I’m excited to share this tutorial for making these cute fabric alphabet letters – a great way to use up scrap fabric! I first made this fabric alphabet when my boys were young for them to play with and practice arranging their letters. They have been well loved but have also held up pretty well over the years!
In this tutorial I’ll be sharing how to trace, sew, and cut out these fabric letters using the free template provided for tracing the letters. Like I mentioned, these fabric letters use very little fabric – so it’s perfect for scraps – and can be used for home decor, Christmas tree ornaments, or Birthday banners.
I made some with my boy’s names, strung them together and they’re hanging on their bedroom door. You could also use the template to trace the letters onto squares of fabric, sew around the traced letter and then piece the letters together for an alphabet wall hanging or small quilt!
If you need some more projects for using up scrap or small amounts of fabric check out my drawstring bag, needle book, scrunchie, fabric tree ornament, fabric candy cane or fabric pumpkin tutorials. The Edgewood Sling Bag also uses little fabric and is a great intro pattern into bag making.
This page contains some affiliate links to products and I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links (at no extra cost to you).
Some Things You’ll Need
- Paper for printing template – I just used everyday printer paper but you could also used card stock if you want a sturdier template.
- Scissors or exacto/hobby knife
- Fabric scissors
- Pinking Shears – Pinking shears can also be used for “clipping the curves” in other sewing projects.
- Scrap Fabric in cotton or linen
- Batting – using a thinner batting is a little easier to work with. I used this Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting which was a nice thickness to work with.
Cotton is a great choice for this project since it has more structure and is easy to work with but I also made a few samples for this tutorial out of linen. Linen can be shifty, but on a small scale like this it really wasn’t bad to work with – and it doesn’t have to be perfect! 🙂
The really pretty red-ish purple plaid and the micro gingham are both linens from The Linen Lab and leftover from clothing I made. (If you see something you like from their website, you can use BETHANYLYNNE_MAKES for 10% off).
Template For Letters
You can make your own template for the letters or you can download the free template below to trace around. I’ve made the spaces in the middle of the A, B, P and R a little bigger so it’s easier to cut around in the fabric later.
The template is 7 pages and can be printed on A4 or Letter sized paper. Make sure to print at “Actual Size” or at 100% scale so that the template ends up the correct size. After printing, take a ruler and measure the boxes on the page to verify the measurement. This is a *very* simplified version of how my bag pdf sewing patterns are laid out!
Step 1: Cut Out Letter Template
Start by cutting out the letters that you need out of paper (or cardstock) to use as a template.
To cut out the shape in the middle of some letters, fold the paper and make a cut so that you can fit the scissors through. I also make a few cuts into the corners to make it easier to maneuver the scissors around.
Tip: Use an exacto knife/hobby knife to cut out the middle shape in the letters that have one (make sure to cut with a cutting mat underneath).
Step 2: Trace Template Onto Fabric
Next, trace the letters onto the fabric that you picked for the front of the letter. I use chalk for darker fabrics and a washable marker for lighter fabrics. This is the line that you will be sewing around so make sure you can see it pretty well.
Cut around the letter leaving about 1/2″ (1.3 cm) – or more – of space around the letters. I usually just cut a rectangle to keep things simple.
Step 3: Cut Out Back Fabric and Batting
Pick the fabric that you want on the back of your letters. Use the piece of fabric that has the letter traced on it as a guide to cut the backing fabric.
Do the same thing with the batting – use the fabric as a guide and cut out a piece of batting the same size.
Step 4: Sandwich Layers
Now it’s time to make your sandwich! 🙂
Start with your fabric for the back of your letters and lay it right side down.
Put the batting in the middle.
The main fabric with the letter traced on it goes on top.
Pin all the layers together with a few pins.
Step 5: Sew Around Letter
Sew around the outline of the letter that you traced. There is a lot of pivoting and sewing around curves so using a shorter stitch length (2.5 or so) can be helpful here. I chose to use white thread, so you can see it in this tutorial, but also because I like the stitching to show up.
Cute right?!
Note: In the picture below, the spaces in the middle of the B (and A, P and R) are a little small. In the template I provided I made the spaces bigger than what is shown!
Step 6: Cut Around Letter
The final step is cutting around each letter! With pinking shears, cut around the outside of the letters about 1/4″ (0.6 cm) away from the stitch line.
The trickiest part will be the corners, like on the letter E, F or H and the middle shapes on letters A, B, P and R. What I do is cut into the middle with regular fabric scissors and make an opening big enough for the pinking shears. Then, as best as I can, I rotate the pinking shears around to start cutting on one side and continue cutting from there.
Sometimes making a cut with just the tip of the pinking shears is helpful before trying to put a longer length of fabric into the blades.
It can be finicky though so take your time and don’t stress if it’s not perfect. 🙂
To string them all together to make a garland, I thread a needle with string or cute twine through just the backing fabric like shown in the picture below. Make sure you catch enough of the fabric for stronger hold.
And you’re done! Hope you had fun following along with this tutorial and I’d love to know if you tried it! Happy sewing 🙂
Love your tutorial! Beginner sewer and this will be my first project 🥰
I didn’t read ahead and assumed these would be washed to get rid of the marking pen or chalk…. I would have traced them on the back but I guess I’ll try washing by hand in cold. How do you get rid of washable quilt pen?
Hi Jenny,
I will usually wipe off the washable pen with a wet washcloth after the letters are done. If the markings are not coming off all the way, you could try gently washing by hand and air drying.
-Bethany
Hi. I have used your guide a couple of times, and I love it. I am from Danmark and we have the letters Æ, Ø and Å included in our alphabet. I was wondering If you could tell me which font you used, so I can replicate the letters.
Hi Sara,
Love to hear that you like the tutorial! The front I used is Woodford Bourne (Black) – hope you can find it, or something similar, where you are!
Bethany
These are adorable! Made names with 7 year old grandkids today! They want to display in their bedrooms. . How do you recommend making them into a banner they can hang on the wall?
Hi Ann,
I love to hear this! The way I like to hang my letters in a banner is to thread a needle with twine or string and thread it through the back of the letter. I just added a photo of what I mean at the very end of the tutorial. I made a little loop at the ends of the string to hang on a small nail. Hope that helps!
Bethany
These are so cute! Thank you for posting this tutorial! I plan to make these for my 3 year old grandson and I wonder if they launder nicely?
Hi Heather,
So glad to hear you like the tutorial! I’ve never washed any of the letters I’ve made, but I would think it’s doable! Fraying or shrinking would be my biggest concerns. I guess if you prewash your fabric beforehand there’s less chance of shrinking (or maybe skip the dryer?). You could always make a test one and put it through the wash to see what would happen!
Bethany
Thanks so much for your reply! I think pre-washing the fabric and a test letter is a good plan. I suspect with using the pinking shears the fraying won’t be a problem but maybe I’ll take a second lap with the stitching to be on the safe side.
Thank you for the great patterns, what fun reading all the ideas!
I loved making these! But I did do one small tweak. I didn’t cut the letters out and trace them onto the fabric. I roughly cut them apart and then sewed the paper onto the fabric, then ripped off the paper. It saved me a couple steps that way! It’s like the paper piece foundation method for quilting.
If you make a lowercase letter set this could be listed as an alternative method.
What a great idea! This is what I’m going to do!
Hello. I have made these several times, and the instruction are great. I wonder which font (and size) you’re using since I’m missing some letters, used in the danish alphabet: Æ, Ø and Å.
Hi! Happy to hear that you’ve made these and find the instructions great. 🙂 The font I used is called Woodford Bourne (Black)- hopefully you can find it or maybe something similar!
Bethany
This is such a great idea! I’ll need to try this myself 🙂
Bethany
This alphabet is the answer to my signage as a vendor for a quilt show August 30. I want to draw customers to my table by advertising my two main items: scissors case and thread catcher. I will use two or three layers of black flannel as filling and backing. The signage will be arranged vertically on each side of a quilt hanging on the wall behind my table. Thanks so much !
Hello! I’m excited to try this project! How would you recommend attaching this to string or ribbon to make a banner? Thank you!
Hi Bee,
Happy to hear that you want to try it! When I made my banner, I used a needle with a larger eye to thread some twine through and threaded it through the back of each letter. Hope that helps!
Bethany
Love these! I want to make some for my daughter… do you happen to have a template for lowercase letters to match?
Thanks!
Hi Sophie,
So happy to hear you like them! I don’t have a lowercase letter template…yet…but that is a good idea! I will write a note to work on one 🙂
Bethany
Thank you for letting me know! I’ll keep an eye out for if you do create one. Thank you ☺️
thank u from kuwait :*
I made these out of felt, 2 layers and hand sewed a blanket stitch around. Then used cord between to make the names of great grand children. They hung them in their rooms. Well, their parents did. So much fun!
I love the idea of a blanket stitch border! I’m sure they turned out so cute. And what a special gift for your great grand children 🙂
Bethany
Hi Bethany,
I made the letter A yesterday.
My question may seem funny, but I am wondering if I missed something in the instructions .
I am not sure if the batting in between the from and back of the letter should be showing once I cut the letter with my pinking shears?
Hi Pati,
The batting will show a little bit once you cut with pinking shears! It shouldn’t stick out or anything, but will be a little visible.
Bethany
I was wondering about this too. Could try to trim the batting and maybe glue the back and front together? Or would that be weird?
Hello. I love this idea on making fabric letters. I’m thinking about making a set for my new granddaughter (arriving in May). Thank you.
A great gift which I’m sure will be treasured. Congrats on your new granddaughter! 🙂
Bethany
Made this!!! Turned out so cute