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  • Welcome to TPK! This is your first of 2 free articles. For unlimited access to tutorials and articles, join TPK Premium for less than the cost of a latte.

    Free Calligraphy Worksheet: Spacing Cross Drills

    March 26, 2024

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    Beginner’s Calligraphy, Calligraphy, Dip Pen Calligraphy, Free Printables, Printable Goodies, Worksheets

    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.

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    Free Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet | The Postman's Knock

    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.

    DOWNLOAD THE FREE WORKSHEET

    How to Use This Free Calligraphy Worksheet: Video Tutorial

    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.)

    How to Use This Free Calligraphy Worksheet: Written Tutorial

    First, begin by writing connected “o”s over the faint “o” outlines at the top left of the worksheet.

    Free Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet | The Postman's Knock

    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.

    Free Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet | The Postman's Knock
    All of the “o”s should line up with the “o”s above them.

    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.

    Free Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet | The Postman's Knock
    Your goal is to make a grid of connected letters.

    Basically, you’re going to “crisscross” your first sets of “o”s with new sets of “o”s.

    Free Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet | The Postman's Knock

    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.

    Benefits of Using the Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet

    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.

    For an extra challenge, try writing a lowercase alphabet in the upper right quadrant of the worksheet. When you get to “z”, you can start again at “a”.

    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!

    Free Calligraphy Spacing Cross Drills Worksheet | The Postman's Knock
    If your grids don’t look perfect, don’t worry about it. That’s the reason you are practicing: to improve. Each time you fill out this worksheet, you get better at calligraphy spacing!

    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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About the author

Hi, I’m Lindsey Bugbee, the illustrator, calligrapher, and author behind The Postman’s Knock (TPK). Since 2012, the TPK Blog has been a vibrant creative space filled with tutorials and lessons on modern calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. After publishing The Calligraphy Book, I wanted to elevate the quality of content even further—so I launched TPK Premium. You can join here to receive access to some of the internet’s best creative inspiration and project tutorials.

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52 responses

  1. Lindsay Avatar
    Lindsay
    May 23, 2022

    You are so generous with free resources! Thank you for everything you offer!

    Log in to Reply
  2. Erma Avatar
    Erma
    May 23, 2022

    Thank you for your worksheets🙏🏻💕

    Log in to Reply
  3. Charmaine Avatar
    Charmaine
    May 22, 2022

    Thank you for the worksheet. It’s been a while since I have done any calligraphy practice, this will help to change it up a bit!

    Log in to Reply
  4. Eren Avatar
    Eren
    May 22, 2022

    Great exercise! When I was on third grade of elementary school, I was in a class with the only teacher who still used to teach cursive handwriting and I can remember this exercise. The great difference is that our teacher did not provide us with a guide like this. We had to struggle trying to go straight on a white page consequently, we used to hate the exercise. This clever worksheet avoids the unnecessary frustration to deal with too many variables at the same time: letterforms, space, and direction.

    Thank you so much, Lindsey!

    P.d. Your blog is the world’s #1 calligraphy blog for good reasons.

    Log in to Reply
  5. Margarita Avatar
    Margarita
    May 21, 2018

    This is awesome!!! thank you

    Log in to Reply
  6. Sharon Kenney Biddle Avatar
    Sharon Kenney Biddle
    June 1, 2017

    Hi Lindsey,

    This practice sheet is so good! It’s difficult but beautiful. Thank you.

    Regarding another poster’s remarks about nib cages, I, too, have broken one while cleaning it. HOWEVER, the nib cages are absolutely superb for doing calligraphy on demand at an event, because the ink lasts so long. When you buy the cages from John Neal, he sends instructions about how to take care of them. Extreme care while cleaning. No heavy inks or paints, etc. We as consumers must pay attention!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      June 25, 2017

      That’s an excellent point, Sharon!

      Log in to Reply
  7. jwstough Avatar
    jwstough
    May 31, 2017

    Thank you Lindsey for this free printout to help with letter spacing — I need this! Best BLOG ever! Keep up the great work, because your help is practical, fun and I feel as if I have accomplished and learned so much. You are helping so many of us – thank you again! Judy Stough

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      June 25, 2017

      Thanks so much, Judy! I’m really happy that the blog is helping you! 🙂

      Log in to Reply
  8. Sabine from WO(rms) in Germany Avatar
    Sabine from WO(rms) in Germany
    May 31, 2017

    Thanx soooo much for your tipps and free pages!
    many ♡ ly greetings sent by
    Sabine from WO(rms) in Germany

    Log in to Reply
  9. Rodger Avatar
    Rodger
    May 31, 2017

    Hi Lindsey,

    Fantastic blog and thank you for this incredibly important practice worksheet. Cross drills are very important practice exercises, especially for developing a rhythm using scripts like Spencerian and as you say, developing an eye for letter spacing!!

    Rodger

    Log in to Reply
  10. Jenny Avatar
    Jenny
    May 30, 2017

    Hey Lindsey!
    Thank you so much for this awesome resource! I picked up the Nikko G at John Neal this past week and omg it is INCREDIBLE! I’ve been brush lettering for about 2 yrs and this is changing the game for me 🙂 My question is how do you feel about nibs that come with ink cages? My Nikko G had an ink cage (I say HAD because I accidentally damaged it when trying to remove my nib from the holder to clean it). I wasn’t sure I liked having it anyways because when I was working with Finetec yesterday it made it all the more gunky. Just curious what your thoughts are on ink cages 🙂 Thank you and I love love love your blog!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 30, 2017

      Hi Jenny! I’m not a big fan of ink cages — I completely agree with you that they seem to make the nib more gunky. 🙂

      Log in to Reply
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🍂 The newest tutorial on the TPK Blog walks you 🍂 The newest tutorial on the TPK Blog walks you through how to make this gorgeous illustration, step-by-step, with helpful instructional videos. To find the tutorial, visit the link in my profile, then navigate to the blog. ENJOY! 🤗

(PS - Loving the colors in the @greenleafblue Anthesis set ... I used French Orange Ochre, American Violet Hematite, Pyrrole Scarlet, and Italian Green Earth to make this pumpkin. All *fabulous* autumn tones!)
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☕ Want to watch/listen to the whole conversation? Head over to the TPK Blog to hit play on the recording! (Link in bio, then navigate to “Blog”.)

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My seven-year-old and I have officially entered th My seven-year-old and I have officially entered the @edward.gorey.house envelope art contest! 🎃 My design leans a bit more macabre, while my son’s is, well, gory. (Venus flytraps are apparently no joke.) Visit the TPK Blog to see my process — I love to start with a Procreate draft and take it from there. 

This is a great little contest, and, while it runs through December, it’s *especially* fun to work on this time of year. 👻 My kid and I both thoroughly enjoyed making our masterpieces! If you find yourself with some time in the next couple of months, make your own envelope ... there will be more than one winner! 🥇

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Beautiful autumn leaves outside 🍂 inspire beaut Beautiful autumn leaves outside 🍂 inspire beautiful leaves inside ✨. You can find a tutorial over how to make this stunning bookmark in “The Calligraphy Book”. (Confession time: I don’t actually use this bookmark as a bookmark. It ended up being too pretty to be hiding inside a book! 🙈 Instead, I display it on my bulletin board.)

#bookmark #decoratedbookmark #autumnleaves #pointedpen #finetec #colirofinetec #metallicwatercolor
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Good news: whichever one you like best, you can learn how to create it in “Spellbound Strokes”, TPK’s Halloween 2025 worksheet set! The worksheet is available on the TPK site as of an hour ago. In it, you’ll learn how to create these fabulous Halloween-themed motifs ... and get plenty of calligraphy practice under your belt in the process. ✍️

For the worksheet link, see my stories today (10/9), or shoot me a DM. Happy Halloween, and enjoy!

#halloweencalligraphy #pointedpenpractice #pointedpen #dippen #halloweenart #macbeth
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#moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #calligraphy #handwritten #writingcalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #calligraphyvideo #tseliotquote
🎃 Halloween, TPK-style. ✍️ You can find ins 🎃 Halloween, TPK-style. ✍️ You can find instructions for making all of these project (and more!) on the TPK Blog and in TPK’s Halloween-themed worksheets. 🔗 Link in bio, then search for “Halloween” or just browse the Blog and Catalog!

#halloweencalligraphy #halloweenart #calligraphyprojects #halloweencraft #eleganthalloween
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