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Home · Homekeeping · Crafts & DIY Projects · Make Your Own Fun, Fabric Covered Letters

38

Make Your Own Fun, Fabric Covered Letters

Jill Nystul  ·  March 26, 2013

fabric covered letters

Ever since I set up my home office…I have had a place on top of my shelving unit that has just cried out for something to be put on it. Since I already have lots of framed pictures on one wall and a cute wall quote on another, I was looking for something different.

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I saw a picture of fabric-covered letters on Pinterest one day and thought that would be fun. I even bought the letters clear back in December…and they have been sitting on the shelf in my craft closet since then. I just couldn’t seem to find any fabric that I liked to put ON the letters.fabric covered letters

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A couple of weeks ago as I was traipsing across the internet I stumbled onto FatQuarterShop.com and my problem was solved! I’m not a quilter so I wasn’t aware you could buy what they call “fat quarter bundles” of fabric in all sorts of coordinating patterns and colors!

From their website:

Fat Quarter Bundles are collections of fat quarters from a fabric line. Fat Quarters are quarter-yard cuts of fabric cut wide (hence the name fat). Their approximate size is 18″ x 21″.

fabric covered letters

I purchased the cutest bundle from Riley Blake Designs called “LadyBug Garden” and when it arrived I couldn’t wait to get started!

I feel I must warn you before I continue with this tutorial. You know that famous line from the movie “Jaws” where Roy Scheider’s character says, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”  When I was a few letters into this project I found myself saying, “We’re gonna need a LOT more glue sticks!”  :-)  Yep, you’re gonna need LOTS of glue sticks…but they’re pretty inexpensive. I got the BIG bag of glue sticks at Walmart for about 2 bucks.

I didn’t set out to make a full-fledged “tutorial” out of this…I just thought I would make it and share a few pictures. But after repeating the process six times on six different letters, I kind of have this down to a science and felt I must share to make it easier for the rest of you. :-)

So here we go. My attempt at a “real” tutorial. Hold on to your seats!  It’s bound to be a bumpy ride!

fabric covered letters

First of all you will needs letters. duh. I got these at Hobby Lobby for around $1.50 each. They are made out of paper mache.

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Then you are going to need some sort of batting if you want your letters to have a little puffiness to them. (You could forego the batting I guess, but I don’t think they would be quite the same.) :-)

fabric covered letters

I used this very thin quilt batting. It was just enough to give the letters a little depth, but not too thick to make it hard to work with.

fabric covered letters

And then you will need some fabric. Like I said, I bought fat quarters and they turned out to be the perfect size for this project.

You will need two squares for each letter. One for the face of the letter, and one for the sides. They can be matching, or contrasting. I went the contrasting route. That’s another great thing about buying a fat quarter bundle for this project. There are lots of different fabrics to choose from and they all coordinate! So convenient. :-)

OK…time to start your glue guns!

fabric covered letters

Cut out a piece of batting that is large enough to cover the front and sides of the letter….plus a little extra to glue to the back.

fabric covered letters

First attach the batting to the front of the letter with glue, then fold each side around the letter and glue to the back.

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fabric covered letters

On the inside corners…snip your material at a diagonal and then glue down.

fabric covered letters

Once all the side are glued down, trim the excess off the outside corners.

fabric covered letters

Now you’re doing to do the same thing with the fabric…with a couple of exceptions.

#1. You want to cut the fabric just big enough so that wraps around the SIDE of the letter, but not the BACK.

fabric covered letters

#2. Instead of trimming the corners off, you’re going to fold them like you’re wrapping a present and glue them down. Once again, snipping the fabric at the corners helps in wrapping it around the letters.

fabric covered letters

Your letter should now look like this. Ready to put the contrasting (or matching) trim around the edges.

Another neat thing about the fat quarters that works so well for the project is that they come with edges that are pinked. (Is that even a word? lol.) So all I had to do was cut strips from each side of the piece of fabric and I used that as the finished edge. Cool huh? Once I figured that out I really began to fly on these letters.

fabric covered letters

Cut enough strips to go around the entire letter. Some letters…like “E”…take more strips than others. You want the strips to be flush with the front of the letter and wrap about 1/2 inch around the back…so make sure you cut them wide enough.

fabric covered letters

Starting at really any place you want, attach the strips using your glue gun. (Are you running out of glue sticks yet???) Keep overlapping, and adding strips until you’ve gone all the way around the letter.

fabric covered letters

As you can see, the trim nicely covers all the unfinished edges, including the corners.

fabric covered letters

fabric covered letters

Now glue the excess fabric to the back of the letter, much like we did with the batting in the beginning, including trimming the excess fabric off the outer corners.

fabric covered letters

Now REPEAT all above steps on however many letters YOUR project has….and then stand back and admire all your hard work!

fabric covered letters

fabric covered letters

A word of advice here.  The first letter is the hardest!  I almost gave up at that point. But I promise, by the last letter (depending on how long the name or word you are trying to spell out is) you will be a pro!

fabric covered letters

fabric covered letters

So how did I do on my first ever full-fledged tutorial? I’m sure there’s massive room for improvement, but there’s got to be a first time. :-)

fabric covered letters

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Hi, I’m Jillee!

I believe we should all love the place we call home and the life we live there. Since 2011, I've been dedicated to making One Good Thing by Jillee a reliable and trustworthy resource for modern homemakers navigating the everyday challenges of running a household. Join me as I share homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make life easier so you can enjoy it more!

Every day I share creative homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make your life easier and more enjoyable!

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Lucille
Lucille

Hello! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward tto new updates.

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5 years ago
trackback
12 Fun DIY Craft Letter Decoration Ideas — A Cultivated Nest

[…] Fabric covered letter by One Good Thing by Jilliee […]

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5 years ago
Kathy Ostler
Kathy Ostler

Jillee, you did great! I’m excited to make these and also the homemade mints!

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5 years ago
Donna
Donna

Awesome can’t wait to try this one!!!!!

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6 years ago
trackback
DIY Mousepad Makeover | One Good Thing by Jillee

[…] the fat quarters (quarter-yard cuts of fabric often used by quilters) I had ordered for my “Fabric Covered Letters” post back in March.  They were almost EXACTLY the right size for this! Another sign it was […]

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6 years ago
Carina
Carina

I love this idea. I have been wanting to add ‘follow your bliss’ in my craft room. Thanks for the tutorial.

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6 years ago
Vintage Quilter
Vintage Quilter

Your letters are great and really brighten up your office. I can’t wait to make some. Thanks for the tutorial.

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6 years ago
Noah Davies
Noah Davies

Normally I do not learn post on blogs, but I would like to say that this write-up very forced me to take a look at and do it! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, quite nice article..watch

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6 years ago
trackback
18 ways to make decorative letters (Easy and creative) - Craftionary

[…] Make fabric covered letter […]

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6 years ago
kelley
kelley

Love this! Glad to learn this after doing letters for my two girls’ college dorm rooms with ModPodge and cute scrapbooking papers-(sticky hands and ripped pieces of cute paper because the glue starts drying)! I have a new project for daughter number three going off to college in August! My fingers thank you!

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6 years ago

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Hi, I’m Jillee!

Every day I share creative homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make your life easier and more enjoyable!

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