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I feel like I am in a point in my life where everyone around me are having babies! This puts me in the position of making many baby shower gifts, like these fabric alphabet letters.
I’m a sentimental fool and love making baby gifts that really mean something to both me and the parents. A while back I had the idea to take my old bridesmaid dresses that I wore to their weddings and turn them into baby blankets.
Here are pictures of the baby blanket I made. The silver is from my bridesmaid dress.
I think its safe to say he likes his new blanket!
When my brother and sister-in-law announced they were expecting a baby I was so excited! I wanted to do something equally as sweet, but I didn’t have a dress to use.
Instead, I came up with the idea to make hand-made educational toys for my niece-to-be! I decided to make fabric letters.
In this post you will find two ways to make fabric letters for children.
Option One – Stuffed Letters
Supplies:
- Sewing machine
- Fabric (amount varies, depending on size and amount of letters you are making)
- All purpose cotton thread (I used light grey)
- Rotary Cutter or fabric scissors
- Self Healing Cutting mat
- Polyester filling
- Skewer
- *Optional – Needle (for hand sewing the finished products)
STEP ONE – Gather your fabrics
Get your fabric lined up. I decided to be specific in my letters, meaning I wanted each fabric piece to represent the letter I was making. Zipper for Z, Whale for W, Fox for X, etc.
I will say this is the part that took the longest! I visited the big stores like Joann Fabric and Walmart, but I also found that going to local quilting shops was very helpful to find unique fabric! Feel free to ask around to your other sewing friends for fabric too! Some of the pieces I used were actually my mother-in-laws! Added some sentimental value to the project.
STEP TWO – Print out your fabric letter templates
Using Microsoft Word (or whatever your preference may be) experiment with letter sizes and font styles. For this project I used Arial Black size 250. Print and cut these letters out.
*TIP – I would recommend using a font style that is thick and size over 300. Thin letters and small font sizes make it more difficult to sew together. I originally used 250 and it was a bit tough.
STEP THREE – Trace your letter template onto the fabric
Trace your paper letter onto the fabric. No need to make two tracings, instead just pin two pieces of fabric together and sew then together.
*TIP – I recommend making the outline a little bigger than the paper letter so the markings can be cut off later.
STEP FOUR – Sew the outline of the letter
Sew around the outline you made on the fabric. Be sure to leave an opening at the end to add the stuffing. Cut out your fabric letter.
**TIP – be careful not to cut too close to the stitching. This can cause break through when adding the stuffing.
**TIP – to make the tough corners, stop your sewing machine with the needle still down. Lift up the foot and turn the fabric. This way you won’t get uneven stitching and can make the tough turns.
STEP FIVE – Stuff the fabric letters
Using a small tool (I used a skewer) add small pieces of stuffing into your fabric alphabet letter.
**TIP – adding the stuffing a little at a time will make it easier to fit into the nooks and crannies. Also, avoid rolling the stuffing up into small balls, this will make it tough to create an even look.
STEP SIX – Add the closing stitch to the letters
Using the sewing machine or hand stitching, close the hole left for the stuffing!
**TIP – if using a sewing machine, leave extra fabric at the opening to allow the stitching to catch properly.
Ta-da! Finished fabric alphabet letters!
Option Two – Flat Letters
Supplies
- Sewing machine
- Fabric (amount varies, depending on size and amount of letters you are making)
- All purpose cotton thread (I used light grey)
- Rotary Cutter or fabric scissors
- Self Healing Cutting mat
- Quilt batting
- *Optional – Craft Scissors
STEP ONE – TWO – Gather the letters and paper templates
Same as above. Collect your fabric, print and cut out your letter templates.
STEP THREE – Trace the letters and add backing
Trace your paper letter onto the fabric. No need to make two tracings, instead just pin two pieces of fabric together and sew then together. Add a section of quilt backing in between the two pieces of fabric.
STEP FOUR – Sew around the letters and cut them out
Sew around the outline you made on the fabric. Then, cut out your fabric letter.
**TIP – be careful not to cut too close to the stitching or it may come loose.
**TIP – to make the tough corners, stop your sewing machine with the needle still down. Lift up the foot and turn the fabric. This way you won’t get uneven stitching and can make the tough turns.
**TIP – because of the layering of fabrics, it is a good idea to cut out your letter from the front and then turn it over and trim the back. That way you get a more even look.
*Optional – use craft scissors to cut out the letters for fun edging!
That’s how you make option two of the fabric alphabet letters
Compare and Contrast Fabric Alphabet Letter Styles
Pros and Cons of Stuffed Letters
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Puffed design is better looking and feeling than flat – Mistakes in sewing are more easily hidden | – Takes longer to stuff – Easier for stitching to come loose – Fabric can unravel easier |
Pros and Cons of Flat Letters
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Quicker – Less likely for stitching to come loose – More options for edging – Easier to form words with | – Doesn’t “feel” as nice – Sewing mistakes are more easily seen |
Which option do you prefer?
Any ideas to add to this craft?
Comment down below!
Like crafts that have to do with letters and the alphabet? Check out my wood chip alphabet magnets here!
Such a cool idea! Btw, also love the idea of turning old bridesmaid dresses into baby blankets
Thank you so much!
Right? It’s rare that anyone wears a bridesmaid dress again so why not make it into something awesome?! I’m waiting for my next friend to have a baby to make another blanket. I’ll be sure to do a post on that!
I love this idea!! preschool age kids love letters and I love all the possibilities you can do with their favorite patterns of material. Make a cute bag to store them all in. Those kids are gonna know their alphabet in no time and want to spell words.🥰
Thank you! I found cute material that had little lambs with graduation caps and ABC’s running around it. It was a perfect material for the bag!
I love this! It would make the best baby shower gift. Thanks for the detailed instructions.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for check it out!
Hi Brigit. How very resourceful and creative of you (I do envy you creative types sometimes – I’d never have thought of doing anything like this!). And you can pretty much guarantee that nobody else will be giving the same gifts that you do (or at least you could – now the cat is out of the bag!)
Haha well, thank you! I guess I didn’t think that I may not be as unique now. Honestly, if someone I knew gave one of these as gifts because of me I’d be so proud!