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