Hey Ribbon Retreat Readers! It’s Emily from The Benson Street here today!
I am getting excited for Thanksgiving and have a quick and easy “Give Thanks” Thanksgiving Banner tutorial for you today.
What you will need:
- 1/4 yard each of three coordinating fabric patterns (I used from the Fun & Games collection from The Ribbon Retreat)
- 3 to 5 yards of ribbon (I used Moonstich Grosgrain ribbon from The Ribbon Retreat)
- Hot glue gun and glue
- Iron-on vinyl letters or cut out your own
- Needle and thread
To get started I cut out 6 flag pendants in one of the fabric patterns.
Cut each one 8 inches long by 4 inches wide (you can mess around with the measurements, depending on how much fabric you have and how big or small you want the banner to be).
It was easier for me to create a pattern using paper and a ruler.
After the rectangles are cut, fold the fabric rectangles in half and cut out the bottom triangle, as shown in the pattern.
Take a different fabric and create one larger pendant flag for the “give” portion of the banner.
I made mine 8 inches by 8 inches, fold it in half, and then cut out the triangle on the bottom.
It should look like this (minus the words and ribbon):
I cut out the iron-on vinyl lettering to say “give” in one font and then “thanks” in another font.
I used a chocolate brown vinyl which worked well with the coordinating fabrics I chose.
On the six pendant flags, iron-on each flag a letter for the word “thanks.”
Be sure to iron the flag pendants in half so that they lay nice.
Iron on according to the instructions for the iron-on vinyl you are using.
I normally place another piece of fabric over the letter. It makes the ironing a lot easier.
Iron on the word “give” to the larger pendant flag, the same way as with the other letters.
While ironing, get that hot glue gun fired up.
Cut a piece of ribbon to your desired length (I always do mine a little long, so that I can tie the ribbon on when hanging up the banner). Run a line of hot glue down the back side of the flag near the fold.
Place ribbon on top of the line of glue and press down.
On top of the ribbon put another line of glue and fold over the pendant, so that the fold is glued to the ribbon running through the pendant flag. Repeat with the “thanks” pendant flag on another piece of ribbon a little longer than the first piece of ribbon.
While the glue is drying, create the cute little pinwheels out of the third coordinating fabric. I chose a gorgeous blue, yellow, and orange arrow print. Adorable.
However, I am showing the tutorial with a chevron fabric, which is not what I used for my Thanksgiving Banner.
I love these easy ruffle pinwheels.
Start with a three inches wide by about 12 to 15 inches long strip of fabric (the size will vary to make larger and smaller flowers). Fold the strip in half. Sew a running stitch on the loose edges all the way to the end. Pull the thread tight and form into a pinwheel. Tie a knot at the middle of the circle to secure.
I used a clothes pin to secure my pinwheels to the ribbon, but glue would work too.
I love how the colors are different than regular fall colors. I think adding the blue with touches of green really adds a new character to fall colors.
I used these baby clothes pins to hook on the pinwheels, but large ones would be cute too.
You could even add clothes pins to the pendant flags for an extra special flair.
I think this banner will help remind me and my family to give thanks for all that we have this Thanksgiving season.
Thank you for creating with me today! I hope to see you soon over at The Benson Street.
Thank you Emily! We are so grateful to have you with us today sharing your talent for all things crafty! This banner is so pretty and is a great visual reminder to be thankful for all we have. This wonderful time of year adds an additional sense of warmth, happiness, love, and gratitude to our homes and this pretty little banner is the perfect reminder to “give thanks” as we celebrate this holiday season!
You could make a fun banner like this for any holiday, season, or event taking place in your home. Just pick your favorite holiday, seasonal, or everyday fabric and ribbon to create your banners. You can even choose to embellish your banner with ric rac, lace, buttons, and more instead of or in addition to the vinyl letters.
Banners are an easy project to create, and they are so fun to hang up for holidays, seasons and everyday decor! Look at these other FABulous banner and garland tutorials…
Ribbon Garland
Easter Carrot Garland
Fabric Leaf Garland
Ragamuffin Garland
What fabric and embellishments would you use to create your banner?
Happy Creating & Happy Banners!