Honestly, I almost never use the straight stitch. I would say, don't stich on a fold line. When you use a straight stitch in the middle you have the reinforcement of the fabric.

Maybe lengthen your straight stitch a little so there is more card inbetween stitches. I'll try to play around alittle tonight if Faith lets me.

I've never had the problem of them tearing. I'd say 99.9% time i use either a zig zag or wavy stitch around the edges- maybe that makes a difference. ??

I just went through my pile of them (made by me and others) and none are tearing.



OH - another thing For quick kids cards (like invites and thank yous) - just cut a square/rectangle the size of the card, centering the picture, and then cut to fit card and zig-zag. My kids love picking pictures for thier cards.