Somehow Memorial Day gets lost in the shuffle of warm-weather holidays. It's so important to pause and remember all the incredible sacrifices that the men and women of the armed forces have made for us. Thinking about it makes me feel so proud to be an American! Another fabulous American ideal is frugality. This Patriotic Banner Project uses up old fabric and jeans... plus you can pull it out again for the Fourth of July.
Supplies: Denim jeans you'd like to upcycle, canvas fabric, red and navy ticking fabric (although you can use whatever!), Fabric/T-Shirt Transfer Paper, sewing machine or hand needle and thread, Fabri-Tac (glue), wide bias tape, embroidery thread, random embellishments like buttons or fabric scraps, pinking shears (optional) or scissors and an iron.
Grab some patriotic graphics from Piddix (what I used here) or find similar free images at The Graphics Fairy.
Directions:
1. Make yourself a triangle template out of cardstock (mine is 5" by 8" by 8"). Cut 6 triangles out of the jeans, 6 out of the red ticking and 6 from the navy ticking.
Related: 5 Easy Repurposed Decor Ideas
2. Sew your triangles into pennants. Use a 1/2" border around the two long sides. If you using a sewing machine-- when you get to the edge of the pennant, to make a angle, leave your needle in, lift the foot, and pivot the fabric.
3. Choose and download your graphics and print on the T-Shirt Transfer paper (follow package instructions). Cut the individual images out before transferring them to canvas fabric.
4. Cut images out with pinking shears and decided where to put them. Embellish with buttons, fabric scraps... whatever you have.
5. Go over the pennants with Fabri-Tac in hand to secure any loose spots.
6. Sew pennants to bias tape (or you can use Fabri-Tac to glue)... and there you have it-- a Patriotic Banner for Memorial Day and Fourth of July.
More from GalTime:
- 7 Ways to Afford Your Craft Habit
- Top 8 Destinations for Fourth of July
- Ways to Give Your Home a Facelift on Pennies
- Memories in Our Attics: Keepsakes or Clutter?









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