Stamp size embroidery
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Introduction
Stamp sized embroidery to define small scale embroidery that roughly fits into a postage stamp area, i.e between 3 x 2.5cm and a bit larger.
embroidered Postage stamps
Several countries now offer embroidered stamps. The first on was created by the Swiss Post in 2000. It was designed by Peter Hostettler, a textile designer from the Bischoff Textiles company in St Gallen. Austria publisehd a series of flow-based design.
"Stamps" in machine embroidery
The word "stamp" is sometimes used to design patterns used in embossed tatami fills, e.g. here
Stamp Size
Stamps come in various sizes, so there is no standard this size.
A10 proposal for embroidery projects
We decided to adopt A10 format (portrait or landscape) in order to laser cut series of patches. The international A series (Wikipedia) based on ISO 216. According to Wikipedia, ISO paper sizes are all based on a single aspect ratio of the square root of 2, or approximately 1:1.41421, i.e.
This ratio has the unique property that when cut or folded in half widthways, the halves also have the same aspect ratio. Each ISO paper size is one half of the area of the next larger size in the same series. (Wikipedia). In addition to being practical (as noted by philosophers in the 18th century), the ratio is also quite pleasant to look at.
A10 is defined in landscape as 26×37 mm or 1.0 × 1.5 inches, but can be used in portrait mode of course.
Typical postage stamp sizes
Cheap, standard series are usually smaller than more expensive "special" editions. A typical size is 2x3cm. Several countries allow designing custom stamps. These are typically larger, e.g. 42x35cm in Austria.
Germany:
- 21 x 30 mm, 44 x 26 mm, 27 x 33 mm, 35 x 35 mm, 55 x 33 mm
- 42 x 28 mm Custom stamp
Austria:
- 42 x 35 mm (Customizable)
Stamp dimension is also defined by the amount of teeth, typically 10 to 14 / 2cm. According to Postage stamp separation, Wikipedia, “The standard for describing perforation is the number of holes (or the "teeth" or perfs of an individual stamp) in a 2-centimeter span. The finest gauge ever used is 18 on stamps of the Malay States in the early 1950s, and the coarsest is 2, seen on the 1891 stamps of Bhopal. Modern stamp perforations tend to range from 11 to 14.”
Anatomy of a stamp sized embroidery
Small size requires some adaptation:
- Since hand-made designs do have an interesting look, machine embroidery could use 12 and 30 threads, mostly working with line-based patterns.
- Detailed designs could be created with fine W.t. 60 thread and needles (size 60)
Links
Examples of stamp sized embroidery
- Stitched Miniatures A nice series of free machines embroideries by Gina Ferrari. Made with a sewing machine I believe. (2013, consulted March 2021). Size is less than 2x2'', i.e. 5 x 5 cm.
- Textile brooches made by Colette Copeland (consulted March 2021)
- Embroidered Valentine Heart Love Stamp. Feltie, Iron-On, Sew-On Patch. Custom Size Available. (Amazon)
- Some vendors sell replications of stamps, e.g. Sweden Stamp Embroidery Design
Examples of embroidered postage stamps
- The St. Gallen Embroidery, A Revolutionary Swiss Stamp, blog post by Victor Manta.
- Austrian Petit Point stamp
- Austrain Gentian stamp
- Lichtenstein stamp with recycled PES yarn
- Vatican 90 years embroidery
Examples of embroidered stamps
Stamps not only design postage stamps, and also can be embroidered of course
- NORTH POLE MAIL STAMPS Machine Embroidery Design. Examples offered by an online embroidery shop.