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Fabric letters can add great aesthetic to stitcheries, pillows, quilts, and many other projects.

To create fabric letters, first create a document with all the words you want to use.  Play with fonts until you find something you like–keeping in mind that you will have to cut these out by hand (unless you have a Cricut or comparable die-cut machine).  In the illustration below, I’ve used the Gungsuh font at 88 pt.

 Plan ahead and select the scraps of fabric you will use for each word or grouping of words.  

I specifically use Lite HeatnBond iron-adhesive because it is easy to work with and produces beautiful results.  (I made the mistake of trying Pellon once and it was no bueno…lesson learned!)   

If you are working with Lite HeatnBond iron-adhesive for the first time, you will notice that there is a gritty-side and a paper-side. Using a lightbox or sunlit window, trace the reverse image of the letters onto the paper-side of the iron-adhesive.

Separate the words into their groupings.

Match each word section with its corresponding scrap of fabric.  Lay each word section on top of the fabric so that its gritty-side is touching the “wrong” side of the fabric.

Iron the two layers together using an iron on medium heat.  The heat from the iron will fuse the layers together.

Carefully cut the letters out.

Some letters will have enclosed areas that are tricky to remove neatly with scissors.

Carefully use an exacto knife to remove these enclosed areas.  Make sure you cut on a surface that won’t be damaged by the sharp cuts.  I like to use a manila folder.

And you are left with letters that look clean and crisp.

Remove the paper from the back of each letter.  Arrange the word onto your project and iron it in place.  The heat from the iron will cause the letters to fuse to the fabric.  For projects that will be washed, I also stitch the letters in place.