Halloween Banner

Living in a 3rd floor apartment doesn't give you a whole lot of space to decorate places that other people can actually see. I hung my new wreath on my door, but I've been wanting something I could hang in the window that faces outside so I could help spread the Halloween spirit. This is what I came up with.

I couldn't get a good pic of it from outside 3 stories down, but this is it elsewhere!

Pretty cute eh? I like how it turned out, especially since I don't sew very well and I designed it all myself :)

So, since you're one of our lucky readers I'll teach you how to make it!

Disclaimer: As this is my first attempt at a "real" tutorial, please let me know if something I say is unclear or misleading so I can fix it. Also, I figured a lot out as I went, so the instructions may be a little different than what it shows in the pictures, but I'll let you know when that happens.

Alrighty, Lets do this.

Materials Needed
Pennants: 10 squares of fabric that are 7.5" x 5.5" (should be fine with 1/2 a yard...)
Letters, binding & ties (orange parts) : 1/4 yard
Ghosts: scraps of white
Fusible Web
(Sewing Machine
Thread
Iron)

*These instructions make a banner about 42 inches long.

Instructions
For the pennants, cut 10 pieces of fabric that are 7.5" x 5.5." I made a pattern out of cardstock then folded my fabric over and cut it out five times. This would be MUCH easier with a rotary cutter, but since I don't have one, I cut a piece of tissue paper so i could pin it to it and cut with scissors. Set aside.For the letters and ghosts, we will be using fusible web -as featured by Sizzle earlier. If you've never used fusible web before (I never had) please read her tutorial first because her instructions for this part are more extensive. Otherwise, read on.

If you want the same text & images as I used, the pdf is located here. (If not, you can create your own in Microsoft Word by following these instructions.) The text and images have been flipped so they will transfer correctly when using the fusible web. Print both pages.


Now, take your fusible web and lay on the top of the letters with the paper side on top.
Trace around the edges of both the letters and the ghosts (Remember to trace the 'O' twice).

Cut them out with about a 1/4 inch border and place fusible web side down on your letter fabric. Place the ghosts on the white fabric.

(Before you go on, with the 1/4 yard, if you lay out the letters along the edge like this you'll be able to fit everything perfectly.)






Put your iron on Wool setting and iron for 3-5 seconds on the WRONG side of your chosen fabrics. It doesn't take long, but make sure they're nice and flat. Now cut them out along your trace lines.
Now layout 5 of your pennant pieces. Peel off the paper backing on all the letters and ghosts and place them on your pennants where you want them. You will be ironing these on the right side, exactly how you want them to look (Here's where I made a mistake in the picture. I was trying to keep the fabric folded so it would be easier to sew, but then I ironed them on the wrong end. For simplicity, lets just stick with separate pieces so yours will not be connected like these)
Line up images so they are in the center. With my letters, there will be about 1 1/2 inch on top and bottom. There will be the binding at the top so you can scoot it down a bit too. Also, with these letters, they're designed to be tilted more (like they are when they printed out) but I ironed it on before I realized that. But feel free to tilt.
Iron them all on flat (3-5 seconds again)
I used some of my leftover scraps of fusible web on my pennant fabric to make eyes, but markers would be fine too.
But give them eyes! They look so cute now.
Place the two pieces of pennant fabric right sides together and sew a 1/4 inch hem around all edges except for the top! This is where my folding caused me more work...
Snip the corners (without cutting the seam) to make it less bulky when flipping. (Sorry abt the bluriness of the pic)
Now flip them all right side out! Use a long pointy object to get those corners nice and smooth.
Iron them if you wish to get the seams tight and flat.
All ready for binding!
Cut a strip 3 1/2 inches wide across the top of the fabric for the binding. For the remainder of the instructions to be accurate, you'll want it about 42 inches long. If needed, sew two pieces together.
Fold it in half lengthwise and iron. (Right side on the outside)
Sew a 1.4 inch hem around both of the long edges. (Ignore the pins for now)


Position your pennants where you want them on your binding. With 42", I left 5" at the end, then pinned the first one, skipped 2", then pinned the next one, etc. You should end up with 5" at the end. You might want to space it first before pinning, just in case...

Go ahead and pin them down, overlapping about 1/2 inch. Remember to pin with the end of the pin sticking away from the binding so you can still get it out as you sew it closed.



With your remaining fabric, cut strips for the ties. They will be about 3" wide and 25" long. In this pic, they are the short ones.

Place right sides together and sew the edges together lengthwise. My fabric was fraying so I zigzagged over it.
Flip them inside out and then hem the short edges.
Press with the seam in the middle. Then put the ends together and press in the middle.


Take your binding and fold over the edge 1/4 inch. Lay the folded edge on the binding, overlapping about 1/2" also, and pin in place. Do the same on the other end with the other tie.
Now you're all pinned and ready to go! Fold the binding over all your pins and sew everything in place. For the ties, just sew 1/4" hem again, making sure you get the ties in nice in tight. Pull the pins out as you go.
For the binding, I only sewed where the pennants were. (Where there's no pennant stick your finger in the binding) Line your needle up so you go over the stitching that is already there so it looks nice and pretty. The back will be a little off, but who cares :)
And....you're done!
I like this, because I can use it every year. I considered making a paper decoration, but then it would never survive storage and I'd have to make something else next year.
Now that I know how to make it most effectively, I want to make another one for other holidays!