Holiday decorating has never been one of my strong suits, but as my kids get older and more excited about Halloween, I want to be a little more festive! I’m not keen on spending a ton of time on things that will only be displayed for part of the year, so I whipped up these easy Halloween banners while they watched a movie. It took longer to design the “Boo!” than it did to sew the banner! This tutorial is being shared as a part of a Halloween Make-A-Palooza hosted by Shelly at Coral & Co, so be sure to scroll to the bottom and see what other bloggers have made.
I have to confess that I bought these fabrics well over a year ago, with no plan for them, a habit that I’m trying to break. A simple decor project was the perfect way to use them though, and the banners won’t take much storage space to save until next year.
I wanted graphic text that wouldn’t compete with the cute print, so I searched for the perfect chunky font.
Didn’t they turn out cute! I don’t have a fireplace mantel for cute decorations; this is totally staged on my dresser for pictures. It is actually hanging next to our (ugly) weekly calendar, I think I might try and design a similar one for each season and have it be a “thing”.
Ready to make your own?
How to make an easy Halloween banner
Supplies
- Boo! File in PDF form-sign up for my newsletter and get the free download once you confirm your subscription! If you’re already a subscriber, you can access the pattern with the password in each newsletter, in the resource library.
Steps
Step 1- Cut two rectangles of the quilting cotton, 9″ wide by 14″ tall. Cut one rectangle of fusible fleece 8.5″ wide by 10″ tall. Fuse the fleece to the wrong side of one of the fabric rectangles, as shown/ Then sew the rectangles right sides together with 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving a 4″ gap at the top. Clip the corners.
Step 2- Pull the banner right side out, poking out the corners and using the iron to press all seams flat and the raw edges. You will be able to feel where the fusible fleece stops, which will be the place to fold the remaining fabric (that has no fleece) in half, pressing with the iron. You’ll then sew right along the edge, creating a sleeve and catching the open edge to close it in the seam.
Step 3- Prep your Boo! I used my Cricut (check out the machine’s advantages in this post) to cut out iron-on, there are lots of other methods, including freezer paper if you don’t have a digital cutter.
Step 4- Paint/iron on your Boo! I made sure to use an acrylic ruler that I could see through and make sure it was centered.
Step 5- I used a (painted) wooden chopstick from Chinese take out, which was the perfect length. If you don’t have one around, a 9″ dowel rod would work as well. Knot some embroidery floss on each end and hang it up to enjoy!
Halloween Make-a-Palooza
Monday 9/18 Sew What Alicia
Tuesday 9/19 The Sweet Red Poppy
Wednesday 9/20 Coral + Co.
Thursday 9/21 Beatnik Kids
Friday 9/22 Swoodson Says
Friday 9/22 Paisley Roots
Shelly Morgan
Friday 22nd of September 2017
What a fun tutorial! I need to make one for my house <3 I totally love the cat fabric too,