No-Sew Fabric Letters (Easy DIY Padded Name Decor)

DIY Fabric Letters

Looking for a quick and creative project with no sewing involved? These padded fabric letters are such a lovely way to personalise a child’s bedroom, nursery, or playroom.

They’re soft, lightweight, and made using just a fat quarter of fabric per letter, perfect for using up prints you love.

What you’ll need:

• Fabric (1 fat quarter per letter is plenty)

• Paper mâché letters (approx. 8” tall) Mine are from Hobbycraft

• Polyester wadding or toy filling

• Glue (choose one):

  • Hot glue gun

  • Fabric glue (e.g. Gutermann HT2)

  • Temporary spray adhesive (505)

• Scissors

• Iron

Optional:

• Card or felt to cover the back

Instructions:

1. Add padding

Cut pieces of wadding to fit the front of each letter. Use your chosen glue to secure the wadding in place. This gives your letters that soft, padded look.

2. Cut your fabric

Cut a piece of fabric around 3” larger than your letter on all sides

Tip: If your fabric has motifs (animals, florals, etc.), position your letter first and fussy cut so the design sits nicely on the front.

3. Wrap the front

• Place the letter face down onto the wrong side of the fabric

• Pull the fabric around the edges and glue in place

For neat corners:

• Fold like you would wrapping a present

• Snip into tight corners to help the fabric sit flat

Don’t worry if the back looks messy - we’ll tidy that later!

4. Cover inner cut-outs (for letters like A, O, B)

• Make a small snip in the centre

• Cut outwards towards the corners

• Fold the fabric edges inside and glue down

Take your time here for a neat finish.

5. Finish wrapping

Continue gluing and folding until the whole letter is covered, smoothing out any bulky areas as you go. Repeat with all of your letters.

6. Create the side edging

• Cut fabric strips 2” wide

• You’ll need approximately 30–35” total length per letter

You will need to cut a couple of strips per letter to get the full length if you are using fat quarters

• Fold both long edges into the centre and press

• Your strip will now be approx. 1” wide

7. Attach the edging

Glue the folded strip around the side edge of the letter.

• Work slowly, especially around curves

  
  

Tip: If you’re using more than one strip, fold the raw end of the first strip under, then tuck the next strip underneath it and continue gluing. This helps hide the join for a neater finish

Using a wet glue (HT2) to adhere the strips around the edges will keep the fabric flatter but a glue gun will also work.

8. Optional: Cover the back

Draw around each letter onto piece of card or felt and cut out, trimming slightly smaller than the letter so that it's hidden.

Glue onto the back to neaten everything.

Finished!

You’ll have soft, padded letters ready to hang or prop on a shelf, perfect for spelling names, initials, or little words.

Tips for best results

• Use quilting cotton for easy folding

• Smaller prints work best for lettering

• Take your time on curves and inner shapes

• Mix and match fabrics for a playful look

Happy crafting! Kym