Gather Banner

 There are so many ways to incorporate burlap into your decor. It is so easy to use too! Create this wall hanging that can stay up all season long!

Supplies:

·         ¾ yard of burlap

·         Fat quarter of fall fabric

·         Iron on word by Decorating Your Life

·         Buttons, leaves and other embellishments

·         ½” dowel, finials to fit the ends of the dowel

·         Americana Gloss Enamels Paint, brush

Directions:

I started with a 27” cut of burlap. I pulled a thread near the edge of each long side to get it straight.  Then I pulled threads from each edge to have ½” of fringe on each side.  Next I folded down 1½” from the top to form a casing and stitched it in place.  The burlap was creased and wavy so I heavily spritzed the entire piece with water, ironed it with high heat, leaving it to cool on a flat surface.  You could use heavy steam to do the same.  When it had cooled off, I cut the length off to make the banner 30” long.

Insert the dowel and determine your desired length.  Mark the length and saw it off.  Paint the dowel and finials.  Set aside to dry.

I cut a fat quarter of fall fabric down to a 15” square. Before I permanently adhere any of the items to the burlap, I place them where I want them and take a picture.  I spend a few minutes evaluating what I see in the photo, do some adjusting, take another photo, etc., until I’m happy with what I see.  With the extra burlap I cut out a pumpkin shape. I pinned it in place again auditioning the placement of it with a photo.  Using 6 strands of black embroidery floss, I stitched it in place using long stitches about 1/4”-1/2” from the outside edge of each pumpkin piece.   I stitched the square with the pumpkin into place on the burlap with a button in each corner.  You can fuse the cotton square onto the burlap with heat and bond ultra or glue it in place. I chose not to do that.  You could fuse the pumpkin onto the cotton fabric and draw your stitches on using a black marker.  If you opt to fuse rather than sew, remember it will take longer due to the rough, open weave of the burlap.

 I fused the word “gather” onto the burlap following the manufacturer’s directions.  I did find it took more than the 1-2 minutes they said.  It was closer to 5 minutes, but keep an eye on it, checking the adherence every 30 seconds.  

I chose to keep my banner fairly simple but you can decorate it with buttons, artificial flowers, more words, family names,-use your imagination!

You can hang this banner by tying a ribbon onto each end of the dowel, or have each end of the dowel setting into a hook or nail.

OPTIONAL: buy a half yard cut of burlap and cut your fabric square proportionally smaller.  Just remember that the size of your “gather” word (or whatever word you choose) needs to fit with a few extra inches of burlap on either side.  Your word and your fabric square should not be the same size.  Your eye is happier looking at things that aren’t the same size.  If they are, you can use a button, flower, etc. on either side of the word to make it look larger, as I did on the example.