Fabric Letter Banner Tutorial
Recently, I shared a blog post with you all with 5 Tips for Sewing with Kids which can be found here. Today, I want to share an easy beginner level project you can make with your child!
One way to get kids excited about learning anything is to connect the topic back to them. When teaching Kindergarten, I always taught the letters in a student’s name first since that was most personal to them. In my free tutorial below, I encourage you to sew along with a child and make their name from fabric! Besides a great sewing project, these fabric letters would also make a thoughtful baby gift. And don’t just stop at the letters in their name–make a gift of the 26 letters, put them in a pouch, and kids can pull them out to learn letters and sounds. Imagine how soft they’d be if made out of flannel or Chenille-it for embellishment as well.
Let’s Make an Alphabet Banner
Supplies
- Fabric scraps enough for the top and back of your letters
- Batting scraps large enough to fit your letters
- Pinking shears
- Large print letters like the ones found here.
- Cotton webbing/cotton twill tape long enough for your banner
Steps
- Print off the letters that you want for the project. Make names, the alphabet, Happy Birthday, whatever you’d like!
- Cut apart the letters but leave some white space around each letter.
- Using the size of the letters as a guide, gather and cut scraps to make mini quilt sandwiches for each letter. You’ll need fabric for the top and backing, as well as quilt batting.
- Face the backing fabric right side down, then place the batting, top fabric right side facing up, and last the paper letter facing up on top.
- Shorten your stitch length on your sewing machine. This will help you rip the paper more easily later. Sewing on your paper, trace the outline of the letters.
- Rip the paper off around your stitching.
- Using pinking shears, cut ¼” away from the stitches all around your letter. Continue these steps with all of your letters
- If you’d like to turn the letters into a banner, space your letters evenly on the cotton webbing. Align the top of the letters with the top of the webbing. Sewing along the tops of the letters to attach them. Alternatively, you can leave your letters unattached so children can play and arrange the letters to spell out their name.
Ready to Start Sewing with Your Child?
I created a 6-module digital sewing course to walk kids through the basics of sewing—step by step, with video tutorials, printable patterns, and lots of encouragement.
Your child will learn:
- How to safely use a sewing machine
- Essential stitches and beginner-friendly techniques
- How to make 4 confidence-building projects
Perfect for ages 8 and up, this course is designed to be approachable whether your child is brand new to sewing—or you're learning right alongside them!
If you’ve ever said, “I wish I’d learned how to sew as a kid,” this is your chance to pass that gift on to a child in your life.
