A whole lotta love from a great circle of mamas, went into helping Audrey plan her son’s Moonrise Kingdom-esque Boy Scout themed party that we featured on the blog yesterday. We had so much fun helping that we couldn’t wait to get back here, to you all, and share some of the party’s resources, starting with this very sweet keepsake pennant, made by Lauren of Walnut Animal Society. Time to dust off that sewing machine!

Supplies:
1. Felt by the yard for pennant color, 1/2 yard
2. Sheets of felt in accent colors
3. Thread colors, coordinated to all the felt colors
4. Fabri-tac or similar glue
5. Ruler
6. Cutting mat and rotary cutter
7. Sewing machine

You can find felt by the yard, and felt sheets, at most local craft stores. The colors are usually limited though, and the felt is not normally 100% wool. For premium wool felt in a ton of colors, visit this site. The colors are beautiful and the quality is amazing. You can get wool in sheets or by the yard.

Step 1.  Cut the pennant
For the vertical edge of the pennant, draw a line measuring 7 inches. Find the halfway point of that line, at 3.5 inches, and make a mark. Place your ruler horizontally at the halfway mark, and measure 18 inches out. It’s important to make sure this horizontal line is exactly perpendicular to your vertical edge, so it’s best to use some form of right angle–a T-square would be the proper tool, but I just use a sheet of printer paper. You can lay a piece of paper down, lining it up with the vertical edge and the halfway point, then line your ruler up to the paper to draw the 18 inch line. After your horizontal line is drawn, place your ruler so that it connects the end of the vertical line to the end of the horizontal line to form the triangle. Use the rotary cutter to cut through TWO layers of felt at the same time, so that they are the exact same size. This is the top and bottom of your pennant.

Step 2.  Head to your computer and printer
In order to use the symbols from the invitation, I photocopied and enlarged it to 120%. Then I opened a new document and typed the letters I needed for Arlo’s name. I chose to start the A with size 400pt font, then decreased each letter by 50. A=400, r=350, l=300, and o=250. I did this so that the font would decrease as it goes down the pennant. You can adjust this according to the name. Turning on the ruler view helps to gauge the size that the letters will be when they print.

Step 3.  Cut the stencils
Cut the letters and symbols out to use as stencils. Lay them out on the pennant to be sure they all fit properly, and that you like the arrangement.

Step 4.  Trace and cut the felt shapes
Trace the letters and shapes onto the coordinating colors of felt. One item of note: for letters that are not symmetrical (in this case, just the R), trace the letter backwards. That way when you cut them out of felt, you can turn the marker side face down, and don’t have to worry about cutting inside the lines to get rid of all the marker.

Step 5.  Glue your shapes
Once you’ve got your shapes cut out of felt, arrange them exactly how you want them.  Make sure the lines where you traced are not showing.  Then take the glue and place a very small amount under each letter.  They do not need to be fully glued down; this is to hold the letters in place while you sew them.  (If you are not into sewing, then you could stop at this point, and just glue your shapes down to the felt pennant.  In this case you would want to use enough glue so that the letters are securely fastened.)  Just be sure not to get any glue on the face of the pennant.

Step 6.  Sew
Using your coordinating thread colors, stitch the shapes onto the felt pennant. The key to sewing these is lowering the needle very often, and lifting the presser foot to move your pennant underneath while the needle is still inserted. This allows you to get those tight curves. After you’ve sewn all your shapes onto the top of the pennant, glue the bottom of the pennant to the top. Then stitch along the edge of your pennant. You do not need to stitch the vertical edge.

Step 7.  Finishing
Cut strips of wool. Cut two strips, 3/4 inch by 7 inches, for the edge of your pennant (in the photo, I cut my strips longer, and trimmed at the end). Then cut two very skinny strips, about 1/4 inch by about 6 inches, for the ties. Glue one strip to the top of the pennant, then turn it over. Fold the tie strips and glue in place, about an inch away from the outer edge on both sides. Then carefully glue the final strip to the edge, making sure to line it up perfectly with the strip on the face of the pennant. Stitch along the edge of that edge piece you just glued, and trim the ends if you need to.

Step 8.  Admire your pennant!

Totally doable, right? Should you find yourself inspired to make this pennant yourself, post a photo on Instagram and tag it with #cakeletcrafts so we can see it!