The fashionable Type - a Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy series

First off, I want to give a big thanks to Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy Crafts for asking me to take part in this series. Such a fun and unique idea....it was a really super challenge to come up with something a little different

I had this vision in my head of an alphabet covered twirly dress, but (probably much to my daughterss dismay) I know my oldest already has a TON of dresses and actually wears leggings and tunics 90% of time. So when searching for materials I found this gem

It is a poly/cotton  vintage knit from Turkey! crazy cool huh?  It is super soft and covered type of all fonts and colors. I love how graphic the type is...you really have to look twice to realize they are letters and symbols

 I bought what was left and knew that some funky leggings were in order. And too go with the leggings I wanted a fun tunic. I self drafted a raglan hoodie (oversized so it is really comfy and has lots of wear) I used a heavy sweatshirt fleece so it doubles as a spring/fall jacket too!

I love how big and comfy it is! I added a hi-low hem for some coverage with the leggings

 I also lined the hood with the same fabric as the leggings

The other reason I made this one a little oversized was so I could add all the applique I wanted. A FULL alphabet in different materials and fonts wraps around the entire sweater. I did a monochromatic look so the effect is not too jarring with all the type.

Here is what I did

First I made a template of the entire alphabet in different fonts and sizes (I used fonts that were fairly thick and would translate to applique easily) You can make your own, OR download the one I used here. You can adjust the scale when you print to get smaller or larger letters depending on the space you are working with

Next I collected scraps of any fabrics that were black. I ended up with a collection of sweatshirt fleece (btw, this was the easiest to sew and cut, and worked out the best), satin and vinyl

I ironed on lightweight interfacing on the back of the scraps

Now the tedious part....put on a good Tv show or some music, and cut out all your letters that you printed (I left the centers in, and cut them out right before I traced them so the cut-outs were not as flimsy)

Then take your letters and trace them onto the interfacing side of you scraps...REMEMBER TO TRACE THEM BACKWARDS!!!

Using a sharp pair of scissors cut them all out. You can use an xacto knife, but I found it way faster and still good results with scissors

Keep on cutting until you have the whole alphabet... (just a note, in the pic below there are some letters that I made with quilting cotton, but I scraped them in the final design since they did not sew on the sweatshirt fleece nicely and made it pucker...)

Now the fun (and slight tedious....) part. Take your letters and pin (or tape if using vinyl) the letters into place

When everything is where you want them you can start sewing them on. SLOWLY. I used a simple longer staight stitch with a little less then a 1/4" seam allowance, and sewed around all the edges. Remember to change you needle and foot accordingly when you switch fabrics (like cotton to satin to leather etc.)

And that was it,  you could also do this to ready made clothing for an update.

Now go add some type to your clothes....:)

~Christine