How to make your own calligraphy place cards

To celebrate the launch of our new product ‘The Modern Calligraphy Beginner’s Kit’, our lovely designer who created the kit wanted to show you what you can make! 

Find out how to use the dip pen and get practising, plus some little extras you can get creative with.

What you need: 

• The Modern Calligraphy Beginner’s Kit (£9.95)
• Tracing paper
• Place cards (we used some beautiful watercolour paper cut to size)
• Any accessories that you want to include - we added a touch of rosemary to our table setting

Step 1 - Let’s get started with the pen and nib

Give your nib a bit of a scrub to make sure it’s dust-free. 
Next, place the nib into the end of the pen. Make sure that you place the nib in-between the wood and the metal prongs (not in-between the prongs).

 
Step 2 - Ink up your pen

Inking up is easy with our kit! The pen and nib fit perfectly into the ink bottle. All you need to remember is not to fill up the nib too much otherwise you will get a bit of blotting! You can always lightly tap the nib on the edge of the bottle to get rid of excess ink.

 
Step 3 - Start to practise

A good way to start is by practising with tracing paper placed over the tips and tricks sheet in your kit! 
You can also practise your hand movements with some strokes and curves.

Here are some tips to get on your way:

• Hold your nib at a 45 degree angle
• On the up stroke use light pressure to get a fine line and on the down stroke apply more pressure to get a thicker stroke
• Make sure you follow the numbers on the tips and tricks sheet to get a good movement
• Practise, practise and practise!

Step 4 - Give it a go on your place card

Once you feel confident, give your lettering a go on the place cards! Try out some different placements.

Step 5 - The final place setting

If you are feeling really creative, you can go ahead and add a little calligraphy touch to your menu.
Here’s one we created for a dinner party!