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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!!