For years I have wanted to use a "handmade by" stamp on all my craft projects and not be limited by sew on labels.  I recently had my artwork made into deep etch rubber stamp sets that have clothing sizes and designs for stamping fabric or other craft mediums with a "handmade by" tag.   I chose to go with the unmounted rubber stamp sheets so that they could be more versatile and easier to convert to the crafter's needs.   I am also lazy and it took me a long time to get around to mounting the stamps onto wooden handles.   So in case anyone out there is like me and has unmounted stamps they want to use immediately, I wrote a quick and easy tutorial on how to use unmounted stamps on fabric. 

I would like to note that I am not a stamping expert and I cannot guarantee excellent results by using this tutorial.  This is for those who own unmounted rubber stamps and have not had the opportunity to mount them but want to start using them right away. Mounting your stamps does help regulate your results and it is much easier to use.  But you don't have to have them mounted in order to use them.

Let's get started.

Step 1 - Place cut out rubber stamp design gently onto ink pad. Softly press down on all areas of the stamp design. Then grasp the sides of the stamp with a straight upward movement and remove from the ink pad.  Check to make sure the ink has covered the outline of the stamp.  Then, still holding the sides of the stamp, lay it down gently onto the fabric and area you want stamped. Try not to drop, bounce or rock the stamp back and forth.



Step 4 -  Lift the lid off of the stamp and then gently grasp the sides of the stamp and raise it straight up and off of the fabric.

A medium weave cotton fabric stamped with pigment ink.

  Let the ink dry for at least 8 to 10 hours.  The ink then needs to be heat set in order to stay on the garment and not be washed out the first time it's laundered.  If you are not happy with the stamp placement then you can wash the garment right after stamping to remove the ink.  Heat set the ink by placing a piece of smooth fabric like a pillowcase over the stamped area and then iron over the fabric and stamped area.  Use the hottest setting on your iron and no steam.  Move the iron slowly over the area for at least 2 to 3 minutes for a good set.  Wait a day or longer before washing the garment.   Pigment ink or an ink specifically for fabric can be used on smooth, tight weave fabric.  The ink will take longer to fade if used on a synthetic material verses cotton or all natural fibers.  If the fabric is rough or fuzzy, the stamp will not be as sharp and clean looking.  If you are stamping on wood, ceramics or glass, you will need to use permanent or an brand of ink like Fabrico (VersaCraft) that is recommended for that type of surface.


It's that easy to get started with your unmounted stamps.  When you are ready to add mounts to your stamps, there are many resources on the Internet for either wood or acrylic block mounts.  Wooden mounts are usually attached permanently where acrylic blocks can be used with a type of adhesive mounting foam that sticks to the acrylic with static cling, allowing the stamp to be removable.  Until then, you can still stamp your handmade creations with ease.


Have fun stamping!

• Medium weight, non fraying fabric like faux suede, pleather or vinyl.
• 2 to 4 weights like metal washers found at the hardware store. Approximately 1.5" in size.
• sewing machine and matching thread in bobbin
• a pencil or marker
• scissors

First, trace your pattern.  I used a piece of card stock, laid the washer down for a general size reference and then folded it in half and traced one half of the pattern.  Then I proceeded to cut the folded paper so I would have a full sized mustache pattern.



Make sure the washers will fit with a nice amount of room.  It's nice to have some room for them to slide around a bit which helps distribute the weight on pages that do not want to stay open.

Then cut out your pieces.  You will need two.  It's easier to fold the piece in half and cut. That way you can make sure the sides are even and it takes less time.


Then lay your two matching pieces together right sides facing out.  You will not be turning and topstitching.  Just stitching along the outside of the fabric.  If you do not own a sewing machine, hand sewing could certainly be an option.


Make sure you have matching thread in your bobbin, and start sewing the two pieces together starting at the bottom of the left curl of the stache.  I did not use pins because they leave holes in this type of fabric.  The pieces are small enough to keep under control when sewing, but if you are worried about them slipping, then you can use a touch of water based stick glue on the inside between the two pieces. Just make sure you do not put any where you will be stitching or you risk gumming up the needle.  Go slow and take your time. You want to make sure you catch both pieces in your stitching.

Once you have reached the other side of the mustache, you can slip one (or two if you are stacking two) washers in between the two pieces on the right side. (see diagram 1)

Do not pick up the needle.  Just slide the weights in between and push them toward the top of the curve so you will have plenty of room to sew.  Then continue sewing until you reach the middle of the bottom left curve. Stop your machine again and slide the other weight (or weights) in and push to the top of the curve to allow more room to sew.  (see diagram 2)


Here it is being used to weigh down a cookbook.  Also works great on textbooks and magazines. You can adjust the size and amount of weights for your needs. In the picture below, I cut a smaller one out and glued it to some stiff cardboard to use as a regular bookmark.  That one is on top, then the middle one has two small weights in it, and the bottom one has four.


Thank you! Happy sewing.

Approximately a 1/2 a yard of fabric. If you plan on using several different fabrics for the petals, you will need approximately ¼ of a yard of each fabric.

Medium to heavyweight fusible interfacing. You can use sew in interfacing as well, but it is much easier with the fusible.

One large button. Any style will do, however I personally like the four hole button style for this pattern.

A sewing machine, scissors, straight pins, hand needle and matching thread. I recommend a embroidery needle which is larger and thicker. It will be easier to use through the layers of fabric.

A thimble. Yes, you need to search for that old sewing kit you received long ago and get that thimble out. There are quite a few layers of fabric and interfacing you will be hand sewing through and you will thank me. :)

wire, wire cutters and needle nose pliers. (optional) You can use floral wire that is available in most grocery/goods stores. You can also use jewelry wire. I used 20 gauge jewelry wire in my flowers.

The pattern. Which is HERE. You need to make 3 copies if you are using all three sizes.

Pardon me while I ninja spam my latest creation and product. (Psst, it's the stamp.) :)


Turn it and then you can slip a wooden clothespin or a binder clip like I used for hanging your ginormous flower you made.  I machine stitched a little pocket for the metal handle to fit in and then hand stitched it to secure.




These would be great as sunflowers or in patriotic colors for the summer.  You also could make them smaller by only using the medium and small sizes but maybe more petals to make it fuller. 

Thank you for reading. I hope if you do attempt one of these, you will share. Thank you!