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February 12, 2011

Happy Birthday Pennant Ruffle Banner

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My sweet little daughter's birthday is in just a few days - she is going to be 2!  She is starting to get excited about eating a cake, and opening presents...mostly because her older sister is telling her all about it :)
We don't have very many reusable birthday decorations - and I have been wanting to make a Happy Birthday banner for a while now.  I gave myself the deadline of my daughter's birthday, and luckily I got it done just in time! 
I made it bright and colorful so that we can use it for anyones birthday - boy or girl, young or old :)


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It turned out to be very long - so it is hard to photograph in one long swoop...
It would look great outside, but we still have a landscape of snow that is taller than me...so that will have to wait :)


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Want to know how it was done?

I made myself a paper triangle template - about 7" tall and 7.5" wide - and cut 26 triangles with my rotary cutter and mat - 13 triangles for the fronts and 13 for the backs, since "Happy Birthday" has 13 letters.
I cut 7" tall strips of fabric, and alternated my triangle template back and forth to make easy cuts.



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To spell out "Happy Birthday" I chose a font that I liked on the computer, made it the right size, printed it out and cut around the letters.  Then, I put the letters face down on felt, traced and cut around them.  I used alternating felt colors - but a single color would also look great depending on the color of your base fabric...


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Using a zig zag stitch, I sewed each letter onto a triangle, all around the edges.



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I thought it would be cute to make flames coming off the letters - like they were little candles.
I cut 13 flames from yellow felt, and sewed them on with a zig zag stitch...only along the bottom of the flame.  I left the top of the flame unsewn for a couple of reasons.
1) I like the look of a "3-D" flame - having the top pop out.
2) I needed to be able to fold the flame back when I sewed the ribbon along the top edge, so that the pointy top wasn't covered by the ribbon.



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Next came the ruffles...
I made strips of fabric, 1.5" wide by about 40" long.  Using the longest stitch on my machine, I sewed a line 1/8" from the top of one side of the strip...and pulled one string to gather/ruffle the fabric.



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With right sides together, I pinned the ruffle along the 2 edges of the triangle, curving it sharply at the point.


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To sew it all together, I changed tactics a couple of times.  This is what worked best.
I placed a blank triangle piece on top of the lettered triangle and ruffles, with right sides together, and pinned one side down.  I made sure that the ruffled fabric at the point of the triangle was laying flat, and to the left.  Then I sewed along the pinned edge, with 1/4" seam allowance.



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Then, I pushed the ruffles all along the point toward the right, along the line I had already sewed, making sure the opposite line of ruffles was laying flat, and nothing would get caught in the next sewn line.



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I then pinned the other side of the triangle down, and sewed along the second side - as shown below, 1/4" from the edge. 



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Using the open top, flip the triangles right side out, pressing out the tip of the triangle with a pencil or closed scissors - and it will look like this:


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Once you have added the ruffles onto all 13 letters - it is time to string them all together.
I used a few different coordinating ribbon colors to make a long piece of ribbon...
I pinned the ribbon along the top edge of each triangle, and sewed as close to the edge of the ribbon as I could.  As you can see, the top of the flame overhangs the ribbon slightly, so I made sure to fold the tip down as I was sewing, so that it wouldn't be caught in the stitches.


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Sewing along this top edge closed the opening of the triangle as well, and the ribbon covers the raw edges.


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I made sure to sew each triangle very close together (which I find usually makes a banner look better because it is easier to read) - and this banner is particularly long, so I wanted to squish it as close together as I could.
It definitely makes a statement in the room - and adds so much color and charm to a birthday!  I am excited to use it for years to come:)


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12 comments:

  1. This is so cute. Gosh, I wish I had your patience. :) Love you!!!

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  2. I so needed one of these last week! Maybe I can get this made before the next birthday! Thanks for sharing at Fantastic Friday!

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  3. I adore your banner so I featured it today on All Thingz Related!

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  4. I shared your cute pennant on my TT&J facebook page :)

    xoxo
    Jen

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  5. hiya
    this is just beautiful! i love the added bonus of the ruffles too! :)

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  6. homemade to me is love I love your banner

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  7. So sweet! Great job!
    Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie last week! I can't wait to see what you have for this week!
    AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

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  8. That is adorable! The ruffles and little candle light flames are the perfect added touches. :)

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  9. I love those ruffles!!! I also love a great banner!!! Great project! =)

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  10. Love your banner!! What a fun banner and I"m sure your daughter felt so loved! I'd love for you to come on over and link up at my party going on now!

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