., originally uploaded by Rebecca….
Do you remember those plastic alphabet magnets? They adorned just about every fridge in the neighborhood when I grew up but I don’t see them around anymore.
I could probably find them on Ebay but I decided I’d rather make my own. Made from recycled felt they are technically still plastic but at least I’m helping keep some water bottles out of a landfill.
You will need:
- sheets of felt in a variety of colors
- Poly-Fil
- embroidery floss
- tapestry needle
- copy paper
- scissors
- pins
- hot glue gun or fabric glue
Step 1: Print out letters. I used the font Calibri size 350 but you could freehand the letters for a less uniform look.
Step 2: Cut the paper letters out.
Step 3: Pin the paper pieces to the felt and cut the letters out. You will need to cut two of each letter out.
Step 4: Using the blanket stitch sew the two pieces together stuffing as you go.
Step 5: Using a hot glue gun or fabric glue attach the magnets to the back of the letters so the magnet won’t be seen from the front.
Step 6: Wait for the glue to dry and set then have fun combining letters!
These would be a great gift for a child learning their ABCs or to spell. The letters are too large to be swallowed but the magnets, if pried loose, could be. You could make the letters without magnets or find very small but strong magnets and stitch them inside. Otherwise just use them with your kids so you can make sure nothing happens.
they are too cute! i’m not sure how big the magnets are but they might actually make a choking hazard for little ones. unless the magnets are bigger than at least a quarter (dimes and pennys go down pretty easy) they could be ingested, just a thought if you are going to try to sell them at your craft booth. if the magnets are strong enough you could put them inside the letters when you stich them shut that would make them safer.
Very good point! I did think about that but wasn’t sure how easily the magnets might come off. I also thought about sewing them into the letters but its hard to find magnets that small. It’s probably best to use these for supervised play with kids.
Those are awesome.
We must be on the same brain wavelength. I am halfway through making my own set, only with lower case letters. I actually started to sew the thinner magnet strips in between the felt but they are not strong enough. I am in search of inexpensive stronger magnets.
You mentioned stuffing them, but no stuffing was listed in “what you will need.” What did you use?
I used poly-fil
What a great idea!
Much cuter and more wholesome seeming than the plastic version!
They’d probably make a great present for studenty types. Alphabet magnets can be found in every student halls kitchen, and at least they’d be old enough that you wouldn’t have to worry about the choking hazard, hopefully 🙂
Great idea! These would also make great teacher appreciation gifts. When I taught I would have loved them and gotten a lot of use from them, magnetized or not. You could put together a set or two of capitals and lower case. Throw them in their own easy-to-clean up tote bag and go. And/or get some other crafty parents to help make sets. Or include numbers, plus, minus, and equal signs. Oh! Now you’ve got it! A unique *useable* gift is always greatly appreciated. =]
[…] love the idea of having a whole alphabet of soft, felt magnetic letters adorning our fridge or other magnetic surfaces. Indie House shows how to make them, and I imagine […]
[…] love the idea of having a whole alphabet of soft, felt magnetic letters adorning our fridge or other magnetic surfaces. Indie House shows how to make them, and I imagine […]
I am totally planning to make these for my toddler, but leaving off the magnet completely! Thanks for sharing!
Why not just glue the felt letters to magnetic sheets & cut out? That would resolve the problems involved with small magnets & small people. They wouldn’t be soft & fluffy, but would still be nicer than the store bought plastic ones!
Wow, these are gorgeous! Really, really pretty. I just love tiny felt projects. I’d love to link to this if you didn’t mind!
[…] magnet Aug.07, 2009 in FeedNews love the alphabet fridge magnets – kids do too – here how to make a cute plush […]
Amazing!
I love it, thanks for posting!
worse than a choking hazard (or at least as bad) if swallowed they can press parts of the intestines together & cause all kinds of problems – one child (at least) died from swallowing magnets & several required surgery. http://tinyurl.com/5bdofz I would be very reluctant to use magnets on or in anything for children under about the age of 10 (just to be safe.)
[…] learn to make your very own homemade felt alphabet magnets – a great low cost eco-project for you and the kids, although, I’d suggest sewing the […]
I love this idea and just started a set for my now 19-month old! I just want to mention for anyone who might try this and who might be an amateur-craftsperson/felter like me that (especially if, like me, you start at the beginning of the alphabet with “A”), in terms of stuffing the letters, it’s much much easier if you stitch the inside hole first, then the outer edge and stuff as you go.
Also I went to ACMoore and bought sheets of the $0.29 felt (very soft) and a set of 1/2″ diameter ceramic magnets that said “strong” on the package. You can put these magnets (10 for $2) inside the letter and it will hold on the fridge…surprisingly well actually! I was prepared to hunt for good magnets. Because I am a mom and worry a lot, not only did I bury the magnet inside, I glued it in place first. My son will be supervised while he plays with these (I may not finish the set before he’s 10!) but it makes me feel better that they’re doubly secured. I probably won’t give them to him at all until he starts to learn his ABC’s. I also intend the check the seams regularly to make sure they’re not letting go.
I used “Arial Black” font size 200 so that the letters would be thick enough to hold the 1/2″ magnet. So far, so good! Thanks for this post and tutorial!
how about a velcro verion of this.it seam to me like it would be easy to do and safe with the little ones and toddlers.
If you are looking for small magnets to sew inside, try rare earth magnets. they are a bit pricey, but even the 1/4″ ones can hold a couple of pounds each. I have used them in my felt shape magnets and they work great. I secure them inside with a glue dot before sewing the shape shut.
In Canada, you can get them online at Lee Valley, and I think they have a US site too.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=32065&cat=1,42363,42348
I love these! I was recently wondering the same thing about the magnets. My mom had them on our fridge when I was a kid. Can’t remember what happened to them.
Anyway, thanks for a fun project idea!
Very beautiful! Thank you!
Mércia
I really liked that post.I will be reading a lot more of this blog.But
These are great, but you might want to consider making them more “chunky” and “tactile” to make sure that younger hands can hold them properly. Also, they might need to be a bit more hard wearing too.
@Kris has the right idea of putting magnets inside the letters. This would make them last longer.
Great idea.
Could you cut the letter patterns out of magnetic sheets instead of paper and sew around the magnetic letters? That way you don’t have a bunch of little round magnets floating around inside!