Not everyone has an embroidery machine but many people have sewing machines that are capable of stitching letters, numbers, and graphic decorative stitches. These stitches can be used to embellish projects or to create quilt labels. For those that plan to use their alphabets, there a few key items that will help ensure your project looks its best.

As with all decorative stitches, you need to use the correct foot be it a decorative stitch foot, applique foot or in the Janome Elna world, an F foot. This foot will allow the stitch to form without the weight of the presser foot against the stitches. As always you will need to use a stabilizer so your fabric does not wrinkle due to the number of stitches and the additive tension.

Because the size of the letters will be limited on a sewing machine, in order to produce nice clear letters, especially if you are sewing lower case, it is advisable to use a thin thread and a smaller needle. Poke a small hole and use a thin thread to produce clear letters that separate the spaces with letters, like the space in a lower case "e".

To maximize the effect, use a polyester rather than cotton. All natural fibers have lint that will make the thread appear thicker. Polyester thread has no lint. A 60wt polyester and an 80/20 or 75/11 needle will provide a very nice looking letter.