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This glorious "little" project that I was so excited about starting almost took multiple a turn for the worse & ended up in my trash. However, I was so set on it that I put my problem solving skills to use & persevered. Boy, am I glad I did!! 


I started out with the same fabric that I used for the Shabby Chic Table Runner & Button Monogram Pillow. I guestimated how big I wanted my individual pennants, measured it out & cut out a template.

My next step was figuring out how many pennants I needed. I wanted each one to be 2 layers, so taking that into account I needed 12 pieces. I cut out squares of my fabric roughly the size of my template. I traced my template onto one of the fabric squares & stacked them up. Then, using my new cutting board & rotary cutter (on the setting for multiple layers), I finished up the pennants. 

Next up, were the individual letters. I created my own little templates on some heavy paper & cut them out. I traced the letters onto the back of my fabric with a white water soluble pencil (making sure to reverse the direction of the letter). I used a dark navy blue fleece that I got from the remnants basket at JoAnn's for only 58 cents!

Once they were all traced. I used my new pinking shears to cut them out. This can be a bit challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it, its easy-peasy! Plus is keeps your fabric from unravelling. One little tip that I have to offer is if you have a letter that has a space that needs to be cut out inside your letter (like my a & e), just cut out a little circle from your background fabric & tack it on. (I really hope this makes sense.) That's a lot easier than trying to cut out a little hole in the middle of your letter!

After all of my letters were cut out, I laid them out on the pennants just to make sure that they fit well. Then, I pinned them down & took myself to my sewing machine. Now, this is the step that gave me some serious trouble. My original idea was to sew on the letters with colorful thread. Wrong, very bad idea. My sewing skills are not that superb (yet!), & it ended up being a hot mess. So I went to JoAnn's (for the 3rd time in 3 days) & got some thread that matched my letters. I really like the Gutterman thread, so thats what I went with in a dark navy. Very carefully, I sewed on each letter. Going slow was the key here for me. Once they were all attached, I admired my handiwork for a minute & did a little excited dance (all while Micah looked at me like I'd lost it). 

The next step is to pin both pieces of your pennants together, making sure that the wrong sides are together. You are going to sew them with both of the right pieces facing out. I promise, I haven't lost my mind. Its gonna work! Make sure you change out your thread on your machine to one that matches your fabric. After the two longer sides are sewn (I left the top open), trim up the excess fabric with your pinking shears. 

pre- pinking shears!

Then, I took figured up how much ribbon I needed to go along the tops of my pennants & attach them. After that, it got pretty meticulous... I folded the ribbon in half (it was 2 in. ribbon), pinned it, iron it down to create a good crease, & then pinned my pennants in between the folded sides. All that's left is to just stitch it up!

A close-up after it was stitched.

I really, really love how this project turned out, & I can't wait to make a few more! Please let me know what you think about it!!

Sewing Supplies to the Rescue!

I made some big purchases today... I invested in some essential supplies for the budding sewing enthusiast... And, man, did it feel good! Well it wasn't THAT big of a purchase, but still... I'm excited. I had intended to start a new project on Monday, & was struggling with it. It was then that it hit me that I really needed to update my sewing kit. So here we are. These are my new toys (all from JoAnn's):

First up is the Dritz Rotary Cutting Kit that includes a mat, ruler, & cutter all in one. This little puppy saved me a crap load of time today & also kept my sanity in tact. I highly recommend it. I sliced my way (uniformly) through 9 layers of linen earlier with this amazing kit without batting an eyelash! 

Secondly, I got some pinking shears. This was for a specific project that I started on today (which I don't want to spoil right now!), but they seem all-around useful, too. I got hot pink ones since they are "pink"ing shears! I almost croaked when I saw how much these suckers were in the store... but I'm already kind of obsessed with them, so obviously it was a good purchase!

And lastly, I bought a white water soluble marking pencil for my fabric. Ironically enough, its no where to be found on JoAnn's website. I just got the most simple one that was $1 & some change. Nothing fancy. 

These 3(ish) things have helped me a ridiculous amount today! They are up there on the lifesaver list, now. Check them out if you like sewing & are still trying to build up your supplies like I am. 

Shabby Chic Table Runner

What you need:

fabric of your choice

thread that matches your fabric 

straight pins

a measuring tape

scissors

sewing machine

I told y'all in my post about the Monogram Button Pillow that I had more plans for the fantastic curtain I bought on sale from Target... Well, here is project #2! I have been searching (with no luck) for either a table runner or place mats to go on the gorgeous table my hubby made us that coordinate with the dishes we got as wedding gifts. When I saw that curtain, with its vintage-y embroidery, I knew I wanted to make my perfect table runner instead of purchasing one. 

Since we are currently living in a temporary, fully furnished apartment (yay, Army life), none of our furniture is up here. So, I wasn't able to measure our table to get the dimensions for my runner, like most of the websites I found were suggesting. Then, I randomly found a website (which I can't find now, sorry!) that suggested 13" x 60" as a good, generic size, so that's what I went with. 

First, I cut the embroidered section off of the bottom of the curtain & cut that into two 15" sections, with a little still left over. (I decided to give myself an inch on each side so the finished product would be 13.")

Next, there came a bit of math my 2nd worst subject not my favorite thing. I measured & cut a strip of fabric for the main part of my table runner. I had to allow for the embroidered bit of fabric that I was planning on attaching to each end. All in all, I wanted it to equal 60" after it was sewed up. I also cut the width of this strip 15" like the embroidered parts. The next step was to attach the embroidered ends to the main strip of fabric. I pinned & then sewed this together. Make sure you sew both ends on the same way... I got distracted on the phone while I was pinning & had to rip out & redo one end... 

After that was done, I started pinning the edges to hem. This was a bit of a task... I was trying to manage it while fighting off a kitten who thinks fabric is REALLY fun to play with. I kind of guestimated (once again) my hems. They are a little crooked by not enough to tell unless you look really closely.

After pinning to my little heart's content, I sewed up the edges, trimmed up any leftover threads, & voila! It still needs to be pressed, but I was so excited to show y'all that I saved that final step for a little later. 

My lovely new shabby chic inspired (custom!) table runner. I love it! And, it cost me next to nothing since I used the same fabric & thread from my button pillow. What do you think?!