Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Framed Fabric Letter Tutorial

I don't know about you guys, but I completely fell in love with this monogram S over at Tiffanys house. I knew I needed one and luckily there was a lot less sewing involved that I had originally thought!

The first thing you need to do is go into Word or Word Perfect and find yourself a letter with your initial that you really like and that is fat enough that you can use lots of pieces of fabric. Then print it off as big as you can. Then take it to your local print shop and have them blow it up to the size you would like! You may want to go look at frame sizes before you do this so you can just buy an already made frame and not have to pay to have it framed. I almost forgot if your initial is not a letter that is symmetrical (the same on both sides if you were to cut it in half) You will actually need the mirror image of the letter so that it's not flipped around when you iron your pieces on. (Does that make any sense whatsoever??? I wish I could explain it better, sorry!)

Now go to the fabric store and buy a bunch of small fabric pieces. (1/8 yard is perfect). You also need either Wonder Under or Heat and Bond. My opinion is that Heat and Bond is easier to work with (not so delicate), but Wonder Under is easier to sew through, so I used Wonder Under. Get enough that it will cover your letter. Place the Wonder Under over the letter (w/fusible webbing on the inside by your letter) and trace it! You also need to buy a piece of fabric that will be the background for your letter, don't make it too small or it will be hard to strech nicely and frame.

Now just draw lines where ever your want the different pieces of fabric to go. Be sure to number them so it will be easier to put together once their cut out. I numbered mine all on the bottom so I would know top from bottom. Now cut them out.





Iron them onto small pieces of fabric that have been cut a little larger then your Wonder Under piece.



Now cut them out.




Ok, from here on out, sorry, no pictures I got too excited and forgot. But it's pretty self explanatory. Iron your pieces on to the background fabric starting with number one. Iron them as close together as possible. Now choose a stitch that you like on your sewing machine, (zig zag or the blanket stitch works great, I don't know what the stitch I used is called but it worked really well also). Start with the stitching the areas where the two fabrics come together and then stitch around the outside! You can click on my picture for a better view!


Then I just went to the local craft store and bought a frame (I'm wishing I would have bought one with a thicker frame but oh, well). I also had them cut me a mat to the size of the frame and then I stretched the fabric around it at stapled it. And WA LA, you done!



Here is the one that my friend Mimi Sue made. By the way, she really deserves the credit for this since she is the one who taught both me and Tiffany how to make one.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment, I will answer them in the comment box too, because to be honest, I am to lazy to e-mail! One more thing, if you end up making this, e-mail me a picture, I would love to see it.

cardswappinmom@yahoo.com

47 comments:

Ruth Ann said...

Thank you so much for such an awesome tutorial! I'm putting it on my list of things that I want to make! Great job! Have a wonderful night!
-Ruth Ann

KriskropMemories said...

That is a really great idea, perfect for the boys rooms.
Thanks

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

Yeah, I guessed right! It looks lovely and it looks like I'll be taking another project.

Becky said...

I LOVE it! Thanks for the tutorial!

DESJ and Company said...

YAY!
But since I don't sew I'm going to Michael's and getting a bunch of scrapbook paper and doing it that way.
LOL :)

Kimberly said...

Very schweet! They'd be great in my girls' rooms!

V and Co. said...

okay love it and am going to make one! thanks for the tutorial!!!!

Inspired Kara said...

SOOOO Cute!

Elise said...

Oh my gosh!! Thank you so much for this tutorial!! I am so gonna make one as soon as my Valentine swaps and my daughter's birthday is over!! I love, love, love this!! And your friend's home!! Love it!!
Elise

Beth at Aunties said...

It turned out awesome! What a great look.

Thanks for going to all the work to make us a tutorial.
Enjoy a great week. Did you pick up your award? I really liked this one:)

Our Complete Family said...

It is darling! You did a fantastic job hun! Love it!

Jessica said...

I am so happy you made a tutorial on this! I am going to send it to my mom and see if she will help me make one (since I don't own a sewing machine). Thanks!

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

That is so neat! Thanks for sharing!

Tammy

sweet momma luv u said...

Thank you so much for the tutuorial! I can't wait to make one. I will probably do it first out of Scrapbook paper. Not sure if my old sewing machine does fancy stitches or not!

Oh, I left you an award on my blog!
Jody :)

Mimi Sue said...

It turned out GREAT! Love it. Even I could follow your tutorial. Love the W you used. Where are you going to put it? Let's see it hanging. Mimi

Lewaina@cliffsideranch said...

Ditto to everything that's been said! I am also going to make me one of these little jewels. Me thinks I shall make it into a pillow. Thanksd again for the Tutorial:-)Lewaina

Shannon said...

That is so cute!!! I love it!

Jen~ Lipstick and Laundry said...

I adore this and when I saw it on your blog, I knew I had to make one... then you go and make it all the better by posting a tutorial! Thank you~ Jen

Melanie said...

So cute! I am going to make one of these for my house! Thanks for the tutorial!

Brandi said...

That's so cute. You are so talented! In the last couple pictures of yours, I was thinking, "Now, that's supposed to be a W, right?" (It was upside down. LOL) ;) Very cute idea. I just wish I knew more about sewing. *sigh*

Aubrey said...

That turned out WAY cute. I'll have to do one as soon as the mood strikes. And a trip to The Quilter's Haven.

Joanna said...

That is super cute, thanks for the tutorial!

Tiffany said...

Hey Nicole! I just got your comment on my blog. If you will send your email address to songbirdtiff at gmail dot com I will email you an invitation. I will definitely still be posting at songbirdtiff, 12monthsofChristmas is a project-only blog.

frillsfluffandtrucks said...

Soooo cute! And you make it seem very doable, too! :)

~ Sarah

3LittleByrds said...

That is so cute. You should sell them in your etsy store. Love it.

Betsy said...

That is adorable. I so need to do that.

onlymehere said...

Kaje' needs something new for her wall. I think I may have to make her one of these! Yours turned out so dang cute!

Christi @ Writing the Waves said...

Nice work! So creative and original!

Jo-Anne said...

This is WONDERFUL! It would make a great wedding gift! Thanks for the tutorial.

Jeni said...

When you showed the pics of the tour of that house that momogram what the first thing I noticed and then those cute little beds she had. Yours came out great.

M.L. @ The House of Whimsy said...

How fun. I just posted a tutorial (compliments of Mimi Sue) on making a Valentine Banner.
You did such a nice job on your project here!!

Unknown said...

Oh my heck I love love love this! I am going to try this in my daughter's room! What an awesome idea and I love the fabric you used!

Anonymous said...

thanks for sharing. this would be so cute in a baby's room done to match their fabrics:)

Mimi Sue said...

Don't worry about it. I can come and get it if you have sick kids. But I'm not in any hurry to get it back. So anytime. Sue

Tausha said...

I love it! I want one! I must make one! My mom can sew a little bit-so we should be able to do this! How cute are they? Thanks for sharing! PS-did you use moda fabric? They christmas one that came in a set? I have curtains out of it! I love them!!!

Mandi @ Sweetly Home said...

I think I may just have to attempt this. I'd like to make one for my mom. She has a sewing room and I really think this would go great in there. Thanks so much for the tutorial. I'll definatly send you a photo if I make it.

I also have a blog award waiting for you at my blog. Hope you have a great Sunday!

Martha said...

thank you so much for this great tutorial! It looks very cute! I will have to try it! Thanks!!

Christina said...

Looks wonderful. Great idea and tutorial. Love your red walls.

niartist said...

Very cool idea! Love the way it turned out!

Camille said...

Hey Nicole! Thanks for saying hello, I'm so glad you did, because I got to come see your adorable blog, and now I can make one of these letters! Or ten? Who knows. Love it, can't wait to start- thanks for the tutorial!

Cute family too- you are just cute, all around!

American Homemaker said...

wow... that looks like way more work than I'd ever do... LOL I'm a lazy crafter :)

Alicia said...

Your stitch is a 'feather stitch'. It looks soooo great!
Alicia

The Rainbow Zebra said...

This is AWESOME!! Many thanks, from one quilter to another :)

Steph @ somewhatsimple said...

That is fantastic! I just found your blog and need to look around a bit more when the kids are napping! It is now bookmarked!

Kari @ The Purple Quiltapotamus said...

Oh I love it, and thanks for a great tutorial! This is definitely a must do on my project list now.

Valspierssews said...

Just found your tutorial. It certainly looks more complex than it is. I love it. I noticed no one told you the stitch you used to join the pieces is feather stitch. My machine does that too and I love it for crazy quilting.

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