How to make a banner from recycled fabric!

I used some old fabric and made a sign for my farmer's market booth.

You can use the directions below to make any sort of banner - anything from "Happy Birthday" and "Welcome Home" to "Drink Good Beer" ... you get the idea.


I had an old sheet with holes that I used for the main piece of the banner.  Using a quilting ruler (you can use anything you want to make a straight line), I drew a rectangle measuring about 6 feet long by 18 inches tall.  It wasn't perfect, but it doesn't need to be!  I cut this out and then got to work on the letters.

To make a template for the letters, I used the free WordPad program that is included with every Windows-enabled computer.  You can find it under the "Accessories" tab of your Windows start button menu.

I wanted my banner to read "Organic", so I began with the letter o.  I typed it in, using Cambria bold font (you can use the font of your choice) and entered 750 for the font size.

You'll need to play around with font & sizes, to make sure that each letter will print out on one page of paper.  You can use the "print preview" feature frequently to make sure the letter will fit (see below picture).

After printing out each of my letters, I cut them out from the page, so that I was left with the black letter and no white paper. 

Next, I chose an old pair of knit exercise pants from my sewing scrap bin that were beyond repair.  I cut them open along the seams so that I was left with flat pieces of fabric.  You can use any type of scrap fabric or old clothing.

I pinned each letter to the fabric, then cut them out.  I removed the paper & pins from the fabric and was left with the fabric letters.

I then pinned the letters to the large rectangle I had cut from the sheet.  After placing them exactly where I wanted them, I sewed them on.

It was easy except that I chose 2 knit fabrics (a knit t-shirt sheet and knit pants).  They stretched and flopped everywhere during each step, and didn't cooperate well while sewing.  If I was starting over again, I'd use a cotton sheet and old jeans or cotton fabric scraps.  Something more stable that doesn't stretch.

Hope I've given you some ideas for crafting your own banner!


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