SpoonflowerHacks

Rae from Armommy shares a great project idea—fabric banners for birthdays and other special occasions!


Even as a crafty and somewhat creative person, sometimes I find myself doing the same projects, using the same supplies, without even thinking about it. So when my friends at Spoonflower sent me a note asking if I could switch things up a bit by mixing up my materials and supplies I was like, “heck to the yes! We’d love to!” I decided to make birthday and lemonade stand signs out of fabric.

Happy Birthday Banner

It’s birthday week for our youngest (of 4) starting today! Our little Griffin is turning 2 and I can hardly believe it! Normally my go-to material for a birthday party banner would have been paper, which usually turns out pretty cute and fun, but when I received the new fabric banners in the mail (OMG) I fell in love! After a few hems were added and the banners were hung, I was even more taken by how durable they are and was happy I kept the design simple so they could be used over and over. I’m excited to get this birthday sign up in our house to kick off the celebration!

Fabric-banner-construction

For the sign designs, I wanted to keep things playful but simple so stuck with a plain background (solid or wide stripe), border (scallop or zig-zag) and a festive font. I do almost all of my graphic designing in Adobe Illustrator because it’s what I’m most familiar with.

To put my banners together (after washing and ironing out creases) I simply hemmed the edges and made a casing for rope along the top. Then:

1. Fold the sides over, just past the pattern, and press with an iron. Then sew a hem along both sides.

2. Fold the bottom side up about a ¼ inch and set with a warm iron. Then fold over again along the flat side of the navy triangles, press with an iron and sew a finished hem.

3. Cut rope a couple feet longer than the banner and set aside. Fold the top side down about ¼ inch (to make a hem) and set with a warm iron. Fold top fabric down to the flat side of the navy triangles (for the casing) and iron. Lay your rope inside the casing fold and pin in place. Sew along the hem, to make the casing and you are all done!

Banners-110

Repeat these steps for the lemonade banner. You might also notice a rectangle with a flag pattern included in the yard of lemonade stand fabric. You could use this for a banner or hem all sides and use for a table runner.

Thanks for letting me share—I hope you enjoyed my project. I would love to hear if you have ideas for ways to mix up the creative process, let me know in the comments below!

Xo . Rae

Lemonade Banner



Armommy sewing-136Rae Friis together with her mother Jane started the Armommy company to help women be the designing mamacitas they are destined to be!  They create products and offer DIY projects that merge timeless concepts with a modern twist & a little whimsy, finding inspiration in their own desires & experiences as moms & those of the mamas they know and serve.