It happened again! Another opportunity to sew a gift for someone who is an important part of my work life, my principal. He’s a Cleveland Browns superfan and has been for years.

Last year for Boss’s Day I made him a set of coasters out of Cleveland Brown fabric.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do this year for him, but a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired.

The Inspiration

A few days prior to National Custodian Day (October 2) I was racking my brain trying to think of a gift to show my appreciation for the head custodian at my campus.

He does a phenomenal job and I wanted to give him something that was meaningful and useful.

As my mind churned through different ideas, I recalled a conversation we had about a large screen TV he had recently purchased. He was super excited because he was finally going to hang it up in his man cave. He told me the timing was going to be perfect because the Dallas Cowboys were to play on Sunday.

Thinking back to last year and the coasters I had sewn for my administration team, I thought the head custodian would like Dallas Cowboy coasters, but I wanted to do a little more for him.

Scrolling through pins I’d saved on Pinterest, I came across one that showed a pennant banner made from vintage handkerchieves.

That was it! A pennant banner would be the ‘little more’ I could do! In addition to the Dallas Cowboy coasters, I was going to make a pennant banner, too.

You’ll be happy to know, the Dallas Cowboy gifts were a big hit. At the time of posting this article, the head custodian had used the coasters and was figuring out where he would hang the pennant banner in his man cave. He had a couple of different places in mind but wanted to try each spot to see where it looked best.

Pennant banners are simple to make and easy to customize through fabric selection.

All I needed was Cleveland Brown fabric and I could make my principal a pennant banner, too!

How to Sew a Pennant Banner

After following the directions in this lesson, you’ll know how to sew a pennant banner. The completed banner will have 8 pennants and be just under 6 feet long.

Tip: Read all of the steps before you begin.

Preparation

Gather the Supplies

Supplies to make a pennant banner — Two optional supplies (sewing clips and marking pen) are not pictured.

cotton or cotton-like fabric – a minimum of 1/4 yard with a width of 44-inches
- This will make 8 pennants. There are 2 triangles for each pennant.
- You may need more fabric if you’re going to fussy cut the triangles.
- Note: I used Cleveland Browns themed fabric for the front and a solid color for the back of the pennants. I purchased 1/4 yard of each fabric.
a triangle template (I have a commercial template made to be used with a rotary cutter. It’s an Isosceles triangle with a base of 5 1/2-inches and height of 8 1/2-inches. You can make a template out of cardboard.)
extra-wide, double-fold bias tape, 3 yards
thread
scissors
pins
rotary cutter, mat, and ruler
sewing clips (optional)
measuring gauge and marking pen (optional)

Get Your Sewing Machine Ready

Put the 1/4″ presser foot on your sewing machine. If you don’t have one, you can use an all-purpose presser foot. Just use the edge of the foot as the guide when sewing.

Wind thread on the bobbin. Insert the bobbin and thread the machine. Set the machine to do a straight stitch (a width of 0 and a length of 2-3 for a medium length stitch).

Prepare the Fabric

Prewash the 100% cotton fabric in warm water and dry in the dryer.
Press to get the large wrinkles out.

Construction

Tip: Read all of the steps before you begin.

Cut the fabric so it’s 8 1/2-inches tall by 42-inches long. You want the width of the fabric to be the height of the triangle template. This will enable you to make fewer cuts.

Width of fabric is the height of the triangle.

2. Place the triangle template on one end of the fabric strip. Line up the top and bottom of the triangle with the top and bottom of the fabric.

3. Use the rotary cutter to cut one side of the triangle then the other.

Cut other side of the triangle — You may need to carefully rotate the fabric and template before cutting the second side.

Tip: If you’re using a cardboard template, draw a line on the fabric then use the rotary ruler and cutter to cut the fabric.

4. Invert the triangle template, lining up the edges. Cut another triangle.

Tip: If you are fussy cutting, the edges of the cuts may not line up with the template as you cut more triangles.

A transparent template makes fussy cutting easier. — A transparent template helps when you’re fussy cutting.

5. Keep going until you have all the triangles you need.

Note: If the fabric has a pattern, pay attention to its direction as you cut triangles. Using the cutting method above, the pattern may be upside down. When constructing the banner, these triangles could all go on one side of and be the back.

6. With right sides facing each other, pin two triangles together. Make sure the edges are lined up.

Pin two triangles with right sides of the fabric together

Optional step: Before sewing, use the measuring gauge to mark the place where you will pivot the needle at the point. It will be centered at the triangle point 1/4-inch from the edge of the fabric.

7. Start sewing at the top of the triangle. You’ll use a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Sew down one long side, pivot at the point, and sew up the other long side. Leave the top of the triangle open.

Start sewing with wide part of pennant at the top

Stop sewing at the marked point and pivot. — Stop sewing 1/4-inch from the triangle point, leave the needle in the fabric, and pivot.

Two sides of pennant are sewn. The top is left open.

8. Trim off material at the point. Be careful not to cut the stitches.

Trim excess fabric around the point of the pennant.

9. Turn the triangle right side out. Use a knitting needle or other sharp tool to carefully poke out the tip.

Carefully use a sharp pointed tool to push out the point of the pennant.

10. Press the pennant so it lays flat and the edges are crisp.

Press each banner so it lays flat — The pennant on the right has been pressed.

11. Open the package of extra-wide, double-fold bias tape and press out the creases.

12. Leave a tail of bias tape at least 12-inches long. Open the bias tape and place the top of one pennant right against the fold. Pin or clip it in place.

Lay top of pennant against inside fold of the bias tape — The top of the pennant should be against the inside fold of the bias tape.

Secure the bias tape at the top of the pennant with clips or pins. — Secure the bias tape at the top of the pennant.

13. Space the pennants out evenly. I left 1-inch between mine.

Space pennants evenly along the bias tape.

14. Measure another 12-inch tail after all pennants have been attached. Cut off excess bias tape.

15. One side of the bias tape is slightly longer than the other side. Sew with the shorter side on top. Sew the bias tape close to the edge.

Sew bias tape with the short side on top — This shows sewing the first 12 inches of the bias tape. You can see the short side of the tape is on top.

Sew close to the edge of the bias tape to secure the pennant banner. — Sew close to the edge of the bias tape.

That’s It. You’re Done!

Pennant banners make great gifts! They can be hung in many different places such as doorways, walls, and fireplace mantels.

Who in your life would be thrilled to hang a pennant banner either as a room accessory or an as-needed decoration to celebrate sports games or party event?

Pennant banners can be hung in doorways. — My principal was super excited about the pennant banner and even more so when he found out it had not been bought at a store but made by me.

Cleaning Tips

If the fabric was prewashed and dried the fabric, it can be cleaned by washing it on the delicate cycle.

It can be dried in the dryer or hung up

Consider using a lingerie bag when washing and drying in a machine. The lingerie bag should be large enough that there is room for the pennant banner to move around.

Press out any wrinkles.

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