Pattern Overview
Sewing Level | beginner |
Age Level | kids and adults |
Sewing Time | an afternoon |
Skills Practiced | sewing double-fold hems and enclosed seams, pivoting around corners, topstitching, edgestitching, and finger pressing |
Finished Measurements | 14” wide x 18.5” tall or can be modified to your desired size! |
Decorate your room with a one-of-a-kind canvas banner made in your favorite colors. Customize the banner to your heart’s content by adding all the shapes, letters, and fun stitches you like. You can also use your banner to display your collection of pins, buttons, and patches! I created this pattern especially for kids learning how to sew, but adults will love making it too! It’s a wonderful project for beginning sewists and only takes an afternoon to make.
If you’d like in-person support and instruction, please sign up for my classes at Modern Domestic or contact me to schedule a private lesson. Terms that are bolded and highlighted are defined in the Glossary at the end of the post.
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Pattern Use Guidelines
Gather Your Supplies
- 1/2 yard of midweight (~5–10 oz) cotton canvas, twill, or similar woven fabric for the exterior
- I used Robert Kaufman Big Sur Canvas in Unbleached
- Wool felt in your desired colors: this project is excellent for using up small scraps. If you purchase felt for this project, you can buy felt sheets at the craft store or small cuts at your local fabric store. You won’t need more than 1/8 yard total.
- 1 yard of cotton twill tape, ribbon, cording, or yarn for the hanger.
- I used 3/8” wide twill tape cut down to 26” long for a shorter hanger.
- At least 1 spool of thread that matches (or contrasts with) your fabric and/or felt (you will have visible topstitching).
- 1/2” diameter dowel that is 18” long (I cut a 36” long dowel in half). You can also use a dowel that is a larger or smaller diameter, just be sure to check that it fits into sleeve you sew on the top edge.
- Optional: glue stick, freezer paper, or iron-on double-sided adhesive (such as Heat n Bond)
Helpful Tools and Notions
- A fresh sewing machine needle (my favorite all-purpose needles are Schmetz Microtex 80/12; universal needles also work great)
- Regular presser foot
- Edgestitch presser foot
- A presser foot that gives you good visibility, such as a clear or embroidery foot
- Fabric marker, chalk pen, or other temporary fabric marking tool that shows up on your fabric (you can also make marks and creases with a butter knife or Hera marker)
- Washable Crayola marker (or similar) for drawing on felt
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Optional: rotary cutter and cutting mat
- Sewing pins or clips (e.g., Clover Wonder clips or small binder clips) to hold fabric together
- Seam ripper
- Iron (optional): This pattern was made with kids in mind, so the instructions call for finger pressing seams. If you’re comfortable using an iron, feel free to press your seams with an iron instead.
Cut Your Fabric
- On the wrong side of your fabric, draw a 16” x 16” square.
- On the bottom edge of the square, draw a 5.5” long line extending down from the center of the square (8” from either edge). Connect this line to the bottom corners of the square to create a triangle.
- If your fabric has a directional design, make sure it’s oriented with the design facing in direction you’d like according to the diagram below.
- Cut the fabric along the lines using scissors or a rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat.
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Draw Fold-To Lines
- Use your ruler and fabric marker to draw lines 1” in from all edges of your banner on the wrong side of the fabric.
- On the TOP edge only, draw a second line that is 3.5” down from the raw edge.
- We will use these lines to guide us in the next step.
Finish the Bottom and Sides of the Banner
- Starting with one of the edges of the bottom triangle, fold the raw edge of the fabric towards the wrong side until it meets the FOLD-TO line you drew. Press the fold with your finger or an iron, then fold the edge over one more time to create a double-fold hem. The raw edge of your fabric should be fully enclosed. Press again, and pin or clip to hold the folds in place.
- The exact width of these folds doesn’t matter too much—what’s more important is that you try to make the fold even all the way across the edge.
- Repeat on the other edge of the triangle. Be sure to tuck in the side of the first bottom edge into this fold to make a crisp center point.
- Edgestitch the bottom folds in place using a regular (2.5mm) stitch length or a slightly longer topstitching length (3.0 mm). Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end of the stitch line to secure.
- You can sew both the bottom edges in one pass by stopping at the center point and pivoting. Alternatively, you can sew one edge at a time.
- Repeat these steps to finish both sides of the banner. Be sure to tuck in the fabric from the bottom edges in the side fold to create crisp bottom corners.
Sew the Dowel Sleeve
- We will finish the top edge a bit differently in order to create a sleeve/tunnel for the dowel.
- Fold the top raw edge towards the wrong side of the fabric until it meets the first FOLD-TO line you drew (1” away from the edge). Press the fold with your finger or an iron.
- Optional: for additional durability, you can finish the top edge the same way you did the side and bottom edges (folding over again and topstitching) before moving on to the next step of making the dowel sleeve. Adding this additional turn of fabric will shorten the height of your banner slightly, but it will ensure that the raw edges of the fabric are fully enclosed. It will also slightly narrow the sleeve for a tighter fit around the dowel.
- Now, fold the entire edge over again until the fold you just made meets the second FOLD-TO line you drew (3.5” from the edge). Pin the fold in place.
- If desired, slide a cute label/tag under the fold in the center of the banner and pin.
- If you are using a dowel with a different circumference, double check how your dowel fits in the sleeve before sewing down the fold and adjust as needed.
- Edgestitch the fold using a regular (2.5mm) stitch length or a slightly longer topstitching length (3.0 mm). Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end of the stitch line to secure.
Make Your Felt Decorations
- Decide what words and/or shapes you’d like to cut out of felt.
- You can sketch your designs freehand, trace leaves and other objects, or find images online.
- I searched for maple leaf, oak leaf, and acorn line drawings, enlarged them until they were the size I wanted, and placed tracing paper directly over my iPad screen and copied the lines. You can also print out images and adjust the scale as needed.
- I used these easy-cut letter templates that are free to download. I added them to a Word document, used the ruler tool to make them 2” tall, then printed them out. I recommend scaling your letters to be 2–2.5” tall, but you can always make them smaller or larger if you prefer. If you don’t want to resize the letters yourself, you can download the PDF I made here:
- After drawing, tracing, or printing your templates onto paper, carefully cut them out. Place the templates on your felt and use a marker to trace the design. I recommend tracing the pieces mirrored/reversed so your marker lines are on the wrong side of the felt. When you flip the felt over, the right side of your letter or shape will be the correct orientation and free from markings.
- Optional: to make the felt easier to work with, you can use an iron on low to medium heat to adhere freezer paper onto the back of your felt (be sure to place the plastic side towards the felt and the paper side towards your iron). The freezer paper makes it much easier to draw designs and helps stabilize the felt for detailed cutting.
- An alternative to freezer paper is iron-on double-sided adhesive such as Heat n Bond. You can adhere one side to your felt, draw your designs and cut them out, then remove the paper backing and iron it directly onto your banner. If the felt adheres well, you can skip the section where you sew on your felt decorations!
- Once everything is traced onto your felt, it’s time to cut out your shapes! I like to use smaller scissors here for more control. First do a rough cut around the shape so you don’t have a bunch of extra material to manage. When cutting small details—like the spaces between leaves—it’s easiest to keep your scissors still and instead move the felt around for a nice, smooth cut.
- Lay out your felt letters/shapes on the right side of your banner. I prefer to use a regular glue stick to temporarily hold my felt in place before sewing, but you can also use pins or basting spray.
2" Letters.pdf641.0KB
Sew On Your Felt Decorations
- Now for the fun part: sewing on the felt decorations! I really enjoy this step because it feels like doodling with thread, though it can be challenging to change directions and add details. Go slowly and be kind to yourself.
- I use bobbin thread that matches my banner fabric so the stitches on the back won’t be as noticeable, but I switch my top thread to match my felt color. Feel free to use contrasting thread instead.
- Consider using a presser foot that has a wider opening or otherwise provides good visibility of what you’re doing, such as a clear or embroidery presser foot.
- Get creative with your stitch lines! Since felt doesn’t unravel, you have a lot of freedom here.
- You can stitch carefully along the edges of the shapes/letters, or place a stitch line directly down the middle of the shape and let the edges remain free (this is great for making a 3D leaf).
- I used a regular straight stitch and shortened my stitch length to 1.5–2.0 mm so it was easier to stitch neatly around curves. You can also use zigzags or other decorative stitches on your sewing machine that you might not get to use very often. One of my students used a different stitch pattern for every letter!
- You can also stitch on the shapes/letters by hand using a simple running or blanket stitch.
- As you sew on your shapes, remember to go slowly and stop as often as you need to (with the needle down) and pivot your fabric around curves and corners. You can secure your stitches with a small backstitch or by overlapping the beginning and ends of a stitch line.
Insert the Dowel
- Once you’re finished sewing, slide the dowel into the sleeve you created. Center the banner on the dowel so you have about 2” of dowel sticking out on either end.
- Tie the twill tape, ribbon, or yarn to one edge of the dowel, double knotting to secure.
- Decide how much length you would like for hanging, then secure the other end and trim the excess. I used about 26” for my hanger.
- Optional: add dabs of hot glue to secure the twill tape to the dowel so it doesn’t slip off.
Final Touches
- Use small scissors to trim any thread tails.
- Remove any lingering marks from your chalk or fabric marker
- Celebrate!!!
Keep In Touch
Thanks very much for reading! If you have any questions, feedback, or corrections regarding the pattern, please don’t hesitate to contact me! I’d love to see what you make, so please tag me on Instagram and use the hashtag #StayCozyBanner. You can also find me and this pattern on Threadloop.
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Glossary
further reading
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