Where does the time go?

My sweet niece Everleigh is already one year old!

I heard that Ev recently moved into a different bedroom, so I thought a name banner to decorate her new digs would be a fitting birthday gift.

There are quite a few tutorials out there for bunting flags, but none were quite what I was looking for, so I came up with this on my own.

This is a project that you could easily complete in an afternoon.

Supplies:

• Layer cake pieces (10" x 10" pieces) in a design of your choice (I used Oh Deer by Moda, which I love)
• Contrasting fabric for the letters
• Contrasting thread
• Bias tape in matching or contrasting colour (I chose a medium size bias tape, not quilt size)

Since Everleigh has 9 letters in her name, I needed 18 pieces to make the bunting double-sided. I found that layer cake pieces worked perfectly for this project, and you can get two pieces out of each 10" x 10" square. (You might want to make a paper template to trace from like I did)


Once I had my 18 pieces, I arranged them in an order I found appealing (front and back).
I found a free font that I liked called Creative Block BB from 1001freefonts.com and typed Ev's name into an 8.5 x 11 document at 250 points. I upsized the document during printing to an 11 x 17 document.

Then, I set the contrasting letter fabric on top of the letter template page and traced the outline of each letter directly onto the fabric.

I applied fusible interfacing to the back of the letter fabric and then cut out each letter. Then, I applied the letters to each of the flags.

After that, it was time to practice my machine applique stitching. I created a sample flag to practice on, but I also came across this great tip for machine appliqueing so that you get a nice clean corner.



You'll want to increase density of your zig zag stitch for appliqueing as well.

It was while I was appliqueing the letters that I thought, "Whew! Everleigh has a LOT of letters in her name!

Once the letters were sewn on, place the right sides of each flag together and sew with a 1/4" inch seam.

Turn the flags carefully (or use a bamboo turner) and then give each of the letters a spray with speed starch before a ironing them flat.


Leaving at least a foot long tail on each end of the bias tape, pin each of the letters into the inside fold of the bias tape and sew using a zig zag stitch.



Tuck the ends of the bias tape in and stitch in place.

And voila! Admire the results:



Pop it in the mail - and wait to hear from...





...another satisfied customer!