How to make a SEWN Pennant Banner

For my daughter's fourth birthday I wanted to make her a checkered banner, I was hoping to find large card stock to make a full size banner, unfortunately I could only find THIN scrap book paper with the pattern.  But no worries, I cut small pennants {about 6 inches tall by 4 inches wide at the top} and since they were so thin I knew they wouldn't do well in a traditional banner production so I decided to sew them together with accents of sparkly red card stock.

Start with measuring the middle of the page, this was 6 inches, since it was a 12x12 sheet.

then, I marked 2 inches , 6 inches and 10 inches on the bottom

same on top as bottom, 2, 6, 10inches

then I connected 2 inch mark on top to 6 inch mark on bottom

6 inch to 10 inch marks

then 10inch back to 6 inch on bottom

6inch mark on top to 2 inch mark on bottom

2inch mark on top to 0 on middle line, repeat from all outer marks to middle edge.

If you've done it right it will create the obvious 6 triangles you see here along with the 4 triangles created from the negative space, leaving you with 10 triangles if you cut straight!

I start by cutting in the middle.

and then each diagonal

6 sheets of checkered boar created 60 triangles for me!

my mom suggested using this herringbone pattern since it looks like tire marks to match the theme, and I grabbed a sparkly red card stock to accent the black and white.

These little scraps would be fun to play with if I had any free time, I thought about making beads with them. Someone should.

AND this is how I sew paper banners, watch video {excuse and crying children in the background or other random sounds} I don't back stitch while making these, I just tie a knot at each end, and remember sewing paper can dull your needle so it's smart to replace it after paper projects. 

Happy Sewing!

Birthday Cake Gold Paper Banner {an upcycled project}

If you follow me on instagram {family and friend in real life only}, or twitter you may or may not have noticed this banner on my birthday cake last week.  I made it from the scrap paper my husband used in a recent project {I'll be posting about that later}.

 My daughter cut out all these circles with a hole punch I have and I decided to make the cake banner out of them.

Turns out I had 30 1 inch gold circles and some random thin ribbon.

Then, I found my glue and sorted.

Sonja helped me line up these circles, one face down and one for placing on top.

This created a sort of assembly line production system.

Sonja helped me add the glue.

Then we added the circle on top. 

Then I sewed them all together on the string to keep them together {the glue just held them in place}.

As I sewed I adjusted the sloppy toddler placement and aligned them.

I sewed VERY SLOWLY to avoid the circles catching on the machine or sliding around or falling off.

Ta-Da!

{because sometimes you have to do this while holding a fussy baby}

Hope you're inspired to upcycle something around your house.  This could also be done with old pictures, books or magazines. Happy upcycling!

-Jenn

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D.I.Y. Yoga Mat Bag {a tutorial}

Do It Yourself, Yoga Mat Bag!

A Tutorial: 

Supplies:

1 rectangle of fabric measuring 18x24 inches.

1 rectangle of fabric measuring 24x6 inches.

Yoga mat to check your work.

Scissors.

Sewing Machine.

Thread and Bobbin.

 I like to check out tight my bag will be on my personal mat before sewing but if you're okay with a little extra room in the bag you can just have a 1/2 inch seam.

 I start with the handles.  I fold the 6x24 fabric in half length wise, with the ugly side out.  I sew a straight seam down the right side.  Don't forget to back stitch at the beginning and end of the seam.

 The seam distance is not important as long as the line is straight, I probably do a 1/4 inch seam.

 See the difference above of pretty side and ugly side?

Set aside handle until later.

 For the bag itself, I sewed about a 1 & 1/2 inch seam.

Fold the 18x24 fabric in half length wise.  Make sure the pretty sides are on the inside and the "ugly" side is showing.  The ugly side is the unfinished side of the fabric, some fabric is reverseable, so just make sure what you see at this step is what you want to be the inside of the bag.

 From the top of the folded fabric run a seam down the right side and bottom of the fabric creating an inside out long skinny pillow case.

 At the top of the "pillow case" fold down about 1 inch of fabric to make a finished opening at the top of the bag.

 Sew a 1/4 inch seam around the top of the bag.

flip bag and handle inside out so the finished side {pretty side} of the fabric is showing.

 above: finished bag with handle waiting to be attached.

 fold the handle's end inside so the raw edge is hidden in the tube.  

I stuff about 1 inch into the tube.

 Once the raw edge is hidden, place it on the mat bag where you want the top to be connected.

 Pay attention to the seams, I like to hide them and place the handle's seam on the underside.

I place the handle upside down so it will flip later.  

 It should look like the above photo when you attach the handle. 

This is the TOP attachment.

I sew a "x" box into the handle for maximum reinforcement.

Above: "x" box Diagram 

Below: steps in photographs...

Now for the handle to make sense, flip it over so the bottom will be attached and the underseam will be hidden {see below}

Make sure the bottom of the tub is also tucked back into the tub so the raw edge is hidden.

Sew a box onto the handle to connect the handle to the mat.

Once the last box is sewn into the handle, the bag is complete.

Please excuse my bathroom photo, it's the only room in the house with decent lighting.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below.

Thanks for following along and good luck with your own yoga mat bag!

-Jenn

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