I also suggested "THE KING IS A FINK" and "I'LL TEACH YOU A LESSON YOU WON'T FORGET IN A HURRY" but my mother didn't go for either of those or "MIND YOUR MANNERS: DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE."
I had some banner material I got free from Vistaprint. I thought that's what all banners are printed on, but I was wrong. I figured out how to sew a pocket in the vinyl and decided I needed 4" on each side for that. Then I asked my mother to measure her suitcase so the banner would fit inside it on the train. The finished banner needs to be 19" high so it will fit in rolled up. I asked my graphic designer friend, Steve Leacock, to design a 2'x4' banner with the plan that I would cut it off at 19" from the bottom and fold over 4" on either side. He emailed me a PDF Monday night. Tuesday I went back and forth in text messages to my mother to decide what color she wanted. Then I uploaded to design to the Staples website and ordered the sign. It cost about $25. I drove down to Tallahassee Wednesday to pick it up. That's when I found out it wasn't vinyl, it was a sort of papery plastic material. It seems like it will scratch and crease. But it was fast and cheap so I was determined to make it work. I spent all day Thursday fixing it up.
The rules for the march don't allow for sticks on signs. I was hoping I could make the ends of the banner stiff just by doubling over the material. I ended up using 1" strips of foam core in conjunction with grosgrain ribbon and the extra material I cut off the bottom of the banner. I'll detail the rest in captioned photos.
Needs to fit in this rolling suitcase. 19" long |
I have about 3 1/2" between the supports on the back of the suitcase |
I trimmed the white off the top of the sign then trimmed the bottom |
I am not experienced with the rotary cutter yet. I learned the hard way you should always put the ruler over the part you're keeping, not on the waste part. |
These clear rulers are awesome |
I accidentally let the blade wander away from the ruler. Rookie mistake. I am ashamed |
This time I put the ruler over the part of the work I'm keeping and let the waste stick out. Cut an extra 1/4" off to correct my mistake |
This should indicate a keep-out zone when my mother's friends sign the banner |
I used a lot of this seamstick basting tape on this project. I got it from Sailrite to make an awning |
I made some ribbon loops for the ends of the banner. I cut them 48" long and doubled them 2" |
After one false start I decided to add a strip of foam core. I had a piece 2" wide so I cut it in half |
I started working up a sandwich of the ribbon and the banner material and the foamcore |
I wrapped the ribbon loop around the end of the foamcore and stuck it down with more seamstick |
With even more seamstick I added the extra material from the bottom of the banner to the edge |
I proceeded to fold all this stuff up, exposing strips of seamstick as necessary |
Seamstick exposed, ready to be folded over |
I cut another piece of ribbon and sewed it into a loop. I carefully loosened the seamstick and got the ribbon loop into the sandwich at the top of the banner with more seamstick |
OK, here it is! I signed my name in the corner to see how that's going to look. Not bad! |
Here it is with the pipe in the exterior sleeve and the banner inside the bag |
Test it fits in the suitcase. Brilliant. |
My mother came by to get it to take it to her book group. Lots of signatures tonight! |
No comments:
Post a Comment