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If you have trouble with letter spacing, then you will appreciate today’s free calligraphy worksheet! Print it out and practice as many times as you need to in order to hone your ability to “eyeball” the distance between letters.
No matter what your level of pointed pen expertise, calligraphy spacing can be a major challenge. It’s tough to maintain a consistent amount of space between letters! While block lettering allows you to mathematically space out letters evenly, you have to “eyeball it” with calligraphy. If that intimidates you, don’t despair! Today’s printable — a calligraphy spacing cross drills worksheet — will help you to hone your spacing skills.
First, download the Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet for free by clicking here. Print it off on a calligraphy-friendly paper like 32# laserjet (affiliate link), and choose your favorite nib, pen holder, and ink. (I used iron gall ink and a Brause EF66 nib in an oblique pen.)
First, begin by writing connected “o”s over the faint “o” outlines at the top left of the worksheet.
Once you finish writing the first line, continue to write “o”s along the other horizontal lines in the left quadrant. Try your very best to ensure that each “o” is right below the one above it.
Once the ink has dried, turn your page 90 degrees, then write a new line of “o”s that are perpendicular to the “o”s that you drew before. Each new “o” that you draw should be in the middle of a square of four “o”s.
Basically, you’re going to “crisscross” your first sets of “o”s with new sets of “o”s.
Continue drawing connected “o”s until the first quadrant of the worksheet looks like a grid! Fill out the rest of the worksheet quadrants the exact same way, but with different letters of your choice.
As I mentioned before, calligraphy letter spacing doesn’t have a whole lot to do with math. Instead, you rely on your visual judgment to achieve consistency. It really doesn’t matter which letter(s) you choose to practice with — the point is to work on spacing.
If you find yourself generally having trouble with your calligraphy being “smooshed” together or too far apart, then I encourage you to give this worksheet a try. Don’t be discouraged if your results aren’t perfect. The whole point of a worksheet is to provide you with mistake-friendly practice!
Again, you can download this free worksheet by clicking here. I hope that you enjoy it, and I’d love to see your results on Instagram (@thepostmansknock)! And yes! This worksheet has shown up on the Blog before. It’s such an important and helpful learning resource, though, that I want to make sure it’s on your radar.
Happy practicing!
Warmly,
*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon
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