Flower Press Banner
During term 2 I have been making flower banners. Here is a list of the things that
I used to make them…
- Paper, big enough to cover the fabric that you are printing the flowers onto, I used A4 printer paper
but you can use scrap paper or even newspapers.
- Flowers, I find that flowers that are more delicate or that have brighter colours print better onto the fabric.
- A hammer
- Two books, typically ones that you won’t mind being damaged, I used my math books.
- A needle and thread, this is to sew the trims of the banners and the top fold that allows string to be
- String, to hang the banners on.
- A sewing machine (optional)
How you make them…
First you want to measure out how big you want your fabric strips to be, I made mine about 30cm by 20 cm.
First you want to measure out how big you want your fabric strips to be, I made mine about 30cm by 20 cm.
Secondly, find a hard surface to hammer the flowers into the fabric, it should be outside as to minimilize
the mess but don’t use a table as you be banging the hammer on top of it. Once you’ve found a hard
surface, lay one of your books on top of it then place your strip of fabric on top of that. Choose what
flowers you're going to use and lay them down on the fabric. You can do this randomly, or put them all in
specific positions. You can even take off the petals or leaves from the flowers and use them as well. After
you’ve placed down your flowers, put the paper on top of it so that it covers all parts of the fabric are
ontop of the flowers. Finally put your second book on top of it. Grab your hammer, and starting from the top of
the book, hammer on top of the book repeatedly slowly going back and forth until you reach the bottom.
Make sure that you hit the hammer hard, so that all the flower juices stain the fabric. This should take about
2 minutes, so it’s best to set a timer. Once you're done hammering, carefully take off the book on top and
lift the paper off the fabric. The juices should have stained the fabric, if they haven’t it will be because the
flowers you chose don’t have enough juice and aren’t as fragile. The way to fix this is to hammer it again
for another minute. Once the paper is off, remove the flowers and get to work on sewing the trims. It’s not
very complicated to do, just fold over 1-2cm of the fabric and then sew a back stitch on the edge of the
fold, which is just the basic stitch. If you want to go the extra mile you can also trim the banner with a zig
zag stitch, but I recommend that you use a sewing machine for this one. Do that on all the sides of the
fabric except the top. When that is finished fold the top over, so that 4cm of it is on the back of the banner.
Stitch the bottom of the fold using the back stitch again so that it forms a hole in which you can put the
string through. Now you're finished! You can make as many of these as you want and put the banner on
your bedroom wall or another place into your house that is in some need of decoration. Another idea is to
make the banner into a word, e.g make five banners, on the first one write S one the second M, third I,
forth L and fifth E. Which spells out smile.
the mess but don’t use a table as you be banging the hammer on top of it. Once you’ve found a hard
surface, lay one of your books on top of it then place your strip of fabric on top of that. Choose what
flowers you're going to use and lay them down on the fabric. You can do this randomly, or put them all in
specific positions. You can even take off the petals or leaves from the flowers and use them as well. After
you’ve placed down your flowers, put the paper on top of it so that it covers all parts of the fabric are
ontop of the flowers. Finally put your second book on top of it. Grab your hammer, and starting from the top of
the book, hammer on top of the book repeatedly slowly going back and forth until you reach the bottom.
Make sure that you hit the hammer hard, so that all the flower juices stain the fabric. This should take about
2 minutes, so it’s best to set a timer. Once you're done hammering, carefully take off the book on top and
lift the paper off the fabric. The juices should have stained the fabric, if they haven’t it will be because the
flowers you chose don’t have enough juice and aren’t as fragile. The way to fix this is to hammer it again
for another minute. Once the paper is off, remove the flowers and get to work on sewing the trims. It’s not
very complicated to do, just fold over 1-2cm of the fabric and then sew a back stitch on the edge of the
fold, which is just the basic stitch. If you want to go the extra mile you can also trim the banner with a zig
zag stitch, but I recommend that you use a sewing machine for this one. Do that on all the sides of the
fabric except the top. When that is finished fold the top over, so that 4cm of it is on the back of the banner.
Stitch the bottom of the fold using the back stitch again so that it forms a hole in which you can put the
string through. Now you're finished! You can make as many of these as you want and put the banner on
your bedroom wall or another place into your house that is in some need of decoration. Another idea is to
make the banner into a word, e.g make five banners, on the first one write S one the second M, third I,
forth L and fifth E. Which spells out smile.
I really enjoyed making these quirky little banners which I hung up in my bedroom above my bed. I
think that it added an extra splash of brightness to my bedroom, and I hope it does the same to yours.
think that it added an extra splash of brightness to my bedroom, and I hope it does the same to yours.
What flowers do you recommend that I try for my next banner and what do you think I could improve
on with the one that I made?
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