Embossing Velvet

I’ve been wanting to try embossing velvet for some time now and finally got around to it today. (Technically, the technique is actually debossing, but no one really calls it that.) I found a great detailed tutorial on Inklings and Imprints. I thought this would be a too-easy project, but I was wrong. Although I had gathered several different velvet fabrics to try as well as velvet ribbons, I found not all velvets react the same when pressed. For small, detailed stamps, I had the best results with vintage velvet ribbon. It took many tries to get good impressions worthy of crafting with, so unless you’re just lucky, be patient with this one.

Big tip: Do NOT use the newer clear stamps, yeah, you guessed it, they melt. Stick with actual pink rubber stamps. Use store-bought ones or have custom stamps made with your own signature, logo or design.

You can see some of the stamps I had made a while back: {LINK}. If having custom stamps made, request your stamps unmounted, (unless it’s mounted on a flat non-handled backplate) as the best technique is to lay the stamp face-up for pressing. Or you can peel your stamps off their mount and glue back on later.

I used my signature stamp and monogram seal design and one that reads VINTAGE.

I framed a few with vintage embellishments I had in my supplies and embossed a ribbon for hanging one of my old watch cases.

Embossing is not only a great technique for decorting velvet for sewing projects, but on a smaller scale, it could work great for scrapbooking, jewelry embellishments and collage. You can also create patterned ribbon for decorative trim or emboss with your logo or shop name to be sewn onto your products for branding.