Lettering guide

Work up any lettering you need on graph paper to keep the copy uniform. Or, if you
prefer, trace the letters from one of the alphabets on the following images.

Letters 1
Letters 2

Letters 3
Letters 4

Large, cut-out letters for use on a bulletin or flannel board can be made easily by the
fold-and-cut method.

Procedure:

1) Determine the size letter you wish to make and cut as many rectangles of paper as
you need letters to spell out your message. Be sure that all the rectangles are exactly
the same size.

2) Make a width gauge by folding one rectangle in half lengthwise two times. The
resulting width of this gauge represents the thickness of each letter "stroke". Use this
gauge to guide your folds as you create each letter.

Width gauge

3) Construct a 4-unit by 5-unit grid on each rectangle by folding the paper in half
lengthwise two times and creasing the folds firmly as you did to make the width
gauge.

Now, open the paper flat and fold it in half crosswise.

Next, fold the cut edges up one width (use the width gauge as a guide), leaving a half
width exposed as shown.

Fold this half width down over the cut edges and crease firmly.
Open the paper flat to reveal the 4-unit by 5-unit grid defined by the fold lines. All the
letters (except M and W) and all the numbers can be constructed on this grid.

Folding the paper

4) Fold and cut letters according to the following directions:

A Fold paper rectangle in half lengthwise. Make two parallel diagonal folds, one unit
width apart, from bottom cut corner to top folded corner as shown. Follow folded
guide lines to remove shaded portion as indicated. Open letter flat.
Letter A

B Fold paper crosswise. With folded edge at top, curve both right hand corners. Fold
paper crosswise again, matching up the two horizontal grid lines. The top fold should
appear one half width above the bottom cut edge. Follow guide lines to remove inside
(shaded) portion. Remember to curve the inner right corner. Open letter flat.

Letter B

C Fold paper in quarters. Curve outside (open) corner and remove inner portion,
remembering to curve inner corner also. Open letter out flat and clip center bar on
right hand side.
Letter C

D Fold paper in half crosswise. With fold at top, curve lower right corner and remove
center section. Remember to curve inner right corner also. Open letter flat.

Letter D

E Fold paper in half crosswise. Follow grid lines to cut horizontal bars. Clip center bar
shorter than top and bottom bars. Open letter flat.

Letter E
F Same as E. Remove lower horizontal bar.

Letter F

G Fold paper in half crosswise. Curve open corners and follow grid lines to remove
center portion as shown. Open letter flat and clip right side above center bar.

Letter G

H Fold paper in quarters. Follow grid lines to remove shaded portion as indicated.
Open letter flat.
Letter H

I Single vertical bar, one unit width wide. (See L below.)

Letter I

J Fold paper in half lengthwise. Curve lower open corner and remove center section as
shown. Open letter flat. Remove top three units of left vertical bar.
Letter J

K Leave paper flat. Crease diagonals one unit wide as shown. Then follow folded
guide lines to remove shaded portion

Letter K

L Fold paper in half lengthwise. Cut away the first four units on the folded side as
shown. Open letter out flat. Clip off all five units of the right vertical bar. This will
produce both an L and an I.

Letter L

M You will need to cut a piece of paper one half width wider than any of the other
letters you have made so far. Be sure that the length of the paper rectangle is the same
as all the others.
Fold the paper in half crosswise and crease, then open flat. Now, fold the paper
lengthwise. Use the width gauge to fold the cut edges in toward the center fold leaving
one quarter width exposed. Crease these folds firmly. Open the last fold, leaving paper
folded once lengthwise. Crease two parallel folds, one unit width apart, as shown.
Follow creases to cut away shaded portion. Open letter flat.

Letter M

N With paper flat, crease two parallel diagonal folds, one unit width apart, from upper
left to bottom right corner. Cut away shaded portion as shown.

Letter N

O Fold paper in quarters. Curve open corner and remove inner portion as for the letter
C. Open letter flat.
Letter O

P Fold paper crosswise midway through the second horizontal unit so that the lower 2-
unit section remains uncovered. Follow guide lines to cut away shaded portions as
indicated.

Letter P
Q Fold and cut an Q (see above). Glue a small tab to the back of the lower right corner
as shown.

Letter Q

R With paper flat, make two parallel diagonal folds, one unit width apart, from bottom
right corner to center of paper as shown. Now, fold the top section down as you did
for the letter P. Follow guide lines to cut away shaded portions. Open letter flat.

Letter R
S Fold paper in quarters. Curve open corner and remove center portion as indicated.
Open letter flat. Clip and curve each side to form the S.

Letter S

T Fold paper in half lengthwise Remove shaded portion as shown. Open letter flat.

Letter T
U Fold paper in half lengthwise Remove shaded portion as shown. Open letter flat.

Letter U

V Fold paper in half lengthwise and crease as for the letter A. Remove shaded portion
as indicated. Open letter flat.

Letter V

W W is the widest letter is the alphabet. Cut a piece of paper one unit width
wider than the other letters. Be sure to keep the height of the letter equal to that of all
the others. Fold and crease a 5-unit by 5-unit grid into the paper.
Piece of paper

To make the W. fold the paper in half lengthwise. Crease two sets of parallel diagonal
lines as shown and cut away shaded sections. Open letter flat.

Letter W

X Fold paper in quarters. Crease two parallel diagonal lines from open corner to
folded corner exactly as shown. Be sure that the foot of the diagonal crossbar is flush
with the bottom of the paper and that the other end (at the letter center)
incorporates both the horizontal and the vertical fold. Follow these guidelines to cut
away shaded portions as indicated.
Letter X

Y Fold paper in half lengthwise. Crease two parallel diagonal folds as shown. Follow
these guidelines to remove shaded portion as indicated. Open letter flat.

Letter Y

Z With paper flat, crease two parallel diagonal lines from lower left to upper right as
shown. Cut away shaded sections.

Letter Z