IN STITCHES

Instructions on how to turn your smaller cross stitch projects into flat fold decorations.
Disclaimer:  These are the steps I used to create the following flat fold.  I came up with this process through trial and error, not from a class or any other type of instructions.  I am sure there are different ways you could do this or shortcuts you could take.  If you think of any ways to make this process simpler let me know.

First gather your supplies.

4 equal sized pieces of cardboard
(Note: You could also use foam core board, but this will make your project thicker.)  I used a fairly stiff cardboard which makes the project stand better.  The size of cardboard should be proportional to your project.  Mine are 6.5" wide and 8.5" long.  
Fabric of your choice (I used 1/4 yard for this project)
White Glue (I use Aleene's tacky glue, dries quick and is thicker and easier to work with.)
Scissors
Ruler
Hot glue gun
Iron (helpful)
Quilt Batting (optional, but strongly recommended)
Pins (optional)
Cording (optional)
Embellishments (buttons, ribbon, etc. - optional)

Have all your pieces of cardboard ready to go.  Then cut a pieces of quilt batting the same size as the cardboard and am attaching it with white glue.  Do this for all four pieces of cardboard.

Next trim your project and 2 pieces of fabric leaving 2 to 3 inches of extra fabric around both.   You want enough fabric so that you can wrap the edges over the cardboard and glue them down.  Lay your cardboard quilt batting side down against the back of the fabric (as pictured) then glue the edges of the fabric to the back of the cardboard.  Repeat this for 2 of the fabric pieces and the stitched project.

The third piece of fabric needs to be longer horizontally than the cardboard by at least 4 - 5 inches.  Glue the fabric to the cardboard the same as the first 2 pieces.

In order to give my project a more finished look I folded over the fabric and glued it down to create a flap.

Once you have all your fabric attached to the cardboard and your back with the flap ready to go, you can begin assembling the project.  You will take the 3 fabric pieces and lay them out as shown below.  You will have 4 pieces.  2 back pieces and 2 front pieces.  The front will consist of your project and a fabric covered piece.  It is IMPORTANT that you attach the back piece with the flap as shown.  This will be the outside back and the flap will be inserted between the top stitched piece and the inside fabric covered piece.

Glue the outside and inside back pieces together as shown.  You will end up with a back piece that looks like this.

Take your completed back piece and the inside front piece and lay out the pieces as shown below.  The inside pieces should both be facing down. The outside back with the flap should be facing up.  You will be sandwiching the flap from the outside back between the front outside (stitched piece) and front inside (fabric covered) pieces. When gluing the flap down leave a gap of about 1/4" - 1/2" of  fabric  between the pieces.  This will act as the "hinge" and allow the piece to fold. 

This is what your finished flat fold will look like when you finish attaching the front outside piece over the flap and the inside bottom piece.  In the second picture you can see how the fabric flap acts as the hinge.

I attached some cording using hot glue.  The bow is just for added effect, you could trim the cord and glue the ends down if you desired.  The cording on the back side is attached in the same manner, I started with a separate piece of cording and glued the end down then wrapped it around the outside edge and glued the other side in place.  I also used pieces of the cording to keep the project from flopping apart. I used a pin to attach the cording between the front and back edges, this worked better than glue for this material.