I love repurposing things and DIY-ing from affordable materials. I have been admiring felt banners I’ve seen throughout creators accounts on Instagram and decided I wanted to make my own. Using some simple materials, I’ll show you how to make one too! The best part is, this cost me less than $11 to make. This tutorial uses a Cricut Explore, but if you don’t have one you can still make this!
As a landscape architect I always love working with flowers. However, recently I learned about how flowers can have SO many meanings! I loved learning about how in the Victorian Era when it was taboo for men and women to speak directly to each other, they would send flowers that each had a particular meaning. It sounds so romantic!
This week I wanted to bring art into my home to signify hope, strength, and courage. In the Victorian Era “language of flowers” a blue Iris symbolizes hope and faith.
First I looked around for a nice silhouette of the flower. I found this Iris Flower Digital Download from Etsy and purchased the file for $1.70. This would be what I would cut out of black felt material. If you’re looking for a different flower, try searching “silhouette” or “line drawing”, look for simple shapes that would be easy to cut out.
Next I picked up my materials. I already had a few of these items around my house so I repurposed them. Take a look around your home and see how you can improvise as well to save some money.
| Materials | Price |
|---|---|
| IKEA SORTSO Rug | $3.99 |
| Black Felt | $4.99 |
| 7/16″ Wooden Dowel cut to 26″-30″ length | $1.94 |
| Fabric Glue Pen by Aleene’s | |
| Removable Vinyl | |
| Tan or white thread | |
| String or Chain | |
| $10.92 |
Tools you will need
| Tools |
|---|
| Printer |
| Scissors |
| Cricut Explore |
| Dremel or Saw |
Let’s get started!
To make the flower cutout, I used my Cricut Maker to create a template. If you don’t have a Cricut you can just print your flower silhouette out on regular printer paper and tape it to your felt. I printed the flower on vinyl, weeded the excess, and stuck it to the felt.
After I placed the template on the felt I cut all around the edges to match the template. An easier way to do this would be to cut the pattern directly on the Cricut and skip the cutting process. Here is a good blog post on how to do that. I didn’t have a large enough cutting mat and bought the wrong kind of felt so I used this method.
Once you have the flower silhouette cut out to your liking position it on your rug. For this project, I only used about 3/4 of the rug. I folded the top 1/4 over. This fold line will be where I put my dowel.
Using a fabric glue, start gluing your felt flower to the rug. Since I had so many tiny pieces it helped to start at one end and work my way up to the more intricate places keeping the flower in position. After the glue dries you can always go back over and put more glue on. I wanted to make sure it stayed centered on my rug, so I glued a little bit at a time.
Once you have the flower glued to the rug, time to attach the dowel to the top. Cut your dowel anywhere from 26 inches to 30 inches in length depending on how much to stick out the sides. I used a dremel, but you can use a saw or you can cut it at Home Depot. With your rug folded, place your dowel in the back of the fold. Using thread, stitch the fabric around the dowel. Cut back the excess of the rug.
Since I had an old length of gold chain leftover from a pendant light fixture, I just looped the chain links around my dowel. If your using string you can easily just tie a knot on each end of the dowel!
This project is so easy and customizable. Instead of using flowers you can cut out quotes, seasonal or holiday decor (how cute would a little ghost be for Halloween?!) I love the options this project offers and would love to see if you try this! Let me know in the comments or connect via Instagram, Pinterest or Tiktok!
