#AtoZChallenge | Applique Pennants: Rah-Rah, Let’s go Maine!

There is something so fun and collegiate about a felt pennant displayed on your wall. The sense of connection, of belonging to something and showing you’re love for your tribe, is a powerful pull. Plus, pennants are a great decorating accent.

While I’ve never had the urge to display any from my actual alma maters, I came across one that aligned well with my love of all things Maine. I picked up this Maine themed pennant from one of my favorite local Portland shops Pinecone and Chickadee. They have a fun, eclectic mix of home goods and personal accessories.

Maine pennant

I hung the pennant in the mudroom above our deer antler coat racks. The coat racks were a previous home craft project and a shout out to my Dad. They’re also incredibly functional.

But, that pennant has been looking a little lonely lately. I feel like my love for Maine can’t be contained to just one pennant. I needed to go big. While I searched online and at brick and mortar stores for a while, I just never found another pennant that matched the look I envisioned in my head. I needed something a little more personal. It was time to get out the sewing scissors and give applique a shot.

Here’s how I made some fun new companion pennants for my entry way.

Step 1)
Since I knew the space I wanted to fill, I started by measuring the rectangular spot above the deer antlers and then marking off a space that size in my work area so I could play around with the size and location of the pennants. I used blue painters tape to mark the borders. It was larger than the surface I was using so I had to improvise and tack some cardboard onto the end.

Step 2)
I started with my existing pennant. I knew I wanted one of equal size to balance the space so I made a template in the same size by tracing the pennant onto some paper and cutting out the pattern. I played around with the scale to create some additional smaller templates.

Step 3)
Now it was time for some fun. I had bought various colors of felt and I started trying out different color combinations for my pennants until I found the ones that I liked.

Step 4)
After my colors were finalized, I started creating my designs. I didn’t know what I was going to do ahead of time and this project really drove itself which was fun and is not always how the creative process works for me. Initially, I was planning to use different messaging as you can see by my lake pennant in some of the images, but in the end I decided staying closer to the central theme of Maine pulled the different pieces together better and made it a more cohesive display.

I created my designs in a few different ways.

  • For most of the lettering, I printed out the text and font that I liked on my computer and then pinned it to the back of the fabric to hand cut it out of the felt.
  • I used a similar technique for my state of Maine applique. I printed out a simple image of the state selecting one without too many details. I needed something simple enough to cut in felt.
  • For the pine tree, I actually already had a felt tree applique that I had picked up years ago at a yard sale. I liked the general shape but the color was wrong so I used it as a pattern to cut it out of my green felt.
  • I had some letter stickers that worked well as a template for my “ME” letters.
  • I free handed all of my hearts and decided to use that design in multiple locations to help tie the pennants together.
  • I finished by adding a few final decorative striped elements.

Step 5)
It took me a few days to finalize the designs and layout that I liked which is typical of my creative process. I like to leave some time between steps so I can come back and look at the design again with fresh eyes. It’s a theme you’ll see throughout this A to Z Challenge.

Once I was satisfied with my pennants, I used fabric glue to adhere all of the elements. I debated sewing around the edges but decided to see how the glue holds up first.

Step 6)
I transferred the pennants to the mudroom placing the two largest anchor pieces first and then filling in the smaller ones. It made it easier to keep the design I had worked out in place during the transfer to the wall. I hung them up using painters tape on the back. This also gave me some leeway to tweak the final locations of the pennants which I did end up doing on a few of them.

I am happy with the final look. It’s much more of a cohesive statement now. I love it when a project comes together the way I envisioned it in my head. That is not always the case but this one was a definite win.

Now there is no doubt to anyone entering my house about my love for all things Maine.

Have you ever decorated with pennants? 

I’m participating in a Blogging A-Z Challenge for April 2021. I will be posting new content every day this month except most Sundays. Each post is associated with a letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. My theme for the challenge is Craft Projects for my Home. To read more of my A to Z posts from this year, click HERE.

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51 thoughts on “#AtoZChallenge | Applique Pennants: Rah-Rah, Let’s go Maine!”

    • Weekends in Maine says:
      Reply

      The deer antlers were my Dad’s from his hunting days. They were already mounted with some kind of green velvet base. I just took them apart and covered the base with something a little more fun. They make awesome coat hooks. They work really well.

      Like

  4. Eli Pacheco says:
    Reply

    I love this project! Pennants were a big part of my life growing up. I had sports pennants lining the wall by the ceiling, stacked together, one up, one down. I covered the perimeter of the room. When my oldest was a toddler, she found them in my home office, and put them together in a big circle. The way she played with something that was part of my life before her amused me.

    Glad I found you through the A to Z Challenge!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. mollyscanopy says:
    Reply

    Here we are again A-to-Z-ing! I love the idea of a planning board before placing the pennants on the wall. They look excellent, and great idea to print out the images/lettering then copy them to felt. By the way, I hope you will be including the deer antler coat rack instructions. Those look awesome! https://mollyscanopy.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    • Weekends in Maine says:
      Reply

      I was just saying to my husband how much fun it is to reconnect with my “A to Z” buddies! Excited to visit everyone’s blogs again this month. I was so happy with how each step in the process came together for these pennants. You never know when you’re free handing it!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Miss Andi says:
    Reply

    Wow, this looks great! I like how you repeated the original one but with your own twist. The whole setup is easy on the eye. It’s a great idea that you created the dimensions as your working table, I am storing this idea for any future projects I might have 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Jeanne Bryan Insalaco says:
    Reply

    Wow your pennants look awesome… never thought about making my own but I can see that maybe in my future as I craft so many things. Might be nice to make them for my granddaughters for their rooms with their own names on them. I just finished sewing Patchwork square dogs for them for Easter.

    Liked by 2 people

  21. lindafibergal says:
    Reply

    I LOVE your pennants. I use the same techniques for figuring out where to hang art on the walls, placement is so important! We just purchased a pennant at an estate sale from the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair. We need to spruce it up a bit to hang. Nice to see you back in the challenge this year. The “racks” with upholstery are great as well. I have subscribed. Thanks for stopping by my blog as well.
    Pulp Paper & Pigment-My Fiber Art Blog

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Bridgina Molloy the Wicked Writer, (aka abydos6) says:
    Reply

    Okay, I can do this one, when the month of April is over. Thank you for the awesome idea. Well done on your blog post.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. dyannedillon says:
    Reply

    Fun craft! When my daughter was in 4th grade, I gave her a High School Musical birthday party. The girls changed “classes” and did different activities in each one, and one of them was making a pennant that said “I Troy.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. All the cool things 12 says:
    Reply

    Hi! I love these, they turned out great! Nothing better than decorating with homemade art 🙂
    On the topic of Maine, there’s this program, called Community Solar, that has partnered with the CMP utility market. Anyone can switch to solar energy and not have to install panels! It’s free, It’ll save you money and help save our planet! Hope you can check it out 🙂 https://solar12.onlinesalespro.com/swnp-1

    Like

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