Breaking from our regular programming, I’ll take you on a small diversion today and show you my own recent “small” diversion. While this is needle-and-thread related, it isn’t really embroidery related. At the end of the article, I’ll refer you to a similar past project that has to do with embroidery, though.
I made 4th-of-July decorations this year. This is unusual on a number of levels, not least of which is the fact that I rarely use a sewing machine and I’m not that great at it when I do.
4th of July (Independence Day) is the quintessential summer holiday in most American small towns. It’s a picnic day, a cookout day, a day for fireworks and parades and parks and pools, rivers, ponds and lakes, sandy lots and corn on the cob, and, for most of the country, it’s a sweltering hot summer day where you get sticky and sweaty and bug-bit while eating hotdogs and hamburgers all in the name of celebrating the events of 1776 and thereabouts.
It’s a big one this year – the semiquincentennial. The big 250. And it just so happens that the 4th of July this year, for my family, coincides with extended family coming to town for their summer break.
And that means we’re having a Big Ole Party. And, on another level of Unusual, the party’s at my house instead of my sister’s.
And that’s all a roundabout way of explaining why I got the hair-brained idea to make my own decorations.
I made pennant banners – about 50 yards of pennant banners, in fact.
The fact is, lately I’ve had a ton of at-home time while taking care of my dad. And to keep myself sane, I do things. During working hours, the projects are Needle ‘n Thread related: writing, researching, designing, stitching, and the like. During the non-work hours, I still need things to do! I do some casual stitching to pass time, but I can’t stitch all the time.
One Must Diversify!
So I do other typical things that home-bound people do: I cook, bake, clean out closets, organize drawers, pour beeswax petites, make candles, clean the refrigerator, whatever it takes to have stuff to do.
When it was proposed that we celebrate the 4th at my house, I said, “Yay! A party! Good idea!”
In my mind, I covered my preparation bases very quickly: the nominal investment in a kiddie pool, the judicious placement of a sprinkler, hanging some lights, cleaning the grill, and sweeping the patio.
Easy peasy!
But then … what’s a party without decorations? I asked myself. Decorations are festive! I like festive!
So I started to look about for decorations.
I priced pre-made decorative bunting for the front porch and the fence line in the backyard. But do you know, decorative bunting is pricy.
And so I said to myself, “I can make my own decorations!”
Many a person, I’m sure, has fallen down the same rabbit hole, so I am not ashamed.
I squizzed around online to compare prices, and I ended up ordering 3 sets of 10″ “layer cakes” (10″ square pre-cuts of quilting fabric) in a patriotic theme, and 50 yards of double fold bias tape. I found the “layer cakes” on sale for about $28. There are 42 10″ squares of a variety of fabrics in each set. And I found the bias tape on clearance. For just around $90, I was able to procure everything I needed to make about 50 yards of pennant banners – with a few pennants leftover.
Compared to the $150+ it would have cost for re-usable buntings, I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had a project that I could whip out in no time (! I always underestimate time !), and the result would be cheery and cute.
And so, of an evening (and through a weekend), I set to work.
I forgot about things like ironing. And ironing. And pinning. And folding and ironing. And ironing.
And pinning. And did I mention ironing?
(Guess who doesn’t like ironing.)
And of course, the bias tape that was on sale was the wrong size – it was too wide – so I had to re-fold and iron it all, too.
But that’s ok. It worked!
Of course I had machine hiccups along the way. What the heck is happening here?
After spending hours trying to figure out why the needle kept jumping and knocking after working just fine for dozens of yards, I did the only thing my computer-functional (but sewing-machine-dysfunctional) self knew how to do: I rebooted the sewing machine. I unplugged the whole thing and let it sit overnight.
I don’t know if rebooting a sewing machine is a Thing, but hey! It worked!
It came to pass, eventually, that I had 50 yards of pennant banners complete and ready to hang.
I think it was worthwhile. They are re-usable, they’re unique, and I think they look cute and festive.
Plus, it was a pretty good diversion with a satisfactory finish.
I haven’t actually tested them on the back fence yet.
(Well – the party’s not till tomorrow. What’s the hurry?)
Pennant Banners
If you are interested in making pennant banners with embroidery on them, check out this article about the pennant banner that hangs front and center in the Studio – made the Valley Quail Chapter of the EGA. I love it! I think of them with gratitude every time I see it – and I see it multiple times a day!
There is a PDF of instructions available at the end of the article, that shows you how they constructed the pennant banner.
If you’re interested in making fabric pennant banners like the ones I made, I used this YouTube tutorial. So simple!
For those celebrating Independence Day, Happy 4th of July tomorrow! I hope you have a fun, safe, and exciting weekend!
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