We were asked recently to re-cover some fabric letters to match the owner's newly decorated kitchen. With greys and blues as the colour inspiration and a few basic tools we set to work. We were pleased with the finished article so thought we'd share a 'How To' with you so that you can Do It Yourself!
The tools you will need:
fabric in your chosen colours
fabric scissors
double sided tape
staple gun
First, cover the front of the letter with double sided tape (it hasn't got to be perfect it's just to make it easier by holding the fabric in place)
Peel off the paper from the double sided tape and stick the letter face down onto your chosen fabric.
Cut away surplus fabric. Here we have cut away the excess at the corners and snipped diagonal slits to the corner of the letter to reduce any bulk when the material is stuck.
Cover all the side edges of the letter with double sided tape and peel back the paper. When the letter is flipped over so that the front is facing upwards, the drape of the fabric makes the need for slits more obvious. The outside edges of all the letters we covered were plenty long enough but it is the inside edges that require an extra piece of fabric to cover them. Stick these short inner edges first, folding the corners neatly. Do not press down any of the outside edges yet.
Re-tape the sections where you have folded the fabric over (the inner edges). It is important the tape is flush with the front edge as the next step is to add the extra piece of fabric to cover these inside edges.
Using a long strip, iron one edge over so that you have a straight, neat edge. Remember to cut your fabric long enough to cover all the inner edges in one go but also deep enough so that when it is taped on you have an overhang on the back.
Peel the paper off of the double sided tape. Allow an overlap onto the outer edge before sticking it in place (so that you can hide the join later on) Wind the fabric carefully over the inner edges, corners like those shown here are particularly tricky for fingers and thumbs so we used a metal ruler to smooth it into place. Cut off any excess length.
On the outside edges all that remains is to fold the fabric in neatly so that the corners are flush.
Some edges that have been covered with the extra piece of fabric may require additional double sided tape, like these end edges below.
Finally when all edges are covered and corners neatly folded the over hang on the back of your letter is ready to be stapled.
A simple and quick yet very effective update to inject new colours and pattern in to your home. Photos to follow of the finished word sitting pride of place in its new home. Until then do share with us your own fabric letter creations and if we haven't been quite clear enough for you just ask!
