I recently helped throw my best friend's surprise 30th birthday party. I knew as soon as we started talking about details that I wanted to make her a special party banner for the big day, and I wanted it to be something she could keep after, to maybe hang in her sewing/knitting space. She loves animals and neon colors, so this was the theme for the party!
To make the banner, I went through all my scraps and picked out fun fabrics with animals and bright colors. I wanted each flag to be a different fabric, so I picked 18 pieces.
I wanted it to say Happy Birthday, but since I also wanted it to be something she could hang up later, I decided to use sticker letters, that way the letters could be removed later. And of course they had to be glitter letters. I found them at the dollar store, but you could probably find them at craft stores too.
If you want to make your own Party Fabric Banner, read on!
MATERIALS
To make this banner, you will need:
- Various scraps (at least 6" x 8") or fat quarters, amount will depend on how long you want your banner
- Twine
- Thread
- Optional: sticker letters if you want your banner to say something
You will also need:
- A rotary cutter (with pinking blade) or pinking shears
- A rotary cutting ruler
- Cutting Mat
- Cross Stitch or darning needle (or any needle with large eye)
- Fabric marking pen
PATTERN
I wanted my banner to spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY {NAME1}, so I used 18 pieces of fabric to get 18 flags.
You can either make a template out of thick paper or cardboard, or just use your ruler to draw out the shape on each piece of fabric. I chose to make a template. Template should measure 4 1/2" wide by 7" tall, with a 2 1/4" center point for the flag points. See diagram below:
CUT
Place template on top of fabric. Draw around the template using an erasable fabric pen. To cut out shape, use the pinking shears or the rotary cutter with pinking blade and ruler.
Repeat this step for how ever many flags you need.
Next, place flag piece on ironing board with the wrong side up. Fold top edge of piece down 1/2" inch and press.
Repeat this step for all flag pieces.
Stitch across folded top of flag piece with a 3/8" seam allowance.
When I'm sewing seams for a lot of pieces, I like to 'chain piece'. This means, when you get to the end of the first piece, without lifting the presser foot, slide the next piece in. Repeat this for all flag pieces.
Now you should have a really long chain of all the flags. Simply snip each flag apart, being careful to only snip the threads and not the fabric of the flags.
Next, thread the needle with a long string of twine. Twine should be the full length (plus extra for tying up) of the desired banner.
Using the threaded needle, string together your flag pieces.
If you're using sticker letters, apply them now. If you want just a plain fabric banner, you're done!
Tie it up and enjoy!
