Monograms: Designing and Hand Embroidering

Nothing says elegance like a hand-embroidered monogram. This beautiful monogram is by Leontine Linens; they have oodles more monogram styles on their site.

I only lived in the South (New Orleans) for six years but the region's obsession with monograms was one of those things that became imprinted on my brain. I love monograms! I would monogram everything in my house if I could. (In reality, the only monogrammed items I own are a L.L. Bean tote bag, a nightgown, the kids' backpacks from when they were little, a couple of preppy handbags I never use, and some old linens. I do manage to keep myself in check.)

I also love to embroider and every few years I'll hand-embroider a monogram on something, usually a gift. (Did any of you dear readers ever get a "My Hankies" embroidery kit when you were little? That's what got me hooked at an early age on embroidering.)

My most recent embroidering project was this Butterick robe I made, which cried out for a simple monogram. I chose these Art Deco style letters, in keeping with the robe's Chinoise look, and I designed the border at the corners. The letters are embroidered in a padded satin stitch (navy silk embroidery floss, two strands) and outlined in a stem stitch (gold silk embroidery floss, two strands).


How to make your own monograms:

1. First, choose a typeface. You can select fonts available on your computer, you can buy fonts online, or you can use monogram transfer books or patterns.

2. Next, enlarge or reduce the type you've chosen to a size appropriate for your application. The font I used above came from one of these embroidery transfer books below, and I increased the size on my copier by about 20 percent.

Monogram transfer books and vintage monogram transfer patterns are readily available online. I bought these books from Amazon and the patterns from Etsy.

3. Now you're ready to transfer your monogram design to your fabric. If the fabric is transparent enough, I'll place the monogram on a lightbox, put the fabric on top and trace the outline of the font lightly with a pencil or washable marker. Or, I'll use transfer paper and a stylus to trace over the design onto the fabric. Personally, I'm not a fan of iron-on transfers, because there's no room for mistakes if you mis-position the design.

4. It will depend on your fabric if you need some kind of reinforcement, like fusible interfacing. I prefer not to use backing if I can avoid it, and especially if you can see the wrong side of your item.

5. Place your fabric in an embroidery hoop and stitch away. Most often I'll use a padded satin stitch for monograms, but you can use whatever stitch you like. Filling a letter with stem or chain stitches looks nice too, and you don't have to be quite as precise as with a satin stitch.

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My vague directions assume you have a knowledge of embroidery. Here are some helpful links if you are interested in creating your own monogram:

Needle 'n Thread's tips for hand embroidery: An excellent resource with clear photos and directions. I visited this site for a refresher on neatly starting and finishing when embroidering.
Harold's monogram fonts: Fun and attractive monogram fonts to purchase and download.
1930s monogram fonts: Free monogram fonts from the thirties you can print and then size
Leontine Linens: Examples of monogram styles. Wouldn't it be swell to have your own custom monogram embroidered on all your fine linens? (Do 600 thread-count sheets on sale from Target qualify as fine linen?)
Monogrammed Linen Shop: More examples of beautiful hand-embroidered monograms from a London shop. The two small monograms here are courtesy of MLS.
Just Something I Made: This craft blogger does nifty things with monograms beyond embroidering them. Just search "monograms" on her site.
An article in The New York Times about Roger Federer's monogram: The tennis star is taking heat for sporting a monogram but I say you stick with it, Roger. It's classy.