kraft-tex Color of the Month: Linen

Apr 30th 2020

The kraft-tex color of the month is Linen!

Spruce up your creative space with this adorable crafty banner!

Makers of all skill levels will love the satisfaction of a quick finish.

We invite you to join the fun and make your own kraft-tex projects each month along with us. If you do create something with kraft-tex, please snap a photo of your creation and tag us on Instagram @ctpublishing. If you make this specific project don't forget to tag it with #craftybanner, #krafttex and #ctpublishing.

sew CRAFTY kraft-tex Banner

By Sophie Scardaci

Sew a crafty kraft-tex banner. Tailor your banner for the perfect occasion with your chosen saying or name. Perfect for weddings, graduations, showers and birthdays. Two rolls of kraft-tex will make 8 flags so plan accordingly. And get creative with the many colors that kraft-tex comes in.

Supplies:

1 roll of Designer kraft-tex, color Linen

1 roll of Vintage kraft-tex, Black

8-10 one-inch wooden beads, painted black

3 yards of ⅜” ribbon or cording

Thread to match Linen kraft-tex

Optional: twill tape or ribbon to tie to ends

Craft knife (X-acto type)

Pattern pieces and templates

Preparing your pieces:

Cut 8 rectangles 7” x 9” from Main color of kraft-tex (Linen). There will not be a lot of wiggle room. The layout of rectangles should look like this.

Cut 8 rectangles 6¾” x 8” of background color (Black Vintage). Use the same layout as above.
Using the included triangle template, mark the bottom back of each rectangle with a pencil or white chalk pencil. Cut the triangle out.

Print out letters included. The font used here is Futura (Bold) at 400pt. Feel free to create your own banner phrase.
Cut letters out. Draw a line on the back of the main color flag about 1” above the top of the triangle for even placement of the letters. Place the letter as a mirror image on the back and trace around the letter.

Cut out the letter using a craft knife or small, pointy scissors. Repeat for each letter.
For the “sew” flag, cut the word out of the pattern with a craft knife. Trace backwards on the back and cut it out of the kraft-tex with the craft knife as well.

Fold the top of the main color flag back by ¾”. Use a bone folder to make a nice fold.
To prepare each flag for sewing, place the background kraft-tex behind the main color kraft-tex. Align the back piece so that it leaves about ⅛” space on either vertical side and drops below the bottom by ⅛”-¼”. The top of the back piece should be sandwiched between the fold. Hold pieces together with wonder clips or binder clips.

Time to put it together… remember to sew slow. Once the needle makes a hole in the kraft-tex, it stays there so be patient and focused. I used a 3.2 stitch length.

Sew the top first (which will be where you thread the ribbon through) with a ½” seam allowance back stitching 2 stitches at the beginning. Stop about a ¼” from the edge. Pivot, leaving the needle in the down position when pivoting.
Sew down the side with a ¼” seam allowance, pivoting at the bottom and continuing in this manner around the outside of the flag until you get back to the beginning (I back stitch a couple of stitches).
I top stitched around each letter with about a 3/16” seam allowance from the edge of each letter. You will also have to stitch the middle of letters that have free-floating pieces (like R and A).

To sew around “sew”, top stitch around the word as a whole. Add some short top stitching lines (3-6 stitches) inside the word to keep the piece flat. Be sure to back stitch when sewing these short stitch lines.