20 Sewing Projects
with words & letters
Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate
Contentspp1–5 Prelims
pp6–7 Introduction/Where to find free fonts
pp8–113 The ProjecTs
1 shadowed-letter Pillows
2 one-letter Doorstop
3 Translucent Window shade
4 Garland Bunting
5 Alphabet iPad cover
6 Ampersand Bookends
7 stuffed Alphabet Blocks
8 Initialed cellphone case
9 “Yes chef!” Apron
10 shiny-letter Washbag
11 one-letter Tote Bags
12 cyclist’s Letter Bag
13 Personalized Photo Album
14 Block-letter Dog coat
15 Initialed Leather shopper
16 calligraphic Table runner
17 Folded-letter Table Linen
18 script Picnic Blanket
19 hot!/chaud! Pot holders
20 Monogrammed Bedlinen
pp114–127 Templates
pp128 Index & Acknowledgements
Before you start...• Traceorphotocopythetemplateforthe doorstoponpage114.
•Cut4identicalbodypiecesfromcanvas.• Choosewhichletteryouwantonthedoorstop,thenphotocopyitfromthealphabetonpage115, andenlargeitto10in/25cmhigh.
{One-letter}Doorstop
Madefromhard-wearingcanvas,weightedwithsandandbeans,andadornedwithasingleboldandcheerfulletter,thisdoorstopwould
makeaterrifichousewarminggift.It’squicktomake,andthetwo-colortreatmentofasingleletterensuresitmakesastrongvisualimpact.If you’dprefermoreofaPop-Arteffect,youcouldexchangetheplainshadesfortwotonesoftheneonfeltcolorsnowavailableincraftstoresoronline.
you will need1½yds/1.25m midweight natural-colored canvas
1 x 12in/30cm square turquoise felt
1 x 12in/30cm square royal-blue felt
12in/30cm--length striped 1-in tape (to make the lifting tab)
Cream sewing thread
2lb/1kg dried beans, any type
2lb/1kg silver sand (available from builder’s suppliers or pet stores)
non-permanent fabric pen
Metal ruler or straight edge
Craft glue for fabric
sharp scissors
TheProjects{17}
Experiment with upper and lower case and different colors to vary the effect.
While it can look a little too solid to be used for whole words on fabric projects, Cooper Black’s strong outline works well for single letters and initials
ThedoorstopinitialhereistakenfromCooperBlack,aheavyseriftype,oneoftheold-styleCooperfamily,designedinthe1920sbyOswaldBruceCooperofChicago.
aBout the font
COOPER BLACK
{Garland}Bunting
Thebest-everhand-madewaytomarkabigoccasionorsendaspecialmessage,thesebuntinggarlandsarequicktomakeonceyou’vemastered
thebasicpennantstructure.Our“HappyNewYear”materialsallowfortwelvelettersbutyoucansizeupordowntomakeanymessageyouwant.Thesimpleletteringiswhat’sknownasaninlinefont—thatis,eachletterismarkedbyaninternallinewithacontrastcolorsurround,whichworkswellforreadingatadistance.
6½yds/6m woven braid, ¼" wide
1 x 8in/20cm square bright pink felt
1 x 8in/20cm square turquoise felt
1 x 8in/20cm square yellow felt
1 x 8in/20cm square orange felt
24in/60cm length blue silk
24in/60cm length green silk
4½yds/4m length of green tape (if you’d prefer to make your own, you’ll need
20in/50cm length green fabric)
sewing thread in blue, green, pink, turquoise, yellow and orange
1yd/¾m mid-weight fusible interfacing
non-permanent fabric pen
Craft glue for fabric
Craft knife
Metal ruler or straight edge
Bradawl
sharp scissors
Before you start...•Photocopythepennanttemplateonpages118–19.•Cutthefollowingpieces: 2xbodypiecesforeachletterofyourgarland—counttheletters.
aBout the font
CyClone Cycloneisaslightlyelongatedinlinefont.Itreadswellatadistance,soit’sgreatfortheseletterflags,astheyneedtolookgoodfromfartheraway.
You can use sharply contrasting colors for the internal lines to make the letters “pop.”
you will need
TheProjects{25}
It’s a modern sans serif font, with clean lines.
Making the garland
1
6
7
2
3
4
5
Make the letters:
1 Makeaquicksketchofyourwords,sothatyoucanplan
yourcolors.Wealternatedpink,yellow,turquoise,andorangefelt,butyoucouldusefewercolorsorevenstickwithjustoneifyoupreferasimplereffect.
2 Photocopythelettertemplatesyouneedfrompages120–21,andenlargethem to6in/15cmperlettter.Cut themout.
3 Cutapieceofinterfacing foreachofyourfeltsquares.Eachpieceshouldfitexactly.
4 Followingyourcolorplan,layeachletter,wrongwayup(soit’sreversed)ontothewrongsideofthefelt,anddrawaroundthemwithapencil.Usesharpscissorstocutthemoutneatly.
Make the flags:
5 Usingtheflagtemplate,cut12flagshapesoutofthe
bluesilk,and12moreoutofthegreen.Leave1in/2.5cmseamallowancearoundtheedgeofeachshape.
6 Foldthetemplatealongthemiddlefoldlineandusethe
non-permanentmarkertomarkthehorizontalandverticallinesalongthefoldsofsixoftheblueandsixofthegreenflagshapes.Theselineswillensureyouplaceeachletterintheexactcenterofitsflag.
7 Peelthepaperinterfacingbackingoffthebackofeachletterandplaceitcarefullyinthecenterofoneofthepreparedflagpieces,matchingthecolorstoyourplanandusingthelinesasguides.
8 Presseachletterontoitsflagpiecewithaniron,usingapieceofscrapclothorateatowelbetweentheironandthefabric.
9Whenallthelettersareinplace,threadthesewing
machinewithpinkthreadandstitcharoundthepinkletterswithadecorativezigzagstitch.Rethreadthemachinewitheachoftheothercolorsinturn,andstitchtheremainingletters,eachinmatchingthread.
10 Usethenon-permanentmarkertomarkthe
centrallinesineachletter,readyfortheadditionofthebraid.
8use a tea towel between the iron and the interfacing
line up the interfacing neatly with each felt square
sketch out your letter plan in color
10
9non-permanent marker lines dissappear in a day or two
{26}TheProjects TheProjects{27}
{Calligraphic}TableRunner
{88} TheProjects
The vividyellowofthelinensetsoffthegrayherringboneofthescripted“bonappétit!”messagebeautifully.Thescriptismadefrombiastape,
appliquédontothelinen—thebiasmakesthetapestretchy,whichinturnmakesitsimpletopullintoshapetomatchtheflowingcurvesofthetype.Youcanmakeyourownbindingfromanymaterialyoulike,orifyouwantgreatresultsbutarefeelingtime-pooryoucanusereadymadebiastapeboughtatanycraftorsewingstore.
you will need
1¼yds/1m lightweight herringbone fabric in pale browns and grays
1" bias-tape maker
or
10m ¾ in-/1.5cm-wide pale gray bias tape
2yd/1¾m bright yellow linen
Brown sewing thread
non-permanent fabric pen
Metal ruler or straight edge
10-in/25cm-diameter embroidery hoop
embroidery needle
dressmaker’s pins
sharp scissors
Before you start...•Trace orphotocopythewordtemplateonpage124.•Enlargeitonthephotocopierto48in/1.2mlong. (You’llfinditeasiesttodothisintwoorthreeparts,thentapethemtogethertomakethefull-sizetemplate.)
aBout the font
Santa FeDesignedinthe1980s,SantaFe,anelegant,curlingscriptfont,wasusedasinspirationforthecalligraphicwritingweusedonthetablerunner.Ifyouwanttocreateyourownmessage,you’llfindaguidetolinkingthelettersonpage117.
Bias tape works well for reproducing any particularly curvy or calligraphic font.
Twenty sewing projects with words and letters
Words and letters have never been more popular used as decoration around the home — everyday objects are blossoming with everything from single characters in a bold san serif to whole words and phrases in elegant calligraphic faces. Soft Fonts takes the trend and runs with it, offering 20 neat, fabric-based projects tailored to a new crafting audience that is both handy and design literate. From iPad cases and pillows to window shades and doorstops, every project showcases a specific font or group of fonts, and templates and stencils ensure that letters are easily and accurately transferred from page to fabric.
There are guides to customizing each project with your own words or letters, and for type enthusiasts, there’s a little profile showcasing every font featured to give you the typographic background to your chosen project. Easy enough for sewing novices and sophisticated enough to appeal to those who want up-to-the-minute but affordable design accessories for their home, Soft Fonts is perfectly pitched for the design-conscious crafter.
Nicola Tedman is a professional model maker who has worked on movie and television productions as diverse as In the Night Garden and Hellboy II. She lives in Brighton, East Sussex.
Sarah Skeate is an illustrator and designer. She lives in Brighton, East Sussex.
Nicola and Sarah have worked on three previous books together, including the bestselling Zombie Felties; Soft Fonts is their fourth collaboration.
Paperback with Flaps7 7⁄8 x 9 3⁄4 in, 128 Pages20 Color Photographs200 Color Illustrations
$19.99 U.S.Craft