DIY Sorority Letters: Part 1

SayItWithLilly is my etsy shop where I sell authentic Lilly Pulitzer fabric and bows. As an avid Lilly lover, it's important to me to quality products and authentic fabric so the beauty of Lilly's prints are not watered down. Half of my etsy shop is bows, pretty straight forward, the other half takes a little creativity. "Fabric for Letters", I have titled them, I've had several people ask me, how exactly does this fabric get turned into a beautiful new set of Lilly Pulitzer letters? It's easy.

Step 1: Find a set of premade letters that you like the look of. Use a set that you already have, or borrow some from your big or another sister.

Step 2: Photocopy the letters. You can do this at home with your all-in-one printer, at your school, or library.

Step 3: Outline the inner stitch with a bright marker so you'll know where to cut. 

Note: If you're very new at this you may want to get two copies of each letter so you may trace the inner stitch on one copy and the outer stitch on the other copy. If you're more experienced you may be able to eyeball the outer edge, this will be talked about more later, don't worry.

Step 4: You saw that Reese's cereal box in the first pic and just thought I was having a snack didn't you? Wrong. Deconstruct a cardboard box (can be cereal, crackers, doesn't really matter) and tape the cut out inner letters to the box face UP. Be sure to use clear tape, not duct tape or other colored tapes...

Step 5: Cut the letters out of the cardboard, follow along the edges and be careful!!

Step 6: For those tricky spots, like the middle of an A, use a craft knife. Again please don't cut yourself. I bought mine at Jo-Ann Fabrics, or you can find it here.

Step 7: Mark the up and down sides, you may think you'll be able to remember but I can't tell you how many veteran letter makers I have seen making letters the wrong way. Yes they'll look good in mirrors but not so good anywhere else. 

Hooray! You've made stencils and recycled your cereal box that you were just going to throw away! Cardboard stencils will last you forever, I passed mine down when I graduated from college, as it turns out, I don't currently have any of my letters with me now that I've moved. So I'm using my boyfriends letters, I was pinned so yes I am allowed to wear this fraternity's letters. 

I will continue instructions in another blog post, for now get to ordering your favorite Lilly Pulitzer prints from my etsy shop! I would LOVE to see your creations made with my fabric, be sure to tag me in your post on instagram with #sayitwithlilly.

Follow me on instagram at @sayitwithkate! And check out my business IG at @SayItWithLilly. 

-Kate