, this is the case with a lot of brushes so don’t read too much into the word progressive.

Alternatively, you can also hold the Shift key down while clicking around a desired shape to create the stiches. Here is some stitching I placed around a PSE basic “tulip” shape (Flower 27):

As I do all the time, I placed that set of tulip stitches on its own layer. That means I can save it as a PNG which can be manipulated later.

Aside from free brushes there are more than just a few sets available for purchase at multiple shops. There are 3 in particular that I would recommend:

• Stitching Brushes & Styles Set by Sheila Reid
• Stitching Brushes & Styles #1 by Mommyish
• Stitching Brushes & Styles #2 by Mommyish

And of those three, I believe that Sheila’s are probably the best from an economic standpoint as you can get it free if you register for an account with DigitalScrapbook.com. Upon registration you will be able to download any kit or bundle of your choice for free. After that, you will receive other free downloads every day via their download credit system.

All three of those sets include styles that will give your stitches a more realistic look rather than just the flat brushed stitch. But honestly, I have found that one of my favorite “string” styles tends to work out better for me. I, more often than not, use the String Photoshop Styles by Karen Schulz:

I just think it ends up looking more natural than the other options mentioned above. Let’s take a look at the various options:

The top set of blue stitches was made using a stitch brush from “Stitching Brushes & Styles #1” by Mommyish. The top row is just the plain brush, The second row shows the stitches with a style from that same set applied. The third row shows the stitches with a string style from “String Photoshop Styles” by Karen Schulz.

Because Karen’s string styles already have color on them, I did have to get just a bit creative in order to keep the original color (or at least close). But I accomplished that by simplifying, duplicating and blending the layers. Here’s a zoomed in version so you can see the difference:

The bottom set of red stitches was made using a stitch brush from “Stitching Brushes & Styles Set” by Sheila Reid. The top red row is just the plain brush, The second red row shows the stitches with a style from that same set applied. The third row also shows the stitches with Karen’s string style. And I had to make the same modifications as I did on the blue stitches to accommodate that pre-colored string style. Here’s a zoomed in version so you can see the difference:

I know even zoomed in it may be hard to really see the differences and maybe it also shows that which style you use may not be all that important. It’s all about personal preference. Just an addition note here…Karen also has a set of Stitching Styles:

Both her String & Stitching styles produce pretty much the same results (using the same exact settings). It’s just that the stitching “texture” is a bit more subtle than the string:

The blue stitch has the “stitching” style applied. Whereas the orange stitch has the “string” style applied. I typically prefer the string style over the stitching style because of the difference in texture. But again, it’s a personal preference. Though there is one advantage to going with the stitching style; there are more color options than the string style (40 vs. 12).

One thing I will say is that using any brushed stitch that ultimately interlocks (as the “flat” red & blue ones above), I don’t think the stitches have a natural “overlapping” effect as you see in the blue & orange ones directly above. But that too can be corrected.

If you place each single stitch on its own layer and apply the style (I used Karen’s string style in orange) to each stitch independently, it looks much more natural. Yes, it takes some extra time but it may be worth it in the end. Just take a look at the difference when I do that:

See how much more realistic this looks? At least I think so. It’s probably not something you want to do on a “large” scale set of stitches. Again, this may be something that isn’t so noticeable on a smaller scale. But I did want you to know the options.

Note: An additional benefit to placing “interlocking”, or actually any stitches, on their own layer is that you can alternate colors between stitches. Certainly, that gives you more opportunity to make your stitching look particularly unique!

There’s nothing that says you have to purchase a style to create the texture. It’s easy enough to create the texture on your own. Typically, I use the PSE Texturizer filter (within the Filter Category named Texture). If you aren’t sure how to find that please refer back to my post about Filter Basics.

With the Stitching layer active I select the Texturizer filter. I tend to go with a Scaling set to about 80 and a Relief set to about 6. But it can vary depending on how large the stitch is and just how much texture I really want. And I don’t mess with the Advance Options for this filter as the actual “Texture” type is set to canvas which seems to work out fine for stitches (at least in my opinion). This takes care of the texture but the stitching still looks flat:

To fix that I add a slight bevel using the standard PSE Bevel style of Simple emboss. But before I do that, I duplicate the layer that has the texture filter applied. The reason for this is because I know the bevel “shadow” is going to be too intense to keep this looking natural. By placing the bevel on this duplicate layer, I can adjust that shadow by changing the opacity. So, I apply the Simple Emboss bevel and go back to the layers panel and double-click on the Effects icon at the far-right edge of the layer to open the Style Settings dialog box.

I then adjust the bevel Size to somewhere around 8-10. But again, it can vary depending on how large the stitch is and just how much bevel I really want. I tend to use the default Lighting Angle of 90 degrees unless I am working on a layout where everything else is set to something other than that. And I keep the Direction set to Up. After I click OK to close the style settings, all I have to do is adjust the opacity of this duplicate layer until I’m happy with the result. Most often that tends to be about 50%. Here’s what that “flat” blue stitching in the first row from the images above looks like when I use this method versus a purchased style:

It might not be quite as nice as Karen’s string style but it works. And, this is a great way to avoid spending money to purchase a style you may not use very often.

So, I’ve given you the basics on how to create stitching using brushes. I know I didn’t show you a whole lot of different stitching brushes but you certainly can go out and look for those on your own.

I do hope this first post about stitching will give you some incentive to play with creating your own unique stitching elements.

Additional Thoughts On Stitching

Digital stitching can give you more unique results but it also can be much more time consuming than working with pre-made stitches that you can purchase.

It’s important to be mindful of positioning of interlocking stitches and using textures and bevels that keep them looking natural.

Experiment with different layer styles (purchased or “self-made”) to get a natural look for the texture & feel of your stitches.

As usual, if you have any questions or want to make a suggestion about a topic you’d like me to cover, please don’t ever hesitate to “Message Me”.

Thanks for reading this week’s Tuesday Tip. Be sure to stop back next week for more tips on creating stitches. If you want to stay informed about new posts, just click “Follow Me” to stay in touch. I hope you have a wonderful week!