How to sew letters from fabric: a master class

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:47

Are you looking for original home decoration solutions? Letters are an unusual interior decoration. They are made from different materials: wood, cardboard, papier-mâché, plaster and s alt dough. There are flat and three-dimensional models. After studying our master class, you will learn how to sew volume letters from fabric with your own hands.

What can they be used for?

Letters can be put on a shelf, hung on a wall, even placed on the floor if their size allows. They use individual symbols and whole words, for example, “love”, “family”, “children”, “joy”, “happiness”, as well as names

Decor element for decorating weddings. For example, photos where the newlyweds hold the word “LOVE” or “Love” together look very cute and romantic

Like pillows. If you make large soft cotton letters for everyone, there will be a useful surprise for your husband, child, mother, and mother-in-law. Textile letters will keep the warmth of your hands and bring good luck to the owner

As an educational toy for the youngest children. Toddlers love toys that are nice to hold and carry around. Sew just the letters of the name, and then the whole alphabet. The child will grow up and will be happy to add syllables and whole words

Did you like the idea? Then let's get to work and make letters from fabric. The master class consists of several steps.

Materials

You will need thick cardboard to make the template.

Attention, an important point: find sharp large scissors for cutting fabric. Otherwise, you will not be able to cut the material, you will quickly get tired and quit working.

How to choose fabric for soft letters?

You can take any material, according to your taste and imagination. It all depends on the purpose of the letter:

Cotton, linen, knitwear is suitable for a children's toy, it is easily washed and does not lose its shape if it is constantly wrinkled. Experienced craftswomen advise using American cotton. Looks good thick flannel fabric, knitwear

For interior letters take a dense fabric: drape, corduroy, felt, plush, velor

If the letters are small, you can use scraps of different materials that any craftswoman has

Perhaps, we will list the general requirements for the material. Take a plain fabric or with a small pattern. Although with a large pattern, an interesting design can turn out. Do not use translucent material - everything is visible when stuffing the toy.

The fabric should have a tight weave to make the pillow neat. In addition, do not take material that frays heavily on sections. Too smooth fabric will also not work. If you are new to this business, it will slip in your hands and interfere gentlysew.

And the last thing: if the fabric is very soft, it stretches a lot (for example, knitwear), you need a lining made of dense fabric (non-woven fabric). It is glued with a hot iron to the part.

We digressed a little on theory, and now let's move on to practice.

What else do you need in addition to sew letters from fabric with your own hands?

• Marker for making templates. You can take any bright felt-tip pen or pen.
• Pins for pinning fabric.
• Centimeter.
• Soft pencil, remnant or special chalk for cutting.

How to choose stuffing material?

Usually, different materials are used for soft decorative items. Whether you are sewing a baby toy or a letter pillow for sleep, the choice of filling is very important.

Fillers are of two types: natural and artificial. Let's start with natural stuffing:

• Wadding - not suitable for toy filler. Firstly, washing with such a filler is impossible. Cotton wool gets wet, and after drying, it loses its shape and hardens. Mold can settle in cotton wool if the toy gets into a humid environment.
• Wool is a good filler, soft and light. Sold in stores, the toy can be washed at low temperatures (hand wash). But he has one big minus: if your child is allergic to wool (or an adult family member), then the toy will become hazardous to he alth.
• Herbs - filler has a healing effect: soothing, relieves headaches. A well-chosen collection will solve the problem of insomnia, relieve excessive excitability and tearfulness inbaby. Letters made of fabric with grass filling have a pleasant aroma. Cons: for herbs, you need to sew a separate bag of dense fabric and only then fill the product with them. The product cannot be washed.
• Cereals - peas, buckwheat, beans, seeds, etc. - develop fine motor skills in babies. The product cannot be washed. The filler must be calcined in the oven before use so that the bug does not start. Before stuffing, the cereal is placed in a cotton bag.

Synthetic fillers:

• Foam rubber - sold in hardware stores. Lightweight, gives the toy the necessary rigidity and stability. It is good to make large letters with it to decorate the interior. Washable.
• Sintepon is a modern lightweight material, voluminous, keeps its shape well. The most popular among craftswomen. Safe for babies.
• Hollofiber is a soft synthetic material in the form of balls. Used to make pillows. Hypoallergenic, withstands even high temperatures.
• Sintepukh - a kind of synthetic winterizer, only softer and lighter. It is also hypoallergenic and washes well. It fills the whole detail well, leaves no empty spaces.

Are you already wondering how to sew letters from fabric? Wait a few more tools and materials to prepare.

Additional materials and tools

A few more things that will help you quickly and beautifully make three-dimensional letters:

1. Stationery knife - to cut out the inner holes in the letters. You can do without it if the scissors are enoughsharp.
2. Threads in the color of the fabric.
3. Needles for hand sewing. Can be sewn with a sewing machine, but small letters can easily be sewn by hand.

In our master class, we show a hand sewing option.

Prepare your workspace, lay out all the materials and tools, set up good lighting - and go ahead, let's start creating. How to make letters out of fabric We will act on separate steps.

So, the first step is to make a template

Don't know where to get templates from? Draw by yourself. After all, you only need to know the alphabet for this. Here is an example of the letter "H".

You can immediately print the letter on the printer. If you don't have a printer, don't worry. The letter can be redrawn directly from the computer screen. Those who draw well can easily draw a letter on cardboard.

If you want to change the letter size, it's easy to do in Word. Select the picture and right click. In the context menu, select "Picture Format", and then "Size".

How then does the master class advise making letters from fabric? Transfer the letter to cardboard and cut it out. These blanks are obtained.

To make three-dimensional letters from fabric, templates will be required of good quality: the letters must be large, without small details. Otherwise, it will be difficult to sew and stuff the parts with filler.

Second step - transfer the letters to the fabric

The fabric needs to be prepared: iron and fold face inward. We lay out the letters and draw around with a pencil, leaving an allowance of 0.8-1 cm. It should be noted that it is not necessary to leave an allowance in the holes of the letters. In our case, there are no internal holes.

You can translate templates for letters with a pencil, pen, special marker. It will disappear without a trace from the fabric when you cut the details. If the material is dark, use a cutting crayon or just a small bar of soap. The soap also launders well and washes off the fabric on the first wash.

Cut out the letters. Holes can be carefully cut with small sharp scissors.

Third step - cut out the side pieces

Pattern of fabric letters consists of three parts. Our letters need to be voluminous, so we need side details.

We take fabric blanks and measure all sides of the letter with a ruler.

The sum of all side lengths is equal to the perimeter. Don't forget to measure the inside holes too. Patterns of three-dimensional letters from fabric are made separately for each letter.

One important point: if you sew on a typewriter, be sure to consider the direction of the grain thread when cutting. Otherwise, the fabric will be skewed, and the letter will turn out ugly.

For example, we got 68 cm. We cut out a strip of fabric about 3 - 3.5 cm wide and 68 cm long. The pattern of three-dimensional letters from the fabric is ready.

Fourth step - sew the side piece to the main piece

At this stage of making letters, your patience and accuracy are important. We take onethe main part of the letter and sew a side strip to it. Take your time, carefully sew the strip along the entire outline of the letter. Then sheathe the internal holes, following all the rules. You need to pay attention to the corners: be sure to make a few extra stitches so that there are no holes accidentally.

Here's what happens.

Fifth step - sew on the second main part

Now we sew the second part from the letter to the side part along the contour. Here is what we have now.

Don't pull the stitches too tight to prevent the letter from turning crooked. The last stitch must be secured so that the threads do not accidentally bloom. We turn the blank of our letter on the front side. If the toy is difficult to turn inside out, you can use the blunt end of scissors or a spoon.

The sixth step is to fill our letter with filler

You did a great job. The letter is almost ready. It remains to fill it with filler and carefully sew it up. Since it is difficult to fill the letter with stuffing with your hands, you can use improvised objects, such as a spoon.

Congratulations, now you can easily sew letters from fabric with your own hands.

Now let's have some fun.

Who came up with the idea of using letters in the interior?

Do you know where the fashion to decorate the interior with letters and words came from? We'll tell you.

More than half a centuryBack in the West, artists began to get involved in a fashionable trend in art called pop art. Artists in their works used unusually designed words, letters, slogans to better convey the meaning of the picture. The comic book genre was actively used

The most famous artists of the direction: Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Gradually, designers and sculptors liked the hobby.

Robert Indiana created an entire sculpture out of the words "LOVE". The monument stands in New York and attracts crowds of tourists.

Today, letters can be seen on wallpaper, curtains, carpets and even furniture.

Ingo Mauer, lighting designer, has created a chandelier adorned with scrawled notes. Looks unusual and very romantic.

In Holland, designers came up with furniture in the form of letters. It is in great demand, especially for arranging children's rooms. Volumetric fabric letters are made in the form of pillows, decorations.

You can use inscriptions and letters for decoration in almost any style. Of course, first of all, the letters are relevant in the children's room. They help the early development of the child.

It must be said that adults also like the letters in the interior. If the room is decorated in a minimalist style, the lettering will be a bright detail in the room and enliven the interior.

Our master class is over. I hope you found this article useful. Maybe you have already sewn a cool thing and feel like a real craftswoman. If you don't succeed, don't worry, try again. SoOver time, you will develop the necessary skills and become a real professional. And, perhaps, come up with your own master class on how to sew letters from fabric.