Techniques: Stitch Lettering

I brought my base patterns (without any instructions) down to a craft weekend with friends. I had intended to supervise and teach a bit, but becoming absorbed in my own projects made me less attentive than I should have been. I ended up saying things (after they had already started) like: "Oh, it's much easier if you do X first...sorry, I should have been paying attention."

One thing that might be particularly tricky if you don't have instructions: Stitched lettering. I have an order of operations that makes it go much more smoothly than it can otherwise go.

First:
I didn't take pictures of the very start of the process. I cut out the paper pattern and tape it to an approximate-sized piece of felt around the edges.
Note: I do not cover any stitch areas with tape. It makes it hard to tear later.
Note 2: I do not cut out the felt ornament at this time.

Tape down! Don't cut!

And here's a cut because more pics....


I'm using 3 strands of thread. For this kind of lettering, I like to use 2-3 strands. I'm experimenting with 3 because 2 sometimes doesn't show up as well as I'd like.

3 Strands!

I'm using the backstitch for all the lettering. Like so:

On stitch forward, one stitch back. . .

Small stitches make for a neater word/letter and it also makes it easier to remove the paper pattern later.

I also used french knots for the punctuation. There are better videos online than I could ever show you in pictures, but here is me making a French Knot.

Put needle through the back right below where you want the knot to be.

Loop thread around the needle twice.

Keep thread tight as you push your needle through where you want your knot.

Push the needle through and voila. 

Finish off all the stitching.

THEN cut your circle out.

So circle-y!

Now you're going to have a LOT of paper pattern to remove. I like to hot glue the ends of the threads down on the back so I don't accidentally pull an unknotted tail through the thread (frustrating!).

Now, removing the paper pattern. I like to use a tweezers for the finer pieces in between the letters. It works great. This is a very tedious part of the process for me.

After you have tiny bits of paper everywhere, you know you're done.

Voila!

Letter stitching isn't difficult, but it can be tedious--especially focusing on being very precise on your stitches. However, it looks very cool.

Font: The font I use for this is called "That's Font Folks!", and is inspired by the Loony Tunes title card font.