Felt is currently trending, and we’re all about embracing the trend. When it came time to select a project for our Craft Club this month, we kept gravitating towards one particular material—felt. Not only does it evoke nostalgic memories of our childhood crafting endeavors, but it’s also highly adaptable, user-friendly, and cost-effective.
Our Pinterest board is brimming with a variety of felt-based crafts, so many that we couldn’t limit ourselves to just one. Both banners and prize ribbons are fast and beginner-friendly felt projects that can be taken in countless imaginative directions. Moreover, they make fantastic party souvenirs or gift toppers. Join us as we transform this affordable material into delightful decorations.
Collect these materials to craft this month’s creations.
Felt, hot glue, scrap paper, paint or paint markers, ribbon, pin backs, and optional accessories like sequins, gems, and glitter.
For the felt banners, start by crafting a triangle, then cut felt letters with sizes gradually diminishing as they near the banner’s tip.
Begin by cutting a piece of felt into an isosceles triangle shape—no need to dive into math, just ensure you have two sides of equal length that form a narrow apex. Then, trace this triangle onto a piece of scrap paper, cut it out, and sketch out your desired letter design. We experimented with bubble letters, cursive, lowercase letters, and more. Experiment with various fonts or sizes until you hit on your favorite.
Proceed to cut out your letters. Utilize these paper letters as templates to trace and cut the letters from an additional piece of felt. Arrange the felt letters on your triangular piece and affix them with hot glue.
To avoid any ink smudges on your finished project, trace the letters in reverse on the felt’s backside.
To complete the banner, cut a felt strip slightly longer than the triangle’s shortest side. Attach this strip to the short end with hot glue, flipping it over to the back and trimming the edges. Attach two V-shaped felt pieces or short ribbons to the back with hot glue. Voilà! Attach a magnet to the back, frame it, or hang it with adhesive or a nail.
Creating prize ribbons is a breeze and can yield multiple pieces in a single afternoon. They’re crafted using the same technique but can be customized with various shapes, materials, and ribbons. We’ll guide you through making a basic ribbon that you can modify to your heart’s content.
Trace three circles of varying sizes onto a piece of felt. The smallest circle will serve as the ribbon’s front layer, and the largest will be the back layer. On the smallest circle, use paint to inscribe your award category. Our favorites include “silliest,” “cat lady,” “happy birthday,” and “I heart hot glue.”
Stack the three layers and secure them with hot glue. Cut two lengths of ribbon or felt for the tails and attach them to the back, ensuring to trim the ends into a clean V or diagonal shape. Finally, embellish the prize ribbon with an abundance of gems, sequins, and glitter, and glue a pin back to the reverse side. (We used magnetic pin backs to make the ribbons magnetic).
With the basics under your belt, here are several ways to tailor your ribbons—the possibilities are limitless.
Use pinking shears or whimsical scissors to cut the feltCreate scalloped, organic, or pointed circlesAdd folds or pleats using felt or ribbon around the circles, not just a single felt layerExperiment with layering different-sized ribbons, such as a narrow ribbon atop a thicker onePlay around with the layers and tails.
