Planning Your Lettering

Adding lettering to a quilt takes a little planning.

I sewed this quilt, featuring an African batik picture in the center, from a pattern that I designed (see my 3 April 2011 post). Now I want to add my initials and the date on the back using my Deerfoot alphabet (see my 23 April 2011 post).

The first step is to draw the lettering on a grid leaving a 1 unit space between letters and a 2 unit space between lines.

This looks good; except for the AJ combination. Because there is so much empty space in the J it feels distant from the A.

By reducing the space between the A and J to 1/2 a unit the problem is minimized.

The next step is to draw a piecing diagram.

Then the pieces are sized. The Deerfoot alphabet was designed 5" tall. The quilt is 24"x24"; so it is best to resize to 2 1/2" tall.

This diagram can now be used to calculate fabric requirements.

It is a guide for cutting pieces for the letters and the background.

It is also a guide for sewing.


The planning for this quilt came down to: 1) Choosing an alphabet, 2) Choosing the best size for that alphabet, 3) Adjusting the letter spacing to get the best result.

It's not a lot of work; but it makes a big difference.