January 14, 2013

Fabric Letters


I was browsing some local shops downtown and fell in love with the cutest plushy letters, but I didn't love the $30 price tag (that's per letter)! Upon further inspection I could tell it was a cardboard letter in disguise. Immediately I thought to myself, "I can make this for way cheaper!" So when we got home Pinterest had read my mind and showed me this perfect tutorial.

Mine are made a little differently. here's how! In case you were wondering, I bought my cardboard letters from a store called Crafts2000 for about $1 each, but I'm sure you could find them at any craft store (although I couldn't, thank you small town).


Here's what you'll need:
  • Scissors
  • Pinking Shears (optional)
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Glue Sticks
  • Stuffing
  • Cardboard Letter(s)
  • Fabric (fat quarters or scraps)
  • Scraps of Cardboard (like a cereal box) or Cardstock

First lay out your fabric with the printed side down. Lay your letter down and trace an outline about 1/2"-3/4" around it with a pencil.


Cut the outline out using pinking shears so the edges don't fray. This will make it easier to glue later.


Hot glue the fabric to the side of the letter. I learned from experience not to glue the fabric to the face of the letter, it gets bumpy.



Repeat steps one and two for the other side. Start gluing stuffing to the front of the letter until its covered.


Begin gluing your fabric down in small sections while tucking the stuffing in. This part was tricky, especially when it came to the hole in the 'P'


Once that was finished I used some scrap cardboard (in my case, a Ritz cracker box and the cardboard from my fat quarters) and cut pieces to fit each side. I could've done it all as once piece, but I wanted my corners to be crisp and not rounded.


Lay your fabric print side down and laid out my cardboard pieces. Be cautious of where seams will show. When I say seams, I mean that the fabric probably won't be long enough to place all the cardboard in one strip so that there is only one seam (where one end meets the other on the letter). For instance, you don't want a seam along the curve of the 'P'


Cut the fabric, leaving about a 1/2"-3/4" edge, and begin gluing to the cardboard strips.


Once that is done just simply glue the strips along the sides of the letter and wha-la!


I know they're not perfect, but I saved about $50 by making these myself instead of buying them. I can't wait to put them in Aubrey's room! I just need to do a 'J' since the craft store was out.

front
back: notice the 'A' has dimples in it, that's why you don't hot glue the fabric.
Happy Crafting!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts