{exactly what I did}

OK, this is the 'tutorial' for the Thankful Banner that I put up yesterday. I hesitate to call it a tutorial, and would prefer to call it "exactly what I did" instead, because the first would indicate that I'm all professional...ha!

So, I don' t know how else to do this...I don't know how to make a PDF pattern from my little pieces of computer paper with a drawing on it..so I scanned my patterns, and I will tell you exactly what I did...and if you still don't get it, then just come over!

This is the inspirations: pottery barn kids catalogue from Sept...

I think their's says Give Thanks, but i did what I wanted!

Ingredients:

1 yard of Dark Brown Felt (you'll be totally safe with a yard...) I bought enough for a few people to make it, so I can't tell you exactly what I bought...see non-professional!

1/4 yard of tan felt

Felt sheets in autumnal colors: I chose:

3 crimson

2 gold

2 green

1 orange

embroidery floss in autumnal colors, I used: red, orange, gold and green, also need tan

gold and dark brown thread

sewing machine, scissors, rotary cutter, etc

Cut 8-10" x 14" pieces of dark brown felt

Cut each of the following letters from the tan felt (ha, some are backwards...I'm blonde!)

Cut 3 maple leaves...1 crimson, 2 green
cut 3 oak leaves: 1 gold, 2 crimson

cut 2 regular leaves, 1 orange, 1 gold

(or do it random however you want)

After all was cut, I hand-stiched the veins into each leaf using the running stitch (you know, up down up down) as shown in the picture below. I used random colors of embroidery floss...meaning I didn't match it to the color of the leaf, and I used 3 strands of floss. (cut a length of floss and seperate the 6 strands it is composed of into 2 groups of three)

After all the leaves were sufficiently vascularized, I broke out the sewing machine and using a mustard-y gold thread sewed around the perimeter of each leaf to attach it to each piece of the dark brown felt. Don't look too close...I'm not that good.

Position each leaf at the bottom of each 10 x 14 sheet and make sure your leaves are all skiddlywompus and facing different directions! Next, hand-stitch each letter onto each leaf/backing combination, again using the running stitch, and 3 strands of floss. I used tan colored floss. Pin the letters down like crazy so they don't bubble up!

Almost done...aren't you thankful?

I folded down the top edge of each dark brown piece an inch and sewed it down as close to the edge as I could...use dark brown thread, and no one will see you lines.

I got some rope from Home Depot...called sisal rope (1/4"). I got 50 feet for like $5...and have had plenty to make 3 banners... probably could make 3 more.

I threaded the rope through the hem using a shish-ka-bob poker...and painters tape.

Tied loopy knots at the end and strung it along my wall...

that's it. tell me if I left something drastically important out!