Pennant Banner Tute

Well, we were going to a party in September.  Miss P's 7th birthday and the next day -  her parents' wedding vow renewal. My DD mentioned oh-so-long-ago that she loved the old fashioned pennants and wouldn't they be great at a large party!!  Since the vow renewal was supposed to be at a barn ... weather eventually changed our plans.  I thought pennants might be used to guide us into the correct spot.  So, here we start.  I went with solids for their punch.  Bought a big selection [let's face it, every one of my projects seems to start with buying a big selection of fabrics!!!]

Here they are on the cutting counter - aka kitchen counter.  I over-stack always - but usually get thru them all. I cut 10 inch squares.  You could start with a Layer Cake, if you wanted!

Believe it not - I threw away these strings!!  I know, shocking!!

My DD loves polka dots and I found this ribbon by the spool at WalMart!!  So gathered a few different colors to make the string connecting the pennants. They're sitting on top of my 10" squares.

Each spool was 9 feet of ribbon.  Instead of making a 30 foot string, which might be too big for the space, or too small, I made 7 - 8 ft sections that could be easily connected together [or taken apart] as needed.  I have to say, it worked out great when it was time to put them up.

Oops, rainbow alert!!  It was a beautiful sight, a great excuse to pause in my sweat shop!!

Okay - back to work.  Fold the squares diagonally, I finger-pressed the points.  And feed them thru the machine until you don't think you can stand it any more!!  Take a break and sew some more.  I warned you it was a sweatshop!!

They add up and eventually you come to the end.  I made way more than I thought I was making.  Math is NOT my strong point.  I used 1/2 yard cuts of fabric, cut as many 10" squares as I could.

When you cut the chain apart, clip that itty-bitty point on the sharp end of the pennant.  You'll be glad that you did when you start to turn all these blessed pennants!!  Honest! 

I found a wooden knitting needle absolutely the best turning tool I've ever found.  The right length, the right sharpness.  All those pennants - 35 feet worth - turned and I never shoved thru the point!!  It was a miracle!!

Time to press.  Notice the large triangle on top.  We're going to cut that off.  Press them as straight as you can!

The drawback of making multicolored pennants is that you have to have ALL the pennants made before you can even start sewing them together.  After all, you don't want all the same colors together do you??

Here's where I found that purple and yellow would be a good addition. Back to the store, sigh!!

 Time to trim.  Start by lining up the pennant on the cutting mat grid.  Always start at the same measurement, then you'll be less likely to cut any too short!  No, don't ask me how I know this.  Sigh!

In theory, these are all the exact same size.  In practice, there are little differences. Try to get your measurements off the shortest pennant you have.  It will keep you from starting all over again.

Voila!!  Only a gazillion more to cut!!  But, really after they are trimmed and laid out in the order you want, the rest is a cake-walk ...easy as pie ... all downhill from here!!!  The hardest part is OVER!

Lay the pennants out on the ribbon.  No need to create a seam allowance - the ribbon won't shred along the edges and the open edges of the pennants will be inside!  Needle down makes it easy to space the pennants consistently. Time to sew and sew, and sew!! I gave myself a 6-8 inches of ribbon before and after the last pennant to create the loop that will connect them together to hang.  Worked out great!!

After you've connected all the pennants to the ribbon, turn it over and sew the other side of the ribbon down over the top of the pennant.  I created loops at each end to hang or connect each segment to the next as needed. The polka dots were stiff, but I finger-pressed the ones in the middle before sewing them and I didn't have to fight the ribbon to stay where I placed it.

I used twist ties to connect the sections temporarily.  They were sturdy and not very noticeable.  And we were able to take them apart when we wanted shorter sections!

Festive aren't they!!  Ready for a party!

Ta-da!!  I loved the look of them.  And I have enough to make at least another 20 feet of pennant banner.  I told you I'm not so good at math!  Now would it have been easier to go to a swimming pool supply site and order pennants?  Oh, yeah!!  Did I think of that earlier??  Nope!!  But I'm happy with them.  I gave them to my DD in a large shoebox.  I accordion folded the pennants to keep them from getting too wrinkled.  Included twist ties for convenience.  I think they were a big hit!  Hopefully, I'll see them again at the next party!!