HOW TO MAKE FABRIC LETTERS

It is some time ago I´m seeing fabric letters on different shops online...I loved them and wanted to do them myself (of course) . At first I thought it was something terribly difficult. However, after a little research I realized it's easy ...really easy. And not a single stitch is required !

DISPONIBLE EN ESPAÑOL

Once you know the technique you will see that you can do other forms than a letter. I also encourage you to try different materials...and please, let us know the results!!!

MATERIALS

These are the materials I used for the letters

• ·         Porexpan for making body of letters
• ·         Fabrics
• ·         Pencil , paper and kraft paper
• ·         Rule
• ·         Scissors and cutters
• ·         Glue and PVC craft glue

About the materials:

To make the body of the letter you can use any material providing endurance and thickness : foam , cardboard - mouse  , rubber  . If you have access to building materials there are different types of thermal insulation really useful .

You do not necessarily have to use fabric for this project , you can use different types of paper, or even combine fabrics and paper ... I love combining kraft paper and fabrics.

HOW TO MAKE THE BODY OF THE LETTER

First thing you need is design the letters. I usually take the following from DAFONT:

• FFF Tusj size 530
• SKETCH BLOCK size 550

When designing think if you 're going to hang the leters or if they need to be stable for standing by themselves on a base. In the last case the letter has to have a foundation that will provide balance to sustain itself , so in the case of letters like C , O, S ... have to soften the lower curves (leaving a horizontal I file ) to forms the basis of the letter. (See how my "U" has a horizontal base)

HOW TO LINE LETTERS .

First let's cover the front and back with fabric. No you have to use the same fabric for both sides.

In my case I will use burlap on one side , so I 'll put kraft paper on the face before placing the fabric. As in my other side is a more opaque fabric  I do not need to put anything between the support and the fabric.

To make the preliminary step I just  drew letters on paper, cut and paste .

With the fabric is virtually the same, only that I have to leave as a cm more looseness . It's just that excess edge that you bend and glue on the letter edge. Be careful that fabbric does not exceed the  edge  ... althoug, anyway, you can cut later what exceeds. Also be careful with the type of fabric . In my case, the burlap is very rigid , besides using glue and pressure to bond the edges of the fabric to the edges of the letter I 've had to help with staples . You will not need staples for light and flexible fabrics. 

I used burlap on one side and cotton fabric on the other side.

Secondly, and finally, I covered the edges of  letters and heart figure.

I used  kraft paper for the edges , but the same technique can be used with fabrics.

I measured the edge of the figures once I have lined their two sides.As far as I used different type of fabrics , each figure has a thickness . The heart and "I" have 2 cm and 2.5 cm "U" has .

Also I have to measure the approximate perimeter of each letter and / or figure. In my case "I" has about 30 cm, the heart 25 cm and the "U" is 50 cm.

Cut strips of Kraft paper ( or fabric if you prefer) the length of each strip will be a couple of cm longer than the perimeter of each figure and the width of each one cm more on each side of the strip. Consequently to previously measurements and looseness my strips are:

•  "I". length 32 cm, width 3 cm
• Heart. Length 27 cm, width 3 cm
• "U" strip : 52 cm long , 3.5 cm wide

I fold the sides leaving 1 cm on each side, hit the edges with glue stick , and a ruler above for helping fixing.

Now I 'm hitting, very slowly and carefully , the strip to the letter. I'm using glue stick and PVC glue as me interested and pressing

In another example , I gave a backstitch on either side of the fabric strip to give effect "stitched "

It is very easy to do , especially if you choose flexible and light fabrics . And the larger is your letter/figure the easier is to do.

Hope you like it . It is a technique that can get some very original corporate letters, or give an initial ... or an entire word or name if you dare! Ideal for a present !

xoxo