a handmade holiday pennant banner for all hallows eve

when i was a little girl one of my favorite traditions was dragging out the boxes of halloween, thanksgiving, and christmas decorations to magically transform our home into a holiday wonderland. i loved going through the boxes with my momma and hearing about the handmades that had been gifted to us from family or made by her lovely hands. the halloween witch flying her very own miniture broom, the santa claus with a beard of white lace, the matching stockings personlized with our names, the plush turkey with feathers in a rainbow of calico browns and reds. there was something inherently comforting about that ritual especially when time sped up as i grew older. i am so grateful to my momma for giving me that continuity and bit of magic as the seasons changed. especially now, as a momma myself.  i know how much work it is! *wink*

one of my most favorite holiday handmades(a fabric pennant banner) is simple, easy, and packs a lot of visual punch for your dollar and effort. i can't remember where i saw it first but there are many variations to try on the interwebs.  for mine i made myself a 6'' triangle template and went to town cutting them out with pinking shears on a variety of spooky fabrics. i folded my yardage in half wrong sides together to get a back and front triangle for each flag cut simultaneously. it made my catching-up-on-castle marathon extremely productive. i love that show!

stacks of fabric triangles and double fold bias tape waiting to be transformed into festive goodness

to keep the front and back sides of each flag secure i sewed a large zigzag stitch down the center of each pair of triangles. i first tried sewing the zigzag along two edges of each pair, but quickly decided that would take more time than i wanted to spend. so i determined that by going down the center i could sew continuously from one flag to the next without cutting threads inbetween until the end. much. faster.

then it was just a matter of slipping each flag between the folds of my double fold bias tape and stitching a large zigzag down the center of the bias tape. the possibilities are endless. i've already got my thanksgiving flags cut out and ready to sew! now i am on the hunt for a color scheme for christmas. what do you say? red and white or blue, silver, and white or red, blue, apple green, and white? i can't decide . . . ideas?