rag letters

First, let me just brag about what an awesome husband I have. I got my Mother's Day present early, and I am SO excited!! Totally unexpected! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!

 (imagine the sound of angels singing as you look at the picture)

Ok, now on to business :) For my daughter's bedroom, I decided to make her some rag letters inspired by Jessica at Happy Together. Like most of my projects for my daughter, I wanted them to match her rag quilt I made her for Christmas.

Here is what you'll need:

- Fabric for front

- Fabric for back 

   (I used the same fabric for both sides)

- Quilt batting

- Sewing machine, scissors, pins, etc

- Letter printouts for template/stencils

1. Print and cut out your letters to use as a template. I typed my own and made them all the same size & font. You could make your own using Word, Photoshop or whatever you have or you could freestyle it. Happy Together also has a pattern you can download.

2. Cut out squares of fabric and quilt batting that fit the size of your letters.

 3 Make a sandwich of your fabrics and batting. The back fabric facing right side down, the batting square in the middle, and the top fabric facing right side up.

 4. There's a couple ways to do this part, but what I did was pin the letter cutout on top of the square and cut all 3 layers of fabric together (shown in picture below). You could also trace your letter with a fabric pen, pin the layers together, sew on the lines, and trim at least a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

 5. This is what the letters look like when they are all cut out. Pin layers together and sew at least 1/4 inch away from the edges. You can also quilt the insides, but they should be fine as-is.

 

So... I am a very beginner sewer... this was my first attempt at sewing one of my letters. Pretty crooked, right? I am embarrassed to even post this picture, but nobody's perfect! Luckily my machine came with a walking foot and I have an incredibly patient mother who was willing to come teach me how to do it the "right" way!

 6. Clip the edges (I highly recommend Fiskar's Softouch spring scissors for this part) about 1/8" apart, cutting straight into the seam allowance - but stop before you cut the seam! (Ignore my blue fabric pen marks, that's where I was sewing the first time. The second time around I made the seam allowance a little bigger)

 

7. Now, get your laundry together and throw your letters in! Washing & drying the letters will give them the "rag" look.

Now you can display your letters or give them to your child to learn their ABC's!

Linking to these parties!