A Free Pieced Alphabet For You

Acadia

I've decided to give you the pattern to my Acadia alphabet.

Is it a bribe? Often bloggers give things away hoping to attract readers to their blogs. I've always thought this was silly; it is content that attracts reader to blogs not bribes. You can't buy readers.

Is it a celebration? Sometimes bloggers will give things away to celebrate a milestone - 500 posts, 100,000th reader, a new family member. None of these applies to me

Okay, so why am I doing this? I'm giving you my Acadia alphabet because I want you to use it. I use pieced letters to make alphabet quilts and to put the date and my name on the backs of my quilts. You might want to use Acadia to add a baby's name to a quilt, or for an anniverary quilt, or for a motto to go on your quilt room wall. There is no end of ways you can used pieced lettering in quilts.

This alphabet was designed on a grid. The pieces are sized in grid units. This gives you the freedom to choose how big you want the letters to be.
If you choose a 1/4" grid unit, then A would be 2" (8 x 1/4") x 3" (12 x 1/4")

If you choose a 1/2" grid unit, then A would be 4" (8 x 1/2") x 6" (12 x 1/2")

You need to add 1/4" seam allowances to the pieces before you cut them.

All the pieces are cut as squares or rectangles. The triangles are made by sewing on the diagonal.

For example:

Start the center of the C by placing a 2x2 square on top of a 2x8 rectangle. Sew on the diagonal (red line) and then trim on the dotted line, leaving a 1/4' seam allowance. Fold back the flap and press.

Next place a 2x3 rectangle on top. Sew on the diagonal and trim. Fold back the flap and press.

The I is only one of three letters that are not 8 units wide. The Q and 1 are the other ones.

The T doesn't follow the grid. If it did, it would look odd; either too heavy or too light. The Y is another letter that goes off the grid. You may want to consider these two when setting your grid unit size; you will want to pick a size that is divisible by 2.

The 7x7 pieces in the Z may seem an odd size for pieces that don't look that large. They are this size because the diagonal is sewn on a steep angle.

Place the 7x7 piece on the 4x9 piece. Sew on the diagonal (red line) then trim on the dotted line. Fold the flap back and press. Trim to square up the piece.

Instead of using this method, you may prefer to paper piece the Z, or to create templates for it.

I hope you find lots of uses for the Acadia alphabet and that you enjoy sewing it.

If you have any questions about this alphabet, or problems with it, let me know. If you find any errors or omissions, let me know. If you know a better way to do something, or if there is something you think should be changed, let me know.
My email is tuxedoparkdesign@shaw.ca .

I'm giving you this alphabet pattern for your own personal use. I retain all commercial rights to the alphabet.

If you would like to see more of my pieced alphabets go to My Posts by Subject in the sidebar on the right and click on Lettering.