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How To Make Your Own Fabric Alphabet

Playing with the alphabet is a great way to help your preschooler learn the alphabet and promote letter recognition, and this easy-to-make fabric alphabet will provide hours of kid-friendly, educational fun!

Our free download includes step by step instructions and printable letter templates so you can jump right in and make your own set of fabric letters!

Fabric Alphabet activity download 3-page spread

Ready to Get Started?

Print out the alphabet letter templates and cut out each letter using scissors or a utility knife.

Cutting out letter template

Cut solid-color fabric, print fabric, and two layers of quilt batting into twenty-six five-inch squares. Squares should be large enough to accommodate the letter template plus a little bit of extra cutting room around each letter.

Layering fabric and batting

Trace each letter onto one square of print fabric. I used a disappearing marking pen, but feel free to use pencil. Pin together all layers.

Pinning fabric together

Using a sewing machine, sew layers together with a wide stitch along the traced line.

Cut around each letter with pinking shears, about 1/4″ from the stitching. Cut out center holes (as in letters A, B, D, etc.) with small fabric scissors.

Cutting out fabric letter

Repeat steps 3-5 with each letter of the alphabet. If you used a disappearing marking pen, remove the marks with a damp cloth (or follow the instructions for your pen).

Completed cut out fabric alphabet letter

Ways to Play with Your Fabric Alphabet

For plenty of transportable (and decorative!) fun, store your letters in a basket on your child’s bookcase!

Preschooler playing with fabric alphabet

Admire your handiwork and then give the letters to your little one to let the fun and learning begin! Can she spell her name?

Preschooler spelling out name with fabric alphabet

Or spell some easy words? It’s time to let the learning begin!

Words spelled out with fabric alphabet

If you make a set of fabric letters for your child, we’d love to see some pictures! You can share your photos with us on Facebook or Instagram (tag @allaboutlearning)!

Create Your Own Template for Lowercase Letters and Numbers:

Here are instructions for creating your own template:

1. In Microsoft Word, type up the alphabet from A-Z and the numbers 0-9, using your favorite font and font size.
2. Select all of the letters, and then click the Text Effects tool. (In Microsoft Word 2010, the Text Effects tool is in the toolbox under Home, to the left of the highlighting tool. The icon for the text effects tool is a blue A.)
3. Choose whatever outline style your heart desires, and then voilà! That’s it! You’ve made your own customized template!

Fabric Alphabet Tips Recommended by Our Readers:

  • Sew magnets into the back layer of each letter so letters can be used on a white board. (Recommended by Chelsea B. via blog comment.)
  • Skip the batting and use felt or flannel as the backing so they can be used on the felt board. (Recommended by Chelsea B. via blog comment.)
  • Sew letters together with black embroidery floss instead of on a machine so the stitching really stands out. (Recommended by Beverly G. via blog comment.)
  • Use a lightweight tear away fabric to trace a whole page and pin or glue it to the fabric layers then sew through the whole thing. When done with each page of templates, there will be four complete sets of letters. (Recommended by Linda via blog comment.
  • Use coordinating colors or designs for the letters – apple print for “A”; blue print or banana print for “B”, etc. (Recommended by Paula via blog comment.)
  • Have an older child create this set for a younger sibling! (Recommended by Deb via blog comment.)
  • Dots for lower case letters – like in “i” and “j” – can be attached by sewing a layer of clear table cloth covering in between. (Recommended by Cynthia via blog comment.)

Did your preschooler enjoy this activity? Try some of our other great letter recognition activities!

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Ann

says:

I made these, exactly as instructed. But I didn’t care how they look after being washed.

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m sorry to hear that, Ann. What happened? Did the fabric you use shrink, or maybe ravel at the edges? Or maybe they are just all smooshed and could be fixed with an iron?

Kim Walker

says:

Might you know the font and font size to make a lowercase set? I made the uppercase set for my grandson and now my daughter wants “matching” lowercase. Figures :). I’m happy to create my own using WORD; I just need some help deciding what font and size”matches”. Thanks!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m sorry, Kim. I don’t know the font or the size. This is an older free resource.

I think many sans serif fonts will match fine, and once you choose a font to use, choose the size that allows you to have four letters on one page, as in the download template. It will be somewhere around 250 to 300 pt. I found the Franklin Gothic Heavy font to be a pretty close match.

Benito Hacking

says:

Great site. A lot of helpful info here. I’m sending it to a few friends ans additionally sharing in delicious.

And obviously, thank you in your effort!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You are welcome, Benito! Thank you for sharing.

Blanca

says:

Hi. Do you have this available in lowercase? and/or Spanish letters?

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Blanca,
We have only made the template available here, but this blog post includes instructions on how to create your own template for lowercase letters, and it could be used for Spanish letters as well. Here is how:

Create Your Own Template for Lowercase Letters and Numbers:

1. In Microsoft Word, type up the alphabet from A-Z and the numbers 0-9, using your favorite font and font size.
2. Select all of the letters, and then click the Text Effects tool. (In Microsoft Word 2010, the Text Effects tool is in the toolbox under Home, to the left of the highlighting tool. The icon for the text effects tool is a blue A.)
3. Choose whatever outline style your heart desires, and then voilà! That’s it! You’ve made your own customized template!

CAROL

says:

I have been looking all over for these bigger letters to make. I have them on my embroidery machine but that takes so much time. I want to make them for charity Christmas gifts this year. These children need these things and far better than working on a computer. There are so many children who are homeless right now and this is an excellent little gift and if you use a variety of scrap fabric, they come out so cute. Thank you so very much for this alphabet.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Carol. I’m so pleased to hear that you will be making these as gifts for kids in need too! Thank you!

Faith

says:

I’ve finally made these and they are so adorable. For those of you that don’t have a sewing machine – you can easily hand stitch these. I purchased the pre-cut 5″ squares for the back and front. I cut up felt for the center. I’ve made my children quilted name banners for their rooms and I’m now about to make an alphabet set for my nephews.
Thank you for the tutorial!

Faith

says:

Oh and I used embroidery floss (pick a contrasting color so that it will pop) and a hand stitching needle. I only used 3 strands of the embroidery floss (it usually has 6 strands.)

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

The letters you have made sound beautiful, Faith! Thank you for sharing these tips for hand sewing them as well.

Alice A Buffington

says:

Hi. I love these letters but am having trouble cutting out the smaller areas with my pinking shears. Did you use special pinking shears for the inside areas of say the B and A?

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m sorry for the difficulty, Alice! No, much smaller scissors, like appliqué scissors, were used for the small closed in areas like on the A, B, R, and such.

Alice A Buffington

says:

Thank you! And thank you for sharing these online.

Sarah

says:

I don’t know if this has been answered before, but what thickness of batting was used here? I’m wondering why 2 layers when a different thickness may be able to do the same job.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Good question, Sarah. I don’t know if there is a specific reason to use two layers of a thinner batting versus a single layer of a thicker one. From what crafters have told us, this project is very flexible and is still successful with all kinds of options. I’m pretty sure that one thicker layer would work very well.

Sarah

says:

Thank you so much for your response :) I have a lot of scraps from quilts I’ve made to strange sizes (and different batting thicknesses), so I thought I could use those. I’ll see what happens!

Nanci

says:

I’m wondering about fraying…..Do you think I could use flannel instead of fabric? Maybe even for the batting layer as well?
Thank you!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I think you mean felt, Nanci. Felt won’t fray or ravel and it will work fine with this project! I personally would be inclined to still use batting, though, as it helps the letters to be more three-dimensional and puffy. However, you could try one with felt instead of batting and see if you like it.

Flannel and many other fabrics do fray and ravel when cut. However, that is why it is recommended to cut them with pinking shears. The triangle cuts on the raw edges of the fabric will reduce the fraying to almost nothing and help the letters hold up for years!

nanci

says:

Thank you for your quick reply! I’m looking forward to making these!

Sheree

says:

LOVE,LOVE this idea !!! I am planning to make a couple of sets. And make extra letters the spells the child’s name.
I just wish there were numbers. Can you make numbers?

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Sheree,
Marie shared how to make a template for lower case letters and it’s pretty easy. Here’s what she wrote:

Making a template for lower-case letters is as simple as pie. In Microsoft Word, type up the alphabet a-z, using whatever font size that you would like. Then select all of the letters and click the Text Effects tool. (In Microsoft Word 2010, the Text Effects tool is in the toolbox under Home, to the left of the highlighting tool. The icon is a blue A.) Select this tool, choose whatever outline style your heart desires, and then voila! That’s it! You’ve made your own customized template for lower-case letters!

Have fun with your fabric alphabet!

It would be just as easy to do for numbers!

Mireille

says:

Thank you very much for making these alphabet templates available. I’ve made a quilt for my grandson and I wanted to present it to him in a market bag made out of Oly Fun fabric. I want to applique his name to the bag and your templates were very handy. He can use the bag for a beach bag if he so chooses because it’s plenty big enough. Take care and thanks again for your generosity.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Mireille! I’m glad these templates were useful for your project. It sounds super cute and a lovely gift!

christine

says:

Hello Keen to get going for someones birthday this month (Feb 2021)
Im stumbling over the wadding , Ive not quilted or used before what am I too look for in the UK and what about washing. Mum will no doubt wash the letters as they have a dog too. Do I wash anything first the wadding or material or wash both at the end which Ive read makes the edges nice and tatty. Will they shrink at different amounts but most of all which wadding shall I look for to order in on the net. Many thanks

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Christine,
Generally it is best to prewash everything to minimize shrinkage, but even if you can prewash the wadding depends on the brand and type.

Lesley

says:

Hi

I can’t seem to print this off

Thanks lesley

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Are you still having difficulties, Lesley? What device and browser are you using? It seems to be working fine on my end.

Deborah

says:

This will not download on my iPad. Can you send me the pdf to my email address?

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m sorry you are having difficulties with this, Deborah. Is it possible you don’t have a PDF reader app on your iPad? Adobe Acrobat Reader is a well-rated free option that allows PDF files like this to be opened on devices.

However, I have also emailed you the PDF for the Fabric Alphabet.

Trina Painter

says:

Is there a lowercase alphabet set to match the uppercase size??

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Trina,
I’m sorry, no. We don’t have a pre-made template for lowercase letters. However, you can easily make a template for lowercase letters and even numbers. Here’s how:

In Microsoft Word, type up the alphabet a-z and the numbers 0-9, using whatever font size that you would like. Then select all of the letters and click the Text Effects tool. (In Microsoft Word 2010, the Text Effects tool is in the toolbox under Home, to the left of the highlighting tool. The icon is a blue A.) Select this tool, choose whatever outline style your heart desires, and then voila! That’s it! You’ve made your own customized template!

Diane

says:

Hi, do you need a quilting machine to sew around the letters? I can’t seem to sew around them neatly enough. Than you for the wonderful tutorial!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Diane,
No, you don’t need a specialty machine to do this. These were made on a regular sewing machine, but they can also be handstitched.

I’m not sure what difficulties you are having with neatness. Maybe there is something off with your machine tension?

Sally Hauser

says:

I made these for a two year old out of Kaffe Facet 5×5 fabric squares. I drew the letters onto freezer paper and ironed onto squares. Stitched and tore off paper which left some pulled stitches so I restitched on top of first stitching for reinforcement. Turned out so cute!, thank you for your tutorial ?

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Sally! I’m glad these turned out well for you. Thanks for the tips about the freezer paper.

Kazzza

says:

I’m going to give this a try and make a HAPPY BIRTHDAY bunting banner that can be used by the whole family all year round..

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

What a great idea, Kazzza! It would be cute to make a bunting banner that spells out a child’s name for their room as well.

Kazzza

says:

Good idea.. thanks, done 😀
I have also just finished 10 MERRY CHRISTMAS buntings for my work mates this year..
Hope they enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed making them – it gave me something to do during the longest COVID lock down so far in the world 🌍.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m loving the idea of doing banners for all sorts of things, Kazzza!

Amy T.

says:

How cute! Looks like SEW (he-he… just finished playing on the homophone machine) much fun.
I homeschool an 11 year old struggling reader/speller who wants to learn to sew.
This will be a great activity for her.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Hee-hee! Good one, Amy. I do think this is a great first project activity.

Angela

says:

This is a cute idea! I may have to drag out the sewing machine to do this!

Sarah Barkley

says:

These are adorable! I will definitely be making for my rising Kindergartener!

hollie

says:

My older guys have been wanting to learn to sew, and this is going to be their project!! Thanks!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

This would be a great first sewing project, Hollie! Great idea!

Carla

says:

I can’t wait to try these! Little sister has been tagging along to our Kindergarten lessons, and I think this would help her get more out of the pre-reading experience!

Melida Palencia

says:

Love this! I will definitely try it out! Thank you.

Melissa

says:

These are so cute.

Nicki

says:

I’ve got to make these soon!

Kim

says:

So creative! What’s more, my crafty teenager will be so excited to make these for her little sister!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

What a great thing for an older sister to do, Kim!

Rebekah

says:

Wonderful pattern. Can’t wait to make a set

Amanda

says:

This is so cute!

Rachel Tenison

says:

Great idea!