Making Letters

[kdgirlie]

Hey people,
I remember reading in one forum some wrote about actually making the letters for shirts and stuff. I am going to have alot of free time with the break and I thought it might be cool to give it a try. It beats the old pic frames and stuff that I normally make. So any crafty people out there want to give me hints and guidance I am all ears ( well actually eye I guess

[AngelPhiSig]

OOOH I love making letters! The cheap way of doing it is:

Buy: Shirt, sweatshirt, sweatpants (we made butt letters in our family ), wonderunder/heat-n-bond (what I use... ask in a fabric store), material, puffy paint or a sewing machine

Okay, first make a pattern by photocopying a white letter shirt, or making your own, which I usually do cos I make little shirits.

Then trace your pattern backwards (flip the letters) on wonderunder and cut around all the letters... dont cut the individual letters out yet.

Iron it on the material, wrong side up, then cut out the letters. Peel off the backing and place them on the shirt where you want them. I always put the middle sigma on first, then the Phi and the last sigma.

Then once theyre all ironed on. You can puffy paint around the edge to hold them on, or sew. I always paint, But you need to be careful when wasing them if you are going to use the paint!

I love making letters, and I hope everything works out! If you have any questions, email me!

<3 ali

ps, I feel like Im Martha Fricken Stewart!

[aephi alum]

Ali, I hadn't thought about the heat-n-bond - that's a good idea. Here's what I did:

- Buy shirt/sweatshirt/whatever
- Go to a fabric store and pick out either a pattern and a solid, or two solid colors. You don't need very much of the materials.
- Wash everything (important in case the shirt shrinks and the material doesn't, or vice versa)
- Cut your letters out of the print. Then pin them onto the solid, and cut around them leaving a small border. (phi's are a pain to cut! )
- Take the whole thing and pin them onto your shirt, and sew 'em on. With 3 letters, like Ali said, it's easiest to place the middle letter first, then do the others.

It is sooo much cheaper than ordering letters from a store!! But be careful, you will have your sisters asking you to make letters for them

[AZ-AlphaXi]

I do something different. I have greek letters in cross stitch. I buy sweat shirts at the outlet (usually 3 for $15.00) and then using waste canvas cross stitch the letters on. I also sometime add teddy bears or roses. These shirts are washable and dryable and very easy to take care of.

[NeonPi]

If you want to make your boyfriend/hubby or just good guy friend HIS letters as a gift - have the pattern be of his favorite sports team.

Depending on the city, most fabric stores will carry some. Once when I couldn't find what I was looking for (a NHL hockey team), I went to Sears and bought a pillowcase that had the logo all over it and used that as my fabric. (you know how they have 'boys' bedding with sports, sci-fi - yeah - that stuff)

To say the least, my guy friend still wears it to this day and his girlfriend wants me to teach her how to make a new one for him as it's falling apart!

[kdgirlie]

you guys are great I can't wait to make so letters
wahoo

[DGPhoney]

Oh my goodness, I swear thats the cutest idea ever. I would have never thought of that, you all are some seriously crafty people. Question to some of you who talked about this.....
Whats wonderrutt? I think I have heard of it cause it sounds familar.
Great Ideas ladies,
DGPhoney~

[KillarneyRose]

I am the most uncreative person ever, but I just may have to try this! Thanks for your replies, everyone!

[aephi alum]

Oh yes - one other thing I've done:

When my sorority first became an AEPhi colony, one of my sisters designed our first t-shirts. The front design was cute, but the back was UGLY - and it was a long-sleeved shirt with cuffs, but the sleeves were too long for me so they just bagged. And they were white, and not particularly well made, if you know what I mean...

Unfortunately, these were the only shirts we had to wear. As new members, we couldn't wear letters, and these were the only shirts we'd had printed so far. And every Tuesday was letter day, so that meant that every Tuesday, every AEPhi would be wearing exactly the same ugly shirt!

Finally I decided enough was enough, I HATED this shirt. So here's what I did:

- got a purple t-shirt (no particular reason for the purple, I just happen to like it)
- cut out the front design (it was one of those little pocket-sized designs)
- sewed it into a diamond shaped "patch"
- and sewed it onto the purple shirt in the same location it had been in on the white shirt.

My sister who designed the shirt was very upset (understandably) but I explained that I was tired of wearing the same shirt every week, and it was getting warmer so a long-sleeved shirt wouldn't be appropriate soon. My other sisters loved it, and a couple asked me to make shirts like it for them!

Luckily we were initiated not too long after that, so the "one shirt" problem took care of itself

[Peaches-n-Cream]

I'm so impressed by the talent here. If I had had these tips a few years ago, I could have saved myself $$$!

[AchtungBaby80]

My mom and I have been making letters since I joined my sorority last year, and it really isn't hard to do! However, I prefer to actually sew mine to the shirt instead of using paint to hold them on. The sewing part takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can whip them right out.

[AlphaChiGirl]

Wow! This is awesome! Gives me something else to do during Christmas break!

[AOX81]

If you look at this site you can see some of the shirts I made.

http://communities.msn.com/GreekSpot

If you want me to make anything let me know.

Have a nice day