I see banners and garland everywhere these days. I haven’t been too quick to jump on the
bandwagon but one banner I knew I couldn’t resist was the Happy Birthday
Banner.
Growing up we always had a Happy Birthday tablecloth
brought out for each special occasion and I’m hoping this fabric Happy Birthday
Banner will be our little family tradition.
I’m not in love with the pennant shaped banners and I
wanted something which was quick and easy but still looked finished. So I decided to use a charm pack! (If you don't mind cutting your own squares this also a great scrappy project.)
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| Linus's Happy Birthday Banner |
Happy Birthday Banner Charm Pack Tutorial
1 5” charm pack (or 41 squares)
¼ yard of coordinating fabric
Heat n’bond
Note: Make sure when you
are picking out fabric it is not too busy.
I dearly love this Salt Air line which I used for the tutorial but it
was maybe a little busy for a banner. If
you really love a certain line but you’re worried about how busy it is throw in
a few solids for the letters.
1.
Layout charm pack. You will need 14 squares for the background
(HAPPY BIRTHDAY + a space between the two words). Pick 13 different squares for your
letters. (This is the hardest part. Try to vary the colors and patterns and make
sure the fabric used for a letter will not blend into the background square.) I
like to write the order or letter on the back of each square of fabric so I can
keep it straight.
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| Notice the two red scallop pattern pieces next to each other; this is what you want to avoid. |
(Of
course you could also do what I did and spend time laying it out and then sew
it on backwards and make it work, because I’m too lazy to rip it out and start
over.)
2.
Once you’ve chosen your layout, use the
remaining squares to back the background squares. With right sides together, sew around three
sides, turn and press. The open side
will be the top of the square.
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| Ready to press! |
3.
Cut your binding. I use three strips the width of the fabric at
1 ¼” wide. Once you have the three
strips sewn together turn one side under ¼”.
4.
The next step is to sew the squares to the
binding. Leave a 12-15” tail of binding before starting the first square. Make
sure you sew them in the order you laid out.
It works best for me to have my binding on the
bottom right side up and then place my squares on top of the binding (face
down) as I sew. (See the diagram
above.) If you do it this way you’ll
start with the last letter “Y” and work your way through “Happy Birthday”
backwards.
5.
After you have all the squares sewn on,
trim the tails on either side to same length.
6.
Press the binding away from the squares and
then back down over the raw edge. You
will also have to press the remaining unfolded side and the ends of the tails
under ¼".
7.
Finally topstitch binding catching it on
the underneath side to finish.
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| Do you recognize this picture from a previous post? |
8.
Next iron on Heat n’ Bond following
manufacturer’s directions to letter squares.
Trace and cut or use cutting machine to cut out letters. Your letters can be any font but it works
best to keep them about 4” tall and no more than 4” wide.
9.
Iron letters to squares and viola! Now it’s time to bake the cake!
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| Here's our banner in use. |
