Well, if that Fabric Lady isn't scared after my last post about the cute Pennant Bunting, she will be after this one. (If you are confused as to why I seem to have a personal vendetta against a woman I am calling "Fabric Lady," read my post Fabric, Glue and Macaroni and it will all become clear.) I guess I am on a little big of a flag kick as my next project was the real reason why I wanted to go to Jo-Ann Fabrics in the first place.
As I have mentioned before, Zachary's room has a nautical theme. I really wanted some kind of decoration to hang above his crib. I thought about putting a couple of wooden oars on the wall, but I couldn't really find any that I liked which were also in my price range, which was cheap. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a room that would likely be covered in band/car posters and pop stains in ten years. (Let's be honest, my sweet little boy is going to turn into something gross, as all boys do, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.) Then I found a woman on Etsy who would make a flag using martime signal flags to spell out anything you would like. I thought it was such a cute idea! I messaged her and since Zachary's name is a little on the long side, and she was located in the United Kingdom, this project was going to cost me over $100. Ummm......thanks but no thanks.
I knew I couldn't spend that much on decor, but I couldn't get those gosh darn signal flags out of my mind! I loved how each pattern represented a letter or number. I decided I would try to make one myself. I Googled the maritime signal flags and they seemed easy enough; they were mostly stripes and straight lines. So, I bought some white canvas (which the Fabric Lady cut for me while she openly challenged me to a craft-off, though I can't be certain that was her true intention) and made another template out of a cereal box to the size I wanted my flags to be. Then I cut out the flags using my fabulous rotary cutter. I used a thick piece of blue painter's tape at the top of the flag because I was going to fold that part over and sew down when I finished with the painting so that I could string all the flags through rope.
 |
| Oh, how I love that rotary cutter. |
Next I sewed all around the edges using a straight stitch to keep the canvas from unraveling. I put the presser foot at the edge of the fabric and sewed around the whole flag. I decided not to fold the fabric under and then sew because I thought it would look cool to have some of the canvas fray. Now, I was ready to paint! Oh, how I love to paint. I am not very good at it thought so straight lines were right up my alley! I used my painter's tape so my stripes would be straight. After all, these flags are used in the Navy and they needed to be ship-shape!! Aye-aye, Captain! (Side Note: we have a painting of a sea captain that Troy acquired from an old roommate. He has become part of the family despite the fact that no one in their right mind would willingly use him as a serious piece of decor - except us. I even put a Santa hat on him at Christmastime. Zachary LOVES him. We walk by him multiple times a day and I say "Aye-aye, Captian!" and Z smiles super big. It's awesome.) Anyway, back to the project at hand....
 |
| Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the letter 'C.' |
After I finished all the painting, I held my breath and pulled the tape off. To my surprise, the flags looked great!! There were a few spots where the paint had bled through a loose part of the tape, but I just took a very small paintbrush and fixed it with whatever color it should have been. My last step was to fold the top part over and then sew it down. I realized that I didn't want to sew across the flag because I didn't want to be able to see the stitch line across the top of the flag, so instead I sewed down vertically a few stitches on each side of the flag. Then using cable cord, I strung the flags and tied a knot between each flag. Then I stepped back and admired my work. I thought it looked great! Even better than the one I would have bought for over $100. The hubs helped me hang it in Zachary's room and it looks great!
 |
| It was the perfect final touch to our little man's room. |
 | ||||||||||
| Z-A-C-H-A-R-Y |
 |
| Umm, this still spells Z-A-C-H-A-R-Y, just a more artsy-fartsy view. |
 |
| Z loves the flags too! Oh, that face. I just love it. |
This was one of my favorite projects. I loved working on each step. Dare I say, I enjoyed it even more than the gold painted macaroni ornament circa 1989. I have already been commissioned to make a nautical banner, which I am excited about! If you are interested in having me make you one, let me know. I realize this seems a little shady, pimping my crafting out, but hey, a girl's gotta eat.
Pam 2, Fabric Lady 0 . . . . . . . . Bam!
I want one!!
ReplyDelete