The origins of monograms were very regal. Monograms were generally
used as a signature and on coins. The artists of the Middle Ages used
them to sign their work. Eventually, a monogram became a symbol of
one’s place in society. Today, monograms are everywhere including on the leather of a prestigious car - the manufacturer's monogram.
At one time, rules for monogramming were narrow, and followed the configuration as “ACB”
with the center letter being the last name. Today, the more casual use
of monogramming has fewer rules and certainly not limited to fabric or
coins. To me, nothing is more elegant than a well placed letter on
stationery, cuffs, a candle or anything that is not nailed down.
Etiquette varies from time to time and even country to country. This is considered by some to be the American version:
Classic, chic and without an equal, monograms have stood the test of
time. Even Laverne could not make a monogram tacky; she wore hers when
she was dressed up!
At the risk of being plummeted with non-monogrammed shoes (yes, shoes), I am going to list a few of the ‘rules’ I try to follow:
Rule #1 – there are no rules. . . .
Rule #2 – when the client says they want them upside down, refer to Rule #1.
Some of the Rules of Monogramming:
- For Life Partners, I encourage the use of just 2 initials, last
names only and the order is their choice. Charles Adams and Sam Brown:
- For those combining both names, I do recommend a hyphen, I personally like them. Charles Adams and Diane Brown:
- For both people with hyphenated last names, I recommend the second
letters with a hyphen in the center, and both first names. I think
these are falling out of favor. Charles Smith-Adams and Diane
Johns-Brown:
- For names with apostrophes, I recommend using just the first initial, i.e., O’Connor would be “O.”
- For names with ‘De’ or ‘La,’ I recommend using ‘D’ or ‘L.’
- For someone wanting something a little different, I recommend a
“stack” style where the first and middle are stacked one over the other
and the last name a large letter matching the size of the two stacked
ones. Adam Bob Carter.
- I personally prefer a single letter. You already knew that!
- I also find two letters, first and last to be a nice combo as well. Anne Adams
- For a really unusual monogram, I would place one letter directly
over another. I don’t encourage that because of density issues. Alena
Spalding.
Well, I was anxious to start doing some projects and I had a sheet of
‘foam’ left over from a different project. This foam is similar to the
mouse pad that you are using right now. I have washed that mouse pad,
so I felt the foam would be suitable for embroidery too.
The piece of foam is a 2 mm weight and I am going to use a thread color to match it.
I started off by using a font that had a wide satin stitch. I felt
that would be an easy stitch to work with. I created a standard
monogram and then I placed the same design atop the foam that was just
set on the fabric. I was delighted with the results. I also tried a
letter with both satin and running stitches. I left the inside foam but
could just as easily have removed it. There is less impact with
removing the foam because the monogram "P" only has a small portion with
the satin stitch. The more narrow sections is still a satin stitch
but too slim to have an effect.
Tip: The foam fell away from the satin stitches, but at the bottom
of the letters, you must be careful when you clip the leftover foam. If
you clip the threads, you will want to use some “Fray Check” to keep
the stitches from coming off.
Tip: If you decide to keep the foam with the design, you may want to
have some adhesive to keep it in place. It came right out of the
inside of the P and A, so for the Script P, I would have used some glue.
Since these were test sewouts, I was not concerned about perfection.
I played with some other available fonts and outline designs I had
and I really like the results. I might even try this on the card paper
from Kiwi. . or metallic thread? or under appliqué? or on a towel? or
. . . .
I am off to do some more testing, and if you do these, show us the results. Don’t forget, you can upload your photos to "Galleries" for us all to enjoy. I also recommend that you put a little message in the Forum letting us know that it is available.
Every time I check my email, AnnTheGran has something more that helps a crafter do better work on quilts. One of the biggest reasons that I have not, up to this time, does quilting is because of the binding. I cannot sew a straight line and binding seemed to be rocket science to me. This week there is a special on the Ultimate Quilt Binding Combo. I really like the very small binding.
Lastly, here is a Freebie from right here at Ann's place. There are a couple of things that I really LOVE about this Landmark Embroidery Design.
- The detail is so beautiful. I will use a deep brown rather than the black, but that is no problem.
- There are many designs of people that are more life like (as apposed to being cartoon like or stick figures)!
- If you have young people in your life who may feel like embroidery is 'old fashioned' you will find so many designs that WILL be of INTEREST TO THEM. There are tattoo like designs that will be wonderful on a t-shirt or jacket. With over 300 designs, there are so many that will delight that teenager in your life.