Graphoguide alphabetique

"Methode Jean-Pierre Bonne" - a model for French handwriting. Imagine it used for couching...

I wanted to use these letter forms on a kitchen hand-towel - but couching didn't seem the way to go, because of what happens on the back, loose ends of the thick thread taken through, very untidy.

First, though, adjusting the size to fit the space available. (The alternative was to spend time learning how to do the script, but I'm a coward when it comes to calligraphy.) I made little images of separate letters, cropping the original image, and then lined them up in InDesign -and

printed out jpegs of the words at different sizes till it seemed to fit the space -

Next, the embroidery ... one towel blue and another red ... but how to transfer the lettering? "Do the easiest thing" seems sensible - so I traced the letters onto some some fusible tear-away stabilizer and ironed on the front, then tore it away once the embroidery was done -

A note of caution - on the loopy fabric, the stabilizer must be removed Very Carefully, or the loops pull out. For the second towel, I applied it with light touches of the iron here and there - a much better result on removal.