Winter is Here!

Ok, so we might be more than a little excited for Season 8 of Game of Thrones, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a little yard decoration. This is how I made a Game of Thrones inspired banner, using upholstery fabric, spray paint, and fabric rivets and grommets.

Step 1: Trace and Cut the Letters

To start, I looked up the Game of Thrones font using Google Image Search and sketched out the letter I needed. First laying out the letters on manila file folders in pencil first, the main lettering is 7 inches tall, and after penciled in I darkening the cut lines with a permanent marker to make them easier to see.

With the lettering complete, cut out the stencils with a craft knife. I wanted these to be negative stencils, so the interior of each letter is the important part, not the outline - remember to be careful to not cut through or tear the letters.

Step 2: Glue and Place the Letters

I bought one yard of fabric, so 36 inches wide and 54 inches long, to make the banner. With all the letters cut out, a light coat of spray adhesive on the back side will hold them in place but will be easily removed after painting. I started with the letters on each side, spacing them in equally on both sides and then adjusted the interior letters to make even kerning between the letters.

Step 3: Add Some Embelishment

With the letters all placed, now is the opportunity to embellish the banner a little bit. I used two strips of blue painter's tape to create lines along the center of the banner. After the stripes were set, I cut the ends to bevel them, making parallelograms, to add some additional detail to the banner. Just cut the ends with a craft knife and remove the excess.

Step 4: Trim the Edges

With the letters glued down and before painting is a good time to shape the banner to its final design. Cut the corners off the bottom edge and fold over with more spray adhesive to form a point at the bottom of the banner. Fold over the top edge straight across to reinforce the material for hanging the banner.

To mark the cut, I measured from the center to a point about 6 inches up from the bottom edge, then offset a line 1.5 inches from the line. This gave a cut line that would leave a surface to fold over and glue. I repeated the same process across the top edge, but without cutting. Just mark 1.5 inches from the top edge, spray glue and fold over. The top is important to have a reinforced, double thickness, to hang the banner.

Step 5: Paint!

With the final shape established, paint a light base layer of blue across all the letters and then line the stencils with black. A few minutes after painting, while still slightly tacky, pull the stencils off. Depending on your side of the war for the Iron Throne, you could consider red and black... but let's be honest. Winter is Here!

Step 6: Reinforce and Decorate With Rivets

With the letters painted and the stencils removed, I too the banner back inside to finish. First, measure and mark evenly across the top and bottom edges that have been glued over. My marks were 4 inches apart, inset 1.5 inches from the edge. Using a fabric punch, make holes through both layers of fabric across the top and bottom edges. Using a rivet set punch and die, insert and hammer down fabric rivets to decorate and reinforce the edges of the banner.

Step 7: Add Grommets for Hanging

Using a hole punch for fabric, mark and punch holes near the corners to accept grommets for hanging. Insert the two-piece grommets and hammer them into place. Some grommet sets include a punch and die set to form over the center hole, but my set wasn't quite the right size. Just gently hammering them over on a soft wood block worked fine for me.

Step 8: The Finished Product

Have fun, and we'll see who ends up on the Iron Throne!

All seriousness, we love decorating for holidays, and this banner has really brought our neighborhood together. We've had so many people and kids stop and take pictures, the inflatable dragon might help, but it feels so good to bring happiness to people out for a walk.

-------------------------------------

You can also find me at:

YouTube (all my DIY videos)

Instagram (What I'm working on @greatlakesmakes)

My Website (Geek out on some engineering know-how)

Facebook (be my friend?)

-------------------------------------