This letter guide is here for individuals who wish to be a part of crafting their “one of a kind” handmade work of art. We hope you find it useful and not overwhelming. If you wish for us to do the work just send your text and what pattern style you like and we will make the calculations and provide a quote.
Our signature lettering is available in 5/8”, 1”, 1 ½” and 2” upper/lower case. Marker size and amount of inscription determines the appropriate letter size. This guide indicates the approximate copy that can be placed on the various marker styles and sizes. Actual letters per line will vary depending upon the incidence of narrow or wide letters in the text. When using this guide only include the main body of text, our guide has built in space for a 1-line caption using either 1 ½” or 2” UPPER case lettering and assumes the layout will be fully justified with 2” margins on all four sides of the text.
How to use the lettering guide:
Draft your text in Microsoft word or any word processor; using a “Word Count” tool determine your total characters (with spaces) and number of words. If you do not have MS word or a tool for word counting, simply type your story into our Sewah Story Analyzer. Use this count from your story and look for an appropriate pattern/letter size match on the chart above.
Example:
Assume your marker story (excluding the title line) has 830 letter spaces (LtrSp) or 140 words, Note: a letter space (LtrSp) includes: all characters, punctuation, and spaces). Next looking at the guide find which pattern best fits your story count without going significantly over/under. Any letter count match to your stories count would be an appropriate choice using this pattern/letter size combination on the guide. For our example look for patterns with (830 characters/140 words) same sided or (415 characters/70 words) different sided options. Be sure your count does not significantly exceed the letter counting guide as these counts are maximum limits. Again, the idea is to get your stories word count as close to the guide count without going substantially over/under. (20-30 LtrSp. or 4-6 words +/- is fine)
Results:
Using 830 character/140 word example, here are matching patterns:
Georgia 24×36 | 5/8” same (810 characters/135 words) or 1” different (409 characters/69 words) | |
Lil Tennessee 26×36 | 5/8” same (817 characters/137 words) or 1” different (413 characters/69 words) | |
Revised Ohio 33×43 | 1” same (813 characters/139 words) or 1 ½” different (402 characters/69 words) |
Same vs different sided markers:
Sewah markers can be cast with either the inscription positioned as same text copy on each side of a two sided marker or different text copy on either side of a two sided marker. Different sided markers can either have two independent stories on either side; or a continuation of the same story from side one to side two. When creating a different sided continuation marker we recommend including continuation statements at the bottom of side one: “continued on other side” and at the top of side two: “continued from other side”. This lets the reader know where to start reading the story. When figuring out the amount of text that can be placed on each side when the copy is split: First, determine the overall story character/word count as if the story would all be one side; then divide the count in half and compare to the line counts available on the letter guide. The idea is to maximize the space on each side of the marker panel with the largest lettering size available on the appropriate pattern size. At any point you need assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.