My sister recently remarked that she loves to hear me work through my creative process out loud. Figured I could make it into a blog feature…

It takes me a while to get things just the way I want them. When I was asked to make the family motto sign, it took me a bit to decide it should be a pennant banner.

Once I made that decision, I futzed around a lot with size and shape. Usually I make a bunch of templates out of manila folders and then sort of compare them before I cut down any fabric.

And once I get it the way I like it, it’s most efficient for me to make a whole bunch at once.

Then I cut bias tape and started making prototypes. It always takes a few rounds to work out the kinks.

There was a definite issue of legibility. This puppy was not going to read from afar. It needed bolder lettering and tighter placement.

There were also some technical problems, the main one being the super-skinny tie that was hard to feed through my sewing machine. The stitching looked very messy and not very durable. I also had a lot of issues getting the flags to turn right side out without tearing through the stitching. I eventually found a solution with a wide seam allowance and very small stitches.

In my daughter’s STEM activities they always talk about how nothing is perfect at first, you just have to work out the kinks, so I try to keep pushing through. This project had a fairly quick turnaround, actually; with a lot of stuff I need to put it away for months or years before I come back to solve the issue.

Getting it down allowed me to branch out and make a few more:

But the originals go into my FAIL pile. Sort of like the island of misfit fabrics.😉