How to Applique Letters

Appliqué letters are a fast and simple way of personalizing every thing from clothing, purses and tote bags to windows and cars. You can use appliqués letters on almost every material including glass, fabric and tiles. Whether you make your own letters or buy them ready made, applying appliqués letters or numbers is a project that you can do at home. It makes a fun project to do with the entire family or as an activity for a party.

Things You'll Need

• Iron on adhesive
• Fabric
• Iron
• Stencil
• Pencil
• Very sharp scissors
• Item to appliqué
• Sewing machine
• Fray glue

Instructions

1. Attach the iron-on adhesive to the wrong side of the fabric using an iron on low heat. The smooth backing paper should be facing up, with the texture facing down toward the fabric.

2. Trace the letter you want to appliqué onto the fabric using a stencil and pencil. The trace should be done backwards and on the adhesive side of the fabric.

3. Cut out the traced letter using very sharp scissors following the pencil lines very carefully. Peel off the protective backing paper from the back of the letter.

4. Press the letter down onto the item you want to appliqué and iron it down until bonded. Work slowly and make sure you use even pressure to ensure a proper connection between the adhesive and the item.

5. Sew along the outer edge of the appliqué with the sewing machine to secure the fabric down. Make the stitch ¼ inch in from the edge of the fabric.

6. Dab fray glue all around the edges of the letters to keep them from unraveling.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also sew the letters on by hand using a decorative stitch to make the appliqués more interesting.

• Do not leave the iron sitting on top of the letter for extended periods of time or you may melt the adhesive.

References

• Skip to My Lou: Simple Appliqué Monograms
• Quilt: Appliqué Basics
• Appliqué Today: Appliqué Letters