A Summer Touch to Your Home With a Welcome Banner

Jul 07, 2023

Designer: Marcia Izabel Marchiori

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Summer is a season that beckons us to embrace the warmth of the sun and create cherished memories with our loved ones. Whether it's hosting a backyard barbecue or throwing an intimate get-together, there's something undeniably special about gathering together in the comfort of our homes during this vibrant time of the year. And what better way to set the tone for these joyous occasions than with a beautiful and warm welcome right at our entrance door?

In this tutorial, you’ll create a delightful floral banner that exudes happiness and radiates the essence of summer. With its vibrant colors, this DIY project will not only enhance the aesthetics of your home but also provide a personalized touch to greet your guests. The best part? It's easy and enjoyable to make!

So, if you're ready to infuse your home with a warm and inviting ambiance this summer, join us as we dive into the step-by-step process of crafting this charming banner. Let's get started and bring some sunshine and creativity to your doorstep!

Tools & Supplies Needed

OLFA RM-CG 12" X 18" Green Double-Sided, Self-Healing Rotary Mat
OLFA QR-1x12 1" X 12" Frosted Acrylic Ruler
OLFA AK-4 Cushion Grip Art Knife, paired with OLFA KB4-R/5 Curved Carving Art Blade, 5pk
OLFA RTY-2DX/MAG 45mm Ergonomic Rotary Cutter
OLFA 5-Inch SCS-4 Precision Appliqué Scissors
Thermo O Web HeatnBond EZ-Print Featherlite (app. two 8.5 x 11” sheets)
Thermo O Web Pressing Paper
Wool blend or acrylic felt (colors: light orange, white, light coral, olive green, cream)
10x14” Thermo O Web HeatnBond Fusible Fleece
9” bamboo straw or wooden dowel
Sisal Twine
Approximately 20” white pompom ball fringe
Fabric glue (used in this project: Therm O Web Heatnbond fabric fuse liquid adhesive)
Pencil, eraser, erasable fabric pen (such as Pilot FriXion), pins (used: Riley Blake Designs Pretty Pins)
Embroidery floss (same colors as felt - used: Aurifil) and embroidery needles

PRINT TEMPLATES HERE

Instructions

Gather all tools and materials. Print templates to scale and cut to size.

Cut the background using the light coral felt and template: first, trace the template “Part 2a and b" using an erasable pen, then cut it to size, using OLFA rotary cutter and 1 x 12” ruler.

Apply HeatnBond Featherlite iron-on adhesive to felt pieces (colors: light orange, white, cream and green) this way you will have well-structured pieces: place interface sheet on top of each felt (paper liner should face up), Then, place and hold iron on the paper liner for 2 seconds. Repeat until entire surface is bonded. Allow to cool.

Tip: for each color, I used approximately half sheet of iron-adhesive.

Using a pencil, trace flower and leaf templates to the ironed paper liner. Using OLFA Art Knife paired with Curved Carving Art Blade, cut out each piece, then peel off paper liner. Set aside.

With the help of a light source (tracing light box or even the light from a window would do it) and an erasable fabric pen, position welcome template under the cream felt (with iron-on adhesive applied in the back, and its paper liner already peeled off), then trace the letters and rectangle shape.

This is the result so far:

Using stem stitches, embroider each letter using brown floss (six strands).

Tip: to make stem stitches, bring your needle up through the felt, then insert the needle one stitch length away from the beginning point, come back up a little less than halfway between beginning point and second point, and repeat this process through the end of each letter.

Trace offset lines inside the rectangle with an erasable fabric pen, then embroider dashed lines to make the contour, using two strands of brown floss.

To give structure to the sign, iron a piece of cream felt on the back of the embroidered welcome sign, using the iron-on adhesive already applied to adhere one another. Set aside.

Trace the front of the banner using template “Part 1a and b”, with an erasable fabric pen, to the light coral felt.

It should look like this:

Position all flowers and leaves according to template. With the help of a dot of fabric glue, loosely attach each piece. Then iron bonding everything together, using the Termo O Web Pressing Paper to protect felt. When ironing the banner, the felt letters will be well secured in place because of the interface layer.

Finish each flower and each leaf embroidering them to the banner with straight stitches, using one strand. Using stem stitches, embroider the leaves branches with matching green floss (six strands).

Cut fusible fleece according to the banner template (red lines in the template).

Cut front of banner to size, using OLFA rotary cutter and 1 x 12” ruler.

Stitch all the 3 layers of the banner together with running stitches two-strand light coral floss).

Tip: For a straighter seam, draw a line with the erasable fabric pen all over the edges before stitching the banner layers together.

Lay the bamboo straw (or wooden dowel) about 1” below the top edge (back), run a line of fabric glue, not touching the dowel. Fold the top edge down and over it. Press the edge to the back of the banner to create a channel for the dowel to sit in.

On top of the edge, glue mini pompom fringe and stitch everything together.

Using fabric glue, adhere finished welcome sign to banner.

Insert sisal twine inside the bamboo straw, and tie a knot, hiding it inside the straw.

Tip: Use a long wire (longer than straw) to help you to easily insert the twine through the straw.

And that’s it! This colorful banner is ready to hang on your front door, or even to be used as a welcome flag at your entrance porch! :-)

I hope you have lots of fun making this and don’t forget to tag me @marciabel and @OLFA_craft in your finished projects, we would love to see your colorful piece of art!

Marcia