My Sister's Suitcase - Packed with Creativity

Packed with Creativity

Love {Yarn} Letters

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Thanks for all your sweet comments on my Valentine’s Day Mantel! I’m back today to share my tutorial for the LOVE yarn letters I created. I had never tried wrapping anything in yarn {other than a wreath}, so I had a few trial and errors along the way 🙂 I’m going to share the technique that ended up working the best and fastest for me.

Start with your letters… mine are 8″ hollow cardboard letters. I found them at JoAnn’s for $1.99 each, but I’m sure you could find something similar at any craft store. I used 3 different colors of yarn because I wanted to create an “ombre” effect, but I think they would look just as cute in one color if you have some yarn you need to use up 🙂 {I will say, after using a pretty thin yarn I think next time I would try something a little thicker. It would take less wrapping and might give it a more textured look.}

The trick to wrapping these letters is the number of surfaces that have to be covered. You can’t simply wrap in one direction and cover the front, back, and all the edges. On a few of my edges {ends of the letters} I ended up using a technique where I glued the yarn instead of wrapping. I tried both ways, and this ended up being much faster. You need to figure out which edges need the “glue” method and do those first. Here’s how I did it:

1. E was the hardest letter so I figured I’d show you that one 🙂

2. Loop your yarn into 2″ segments, then cut the loops with scissors to create several small pieces of yarn.

3. Take 6-8 pieces of yarn at a time and group them together. {Make sure your glue gun is ready!}

4. Apply a generous amount of hot glue on the edge of you letter – enough to cover the width of your 8 pieces of yarn – a little less than 1 inch. Place the yarn on the glue and press down quickly. Make sure the pieces are nice and snuggled together so you get a tightly wrapped look 🙂

5. Once the top has been glued down, the ends of the yarn will be sticking out. Just trim them evenly, leaving enough room to glue them down on the sides.

6. You only need to cover the edge to the point where the actual wrapping will begin. {See, I only went about 2 inches in on the top and bottom of the E.} Here’s a view of the top:

Now you are going to start wrapping!

7. For the letter E, you will need to wrap each of the 3 “arms” first, in a vertical direction. Wrap each section separately, and secure the ends of the yarn on the back of the letter with a drop of hot glue {or tape, if you don’t want to burn your fingers like I did!}

8. Once all 3 sections have been wrapped vertically, you will start at the top of the letter and wrap in the other direction – horizontally 🙂 Do you like my arrows? This will cover the long section of the E, as well as the remaining exposed edges. Just make sure if you are using different colors that you switch your yarn accordingly 🙂

9. Finally you’re done! I’m going to be honest, it probably took me at least an hour to complete each letter. I’m not exactly sure because I was working on them random times during the day and night {whenever my kids let me!} So I dragged out the process for several days before I finished 🙂 But if you had one night to completely devote to the project, you could definitely bang it out.

Here is how I made the transition between colors to create the “ombre” effect:

As I was reaching the point where I would be switching colors, a started leaving a few little gaps in between my wrapped rows {to leave space for the next color}. Then I taped the end of the first color of yarn on the back and started in with my next color, filling in the gaps. Once everything was tight and in place where I wanted it, I took the tape off and glued it in place. Then just keep wrapping with your second color.

I wanted to show you a picture of the top view of the letter so you can see how nice it looks to have your edges wrapped nicely 🙂

Knowing how much time and patience this would take, I’m not sure if I’d do it again! Hahaha 🙂 But, each time I completed a letter it looked so great… it motivated me to keep going. And I LOVE the end result.

Let me know if you guys try this! I think they would be super cute as a single letter {monogram} in your kids’ rooms or on a bookshelf. Maybe an A and Z as bookends? That would be totally doable in an afternoon!
{You can find my Santa Yarn Letters here}
Signature-Holly

 

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Comments

  1. Oooo I love that bookends idea!! Glad you posted this tutorial because when I saw them on your mantle I knew I wanted to make something like this, but I wouldn’t have known until I got started that it’s a little bit complicated! Glad that when I do it I won’t have to learn through trial and error! Pinning this 🙂

    Reply

    • Thanks cute friend! It really isn’t that bad once you get going, I think it just took be forever because I was doing it in smaller chunks of time, instead of devoting an entire evening to it 🙂 Plus, my baby girl kept getting into my yarn!

      Reply

      • Hi! I’m wondering if you glue all of the pieces along the way or tie it off somehow? Thanks so much! Love this idea!

        Reply

  5. These are the best wrapped letters I’ve seen yet! I love the color combinations, and your tutorial/tips on wrapping are fantastic. I haven’t made these before and hadn’t really thought about just how difficult it would be to cover all the edges. Great Job.

    Reply

  17. How sweet! The crafts folk create with yarn is amazing! Love your “Love”

    Visiting from Under $100 linky party at Beyond The Picket Fence 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us!
    ~Smiles, Suzanne in NW Illinois

    Reply

    • Thanks, I might have to try that brand next time. I’m not a knitter or crocheter (is that a word??) so going down the yarn aisle is a little overwhelming 🙂 I’m usually drawn to the bright colors and anything that’s really soft & fuzzy. That being said, I have no idea what brands are good 🙂 So thank you!

      Reply

  21. Brilliant! I’ve seen plenty of yarn letter tutorials, but you took the idea to a whole new (AWESOME) level with the ombre effects! Great job & thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply

  22. Cool project. I love how it turned out. I tried doing a similar thing for a Halloween project with “BOO” letters. I got fed up and only made it half-way through the B. I may have to revisit that project after reading this tutorial. Thanks!

    Reply

  24. These are AMAZING!!!!! And love that you used three different colors, very cute! I’ve been looking everywhere for cardboard letters like that, I’ll have to check JoAnn’s and see if they have any…. Love your project!!!!

    Reply

  25. I’ve seen lots of variations of wrapped letters (including yarn), but these are BY FAR my fave!

    So pretty and polished!

    I would be absolutely THRILLED if you would stop over at my place and link this up to Feature Friday FREE-FOR-ALL…going on right now!: http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2012/01/feature-friday-free-for-all-4.html.

    So looking forward to seeing you there!

    P.S. I tried to follow so I could keep up with your lovely blog, but the connection kept timing out. I’ll try back soon! : )

    ~Abbie

    Reply

    • Hi Abbie 🙂 I just linked up to your party and added it to our “Parties we Love” page! You have some really cute projects linked up. We’re your newest follower!! Hope you can follow back {if the connection will work!} hahaha, I hate it when that happens 🙂 Have a great weekend! Oh, and congrats on getting 1000 followers, that is amazing!

      Reply

    • Thanks so much! I just went out and read your post… you are so sweet to feature our yarn letters 🙂 I am having a great Friday with all the love out there in blogland! Thanks again, and I’m excited to look around your blog 🙂

      Reply

  35. These are ADORABLE! Great job! I found your blog through T&J and I am loving it! Off to read more posts!

    Kendall
    {songbirdsandbuttons.blogspot.com}

    Reply

  41. I have a question about how you get your linky party icons so nicely organized on the bottom of your post. I can never seem to get mine to lined up and all the same size, what’s the trick? I’ve only been blogging for about a month now so I would appreciate any help you could give me. Thanks

    Reply

  42. Karin,
    Thanks for your sweet comments! I found this link about a month after I started blogging and it helped me a TON! It took me a few times playing around with the html code, but all I really do now is just make sure and add this code right before the end of the picture reference tag: height=”100″ and it makes all the buttons the same size. If you want them smaller, you could do 75 or 50 too. Go here for her full tutorial: http://lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com/2011/02/lets-clean-up-those-buttons-yo.html

    Hope that helps! good luck 🙂

    Reply

  45. I love these. I never realized how difficult they were – thanks for the extra tips about covering the ends. I just figured I could buy some yarn and start wrapping. You totally saved me from a craft fail!
    I found you through the Someday Crafts Link up.

    Reply

  51. Love this! And I love the way you created the ombre affect! Great directions! I featured it on my CraftBliss blog and linked back to you. ~Dee

    Reply

  52. We love this idea! It’s soooo cute and super easy! We’re so glad you linked up to our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday”. We loved having you!! Please come back next Saturday and share more of your great ideas! -The Sisters

    Reply

  55. these are really stunning. i love how much time you put in to wrapping each letter just perfect, it really paid off. they are lovely and i would be proud to display them 🙂 have a wonderful day!

    katie

    Reply

  56. Hi, I love these and I was wondering if you would be interested in sharing this tutorial on my blog the CSI Project, next week. The challenge is yarn projects and I have 3 tutorials. For some reason I forgot to get a 3rd, so I would love to have you. You could use the same tutorial and just add in a bio on your blog. Pics of you.
    The blog is popular and gets 4 to 5,000 views a day. So, it would be great exposure.
    Please email if you are interested and you can do more tutorials in the future or even be a guest judge.
    Come on by.
    http://www.thecsiproject.com
    Email me at dee@thecsiproject.com

    Reply

  77. I love this! Thanks for the inspiration. I made some of my own but had difficulty with the yarn (because my letters were more curvy) so I opted for covering them in paper. Thank you.

    Reply

  79. Wow! I am having so much anxiety right now with wanting to head to Joann’s and get to crafting these cute letters. I really appreciate you offering this easy-to-follow tutorial. THANKS!

    Reply

  82. I am working on an “E” currently and having difficulty with getting my yarn to the tips of the arms without slipping off. Also, my hot glue is bubbling up between strands and looks messy-any tips?

    Reply

  83. I just made an “M” to hang on our front door for my son’s first birthday. I made my own base letter from cardboard, so it is not a 3D letter, but looks cute anyway!

    Reply

  84. I’m so glad to have found this post/tutorial because I certainly wouldn’t have figured out the yarn tip on my own. Right now, I’m having trouble getting my yarn to look smooth on my (yarn) wreath. I finally unraveled it all and started over. ugh! The yarn letters look great and I’d love to try them out…..the bookends sound like a great idea. This is definitely another great project by you two…please keep them coming.

    Reply

  86. Nat and Holly,

    This is super cute! I shared your Love Yarn Letters with my readers as a part of my 5 {DIY} Valentine’s Day Inspirations.

    Thank you for your inspiration!

    Jessica
    a Shimmering Star

    Reply

  95. Hey sisters! I am working on a blog post for a nonprofit – http://gopaintlove.com/ on valentine’s day crafts, would you mind if I featured this? Just doing a link list with maybe a thumbnail image, but wanted to check with you first!

    Thanks,
    Madison

    Reply

  99. This tutorial was just what I needed! I found the idea on another site, but it didn’t really give any instructions on how to actually wrap the yarn (aside from wrap it and use lots of glue). I love the idea of cutting to cover the odds edges. It will make the Mother’s day project I am doing with the kids so much easier! A dad, 10 year old boy and 7 year old girl are going to create this. Should be fun to see how long it takes the kids to do the letters!

    I’m thinking about going one step further and framing each letter…we’ll see how long this process takes and I’ll decide then

    Reply

Trackbacks

  2. […] The bright coral and gold leather are a perfect combination! Here’s how I made it… I started out with some sketches to figure out my design, and then I had to create the pattern to scale. This was the toughest part! Lucky for you guys, I’m giving it to you Download Aztec Heart Pattern here Make sure to download the PDF format so the pattern pieces will be the correct size. I got my felt and the gold leather at JoAnns.  It’s a new color of felt (Coral Red) and it’s gorgeous in person! I cut out all of the pattern pieces, using coral as Color A and gold as Color B. When I had all of the pieces laid out to create the heart pattern, it was time to place them on my pillow cover. I used a cream linen pillow cover from DownEast Home… it is actually monogrammed on the other side so it was deeply discounted. Whenever I see these for under $2, I always snag them! This one only cost me $0.89! Once the pattern was in place on the pillow cover, I simply adhered each piece with hot glue. You could also use fabric glue, but I just didn’t want to wait for it to dry I’m impatient like that! I’m thrilled with how it turned out! Have you started decorating for Valentine’s Day yet? I love my pillow so much, I’ll probably keep it up for a while Check out some of my other Valentine’s Day decor projects: Pom Pom Pillow Chevron Paper Garland Yarn Love Letters […]

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  5. […] This is a project similar to one we’ve already presented you but it’s been adapted to suit a theme. These love letters can be a nice gesture for Valentine’s Day or simply a romantic decoration for the house. You’ll need several shades of color for your yarn. Use glue to keep it in place and start at the top. Continue until the whole in wrapped in yarn and keep the knots on the back.{found on sisters blog}. […]

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  6. […] You could make something more fun. For example, buy some cardboard or foam letters to spell out “love” and wrap then in colored yarn. You can use two or more colors to create an interesting design.{found on sisterssuitcaseblog}. […]

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