Sewing Pennants for a Kids’ Party

I’d like to share an idea with you that’s perfect for birthdays and any other special celebrations. It’s a pennant garland featuring the letters of a name, with a plain pennant at each end. My granddaughter Juna asked for a garland like this for her 5th birthday because her sister has one, too.

This garland is best sewn from fabric scraps—sturdy fabric works best. They’re triangles that I cut out double-layered along the fabric fold—plus a seam allowance on one side. The top edge will be closed later with bias tape.

My measurements are:

• top side: 16 cm
• 20 cm on each side
• space between the pennants: 8 cm

Then I laid one half face up and pinned a letter made of bias tape (1.5 cm wide) onto it. I secured the tape slightly with a Pritt glue stick. In hindsight, I would have lightly sketched the letter with a pen first. As you can see in the pictures, I folded the corners of the tape to create a curve.

After pinning it in place, I sewed the letters all around with a zigzag stitch. Next, I sewed the pennant closed along the side from the inside, turned it right side out, and ironed it smooth.

Then I pinned the bias tape to the top of the pennants until all the pennants were attached to the bias tape. I left 30 cm of the bias tape loose at the ends. The bias tape is then sewn together as usual; the pennants sit exactly between the bias tape so that they’re closed at the top.

In the future, I’ll cut smaller fabric scraps into triangles with a zigzag edge. I’ll then attach these to a piece of bias tape—and voilà, a garland that can be used for any celebration.

Here are the photos of the pennant garland:






I’m sure you’ll have just as much fun making this as I did.

Warm regards from Monika

That’s such a great idea! All kids love pennant garlands with their names on them. And when they look as colorful and vibrant as the one for Juna, they’ll be hung up at least every year, and everyone will enjoy them. It’s a wonderful way to use up fabric scraps, and in the end, you have a sustainable product that can be reused time and time again.

Thank you so much for the suggestion, the instructions, and for sharing your idea!
I can imagine a colorful, hand-sewn pennant garland—where every pennant looks different—as decoration for a playhouse or, as you mentioned, as party decor. It’s completely customizable.

Best regards, Ina

Thank you, dear Ina, for your feedback. I really appreciate it.

I’m currently in the process of cutting lots of colorful fabric scraps into pennants; they’ll become a neutral, colorful pennant garland for the whole family. 

Very good idea, dear Monika. And with so many different fabrics, sewing is even more fun.

With a long pennant garland, you wouldn’t have to decide on one fixed length. For example, you could sew 5 individual pennant garlands with 5 pennants each and attach a snap fastener to the end of the cord each time (where the pennants hang). Then you could put together and hang up a pennant garland in the length of your choice, depending on what you need. I would sew the hanging loops separately and add snap fasteners to them too. Then you could clip the hanging loops onto any pennant garland, whether short or long.

A short one would be enough above a door, and for a garden party outside you could clip several together.

Oh, I know, always these new ideas. But if I make a pennant garland, it will probably be one with snap fasteners. I find that more flexible. My grandchildren would like this kind of party decoration too. They could put together their own version themselves.

Best regards, Ina

Always new ideas. My day should have many more hours.

Monika, your pennant garland for Juna turned out great. She’ll definitely be very happy with it.

I’ve sewn several short garlands for the garden in the meantime. I always stretch them between two bean poles, and this year I’m planning to grow annual climbing plants up the bean poles. 

Thanks, Petra! :)) Juna will definitely be very happy—that was her request to me.
Yes, I could definitely use a lot more time with all the ideas I have.

Ina, that’s a great idea. But I’ll have to talk to my daughter-in-law first. They keep things simple, and the apartment is pretty small. I’ll just go with my gut and come up with something. In any case, I’ll sew several in different lengths, because there’s always plenty of fabric scraps. I’m sure we’ll end up making a pennant garland for ourselves, too. :))