I didn’t quite get the little “chickie” dress finished for Janie, but I will have it done tomorrow and get it listed on Ebay Tuesday evening… I hope you’ll come back tomorrow and see it. It turned out so cute…
Quite a few years ago a dear friend and I made a couple of banners for our church. She drew the patterns for them and then we each finished one. Mine was called “The Lord is My Shepherd” and Jan’s was called “The Lord is My Provider.” They are done using the applique process, which is basically a zig zag stitch used in varying widths but the stitch length is shortened to almost zero. That gives you that sort of puffed up finished edge to your pieces. I used to do LOTS of applique, but it was never this big. Here’s a close up of some overalls I decorated with the applique stitch.
Each banner had many many pattern pieces to bring it to life. We used a fabric called Silkessence, which is sort of like a light weight satin, but finer. It has a bit of wrinkle to it, so it’s not crisp and slick like satin is. We used Wonder Under, which is a fusible webbing, and ironed it onto the backside of the fabrics we were using. For example, If I was going to make my sheep out of white, I took a piece of Wonder Under and ironed it onto the back of the white Silkessence and then I placed my pattern piece on the top and cut out the sheep. It was much easier to do it this way because it gave the pieces some stiffness and was just like putting together a puzzle. After you had all your pieces ironed onto the Wonder Under, and cut out, you peeled the backing off and ironed each piece in place, using the drawing as your master template to make sure it was in the exact spot you wanted. The banners were put together with the largest piece first… the land usually, and then the sky. Next clouds were added, trees, rocks, then all the other pieces. You basically start with the farthest away pieces and work your way forward. When all the pieces are in place and your picture looks complete, we place a large piece of lightweight batting or fleece underneath the whole banner and begin satin stitching around ALL the little pieces. Then we added extra details with the stitching bringing the rocks and cliffs to life. One of the hardest parts is maneuvering the big banner under the sewing machine feet. We added a backing to it and then finished them off sort of like you would a quilt border. They took us about 3 weeks to make. They are about 5 feet by 3 feet and are hung on the walls in the back of our church.
I thought I would show them to you so you can see how it was done. I took some of the pictures with natural light and some with the flash so you can see the texture of some pieces. David’s robe was the only piece that wasn’t Silkessence. I used a linen fabric for it.
If you click on any picture it will enlarge somewhat.
The first picture of the banner is taken with a flash so you can see how bright it is…
This next picture is in natural lighting. You can see it is sort of crinkled, like an old quilt that has been washed a hundred times. When you satin stitch onto the fabric and through the fleece batting, it draws the fabric in and gives it that “puffy” look.
I EVEN “embellished” my banners…
This is Jan’s banner… isn’t it beautiful!
Hope you enjoyed that…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Yes, I did enjoy seeing how those beautiful banners were produced! What talented ladies your church has! The extra “embellishments” on the first quilts make it so pretty, Jeanne! That material makes the hills and rocks looks so real! Jan’s banner is also beautiful! Do they both hang together or at different times of the year?
I don’t know what happened to my post from yesterday, but I am thinking I forgot to click onto “Post Comment” after I made it!! Silly me! I was rushing around trying to get my inside work done so that I could get outside and do my outside work!! It was lovely being outside and I got a lot done.
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your nice compliments on our banners. They hang in the back area of our church across from each other with pews in between.
Did you get any of that snow that hit up north. We didn’t, thankfully!!! My hubby is getting ready to do some tree trimming himself. He’s not looking too forward to the grass mowing, but I’m certainly looking for greener grass!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Those are beautiful Jeanne. 🙂
Thank you Christine,
It was fun to share some pictures of them with everyone.
Blessings, Jeanne
Those banners are beautiful. Your friend is very talented to have been able to draw them.
That fabric really works well to bring the scene to life. We have banners in our church as well, though none that elaborate. Yours would be perfect for “Jesus is the Good Shepherd Sunday.
Hope the snow is gone in Illinois. here in Ohio after mid 60’s on Saturday we got about 1 and 1/2 inches of snow yesterday afternoon.
HI Laura,
Yes, Jan is a wonderfully talented artist!
Thanks so much for your kind words about the banners. They brighten up the wood walls in the back of the church.
Yes, the snow is all gone here…thankfully we missed this last snow storm that hit the northern part of Illinois. It’s cold here today though…39 degrees. It’s supposed to be cool for a few days and then warm up next week. I can’t wait!
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
So beautiful and definitely a labor of love. Thank you so much for sharing them.
God Bless You!
Hi Marsha,
Thanks so much for your kind comments. Just yesterday I got asked to do another one…but it’s a pretty simple one compared to these.
Blessings, Jeanne
The banners are beautiful. It is interesting how the fabrics you two chose add dimension and texture to each picture. Both of you were very generous to spend your time and talents for the benefit of the church members. It is a great joy to be an active member of a church body.
We have had a couple of day of warmth and sun. Today is a bit windier so the old leaves are falling from our biggest trees. This happens in the spring with Texas Live Oaks. So we have two seasons of leaf raking! We also have some trees that need trimming so if your husband is in the mood and has his chain saw all primed we would welcome him with open arms!!!
HI Jeannie,
Thanks for your wonderful comments on the banners. They were a challenge to make but I’m so glad we did.
Now as far as that chain saw goes, he is cutting down a large tree on the church property probably on Thursday and then bringing the lift out here to cut down 2 on our property… I don’t think he can swing the trip to Texas… but I’ll let him know you asked…. :o)
Thanks Jeannie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne. Those are both beautiful and I’ll bet are beautiful to look at during a service or mass. I really like the wrinkly satiny fabric that you used for these as opposed to appliqueing with cotton. The slight sheen of the fabric adds a lot of texture when the light hits them. They are large too. I can see why they took so long to make. So generous of you to share your time with your church.
Cold here again. At least it got slightly above freezing and the snow started to melt. It should be gone quickly this time.
HI Cindy,
Thanks for your sweet words about the banners…
Now let’s talk weather… I’m SURE this has to be the last of the cold weather. I looked outside today and noticed after the rain we had earlier this morning, the grass is SO green. I’ve even seen a few people mowing their yards. Nothing like getting those few little sprigs mowed down before it gets out of hand! (ha)
Well, I certainly hope this is the last of it for you!
Blessings, Jeanne
Great Job!