burlap – Guila's Art & Other Assorted Joys

I thought for sure that I had posted about making prayer flags but not so! Prayer flags have a long tradition and they can be seen in many different configurations. There is no right or wrong way. There is a blog devoted to Prayer Flags at : ThePrayerFlagProject.blogspot.com There you will find tutorials and many examples of how various artists have interpreted and created their own Prayer Flags. (mine are posted in March this year 2015)

I had thought about making and hanging some flags for well over a year and was waiting to be inspired it seems 🙂 A few months ago I was walking down the aisle of a local craft shop and found a package of burlap banner shaped pieces in the clearance section. The first thing that I thought of was that they would be perfect for Prayer Flags. And if I messed up, then the investment was minimal.

There were four of these burlap shapes in front of me looking like this:

each measured 5 1/2 ” by 7 1/2 “

The first thing that I did before anything else was to stay stitch inside all the edges of all the flags to minimize fraying. Burlap frays. I didn’t mind that, It enhanced the rustic look that I was trying to achieve. But I did want to contain the amount. I used black thread and a zig zag stitch and stitched each flag on every side about 1/4 inch in from the edge.

I figured there was no hiding of the stay stitching so I incorporated it into the overall design

You are goiing to need to attach a narrow muslin sleeve to the top. Do that now by machine UNLESS you are going to use that top space for your hand stitching later. In which case you will attach the sleeve as the last step with each flag.

Gather your fabrics and threads and design your flags. I used muslin for the inspirational words, and a variety of fabrics: cheesecloth, bits of organza, felt, burlap. Use whatever your design calls for!

I also added a few beads, some ribbon and buttons and hand stitched with embroidery cotton of various sizes.