LEAF BANNER TUTORIAL

If you're lucky enough to still have fall color, you might be interested in one last leaf project. "But I don't sew," I hear some of you saying. No worries, use paper and glue and whatever else you're comfortable with.
I wanted to make a banner for the mantle. Thanksgiving is at our house, and I cling to my fall decor, pumpkins and all, until December. Won't be rushed into the Christmas season. 
Firstly, you'll need to take a little walk and gather some fall leaves. Look for leaves that will be easy to cut out and stitch. If the edges are too zig-zaggy, they won't be fun to sew and  then what's the point? If I still had little ones at home, I would consider making this an "add a pearl" project, making and dating new flags with them each year to add to the banner. If I ever have any grandchildren, that's what I'll do. No pressure, my darlings.
So, decide how many flags you'd like on your banner. I used six. Print your gathered leaves onto printer fabric. I used fusible this time, but you can use the sew-in kind and and iron the fusible webbing on later. Cut out the printed leaves. Determine the size of the flags based on the size of your largest leaf. Mine are 10 inches wide by 11 inches tall.

Cut a front and back for each flag. I used linen just because I love it and always have it on hand. Fuse and stitch a leaf to each flag front, using a press cloth or parchment paper. If you'd like to add a decorative stitch, machine or hand, now is the time. I machine-stitched a row of leaves on the top of each flag.

Pin your flag fronts and backs, right sides together. Stitch, leaving a opening at the top for turning. Clip corners and turn right side out.

 Topstitch along the upper edge.

Raid your button stash...

Add a fall colored button to the upper corners of each flag.
Choose a length of ribbon, twine, yarn, or whatever you have to string your flags together. I used heavy twine and just looped it around each button.
Et voila!

Materials:
fall leaves
printer
printer fabric
sewing machine
background fabric
thread
variety of buttons
twine or ribbon
black thread
scissors
needle and thread for sewing buttons

Happy stitching! XO.