Laser Cut Pennant

by switchback_sea

2.0K141

Intro: Laser Cut Pennant

As a millennial, I am a big fan of participation ribbons. That's why, this past Christmas I designed a bunch of participation pennants for my friends and family.

Way to go folks, you did a thing! What was it? Who knows!

Okay, well, I designed a few different pennants and laser cut them out of acrylic felt. If you have access to a laser cutter, this is a really fast craft that looks impressive for a last minute gift.

STEP 1: Gather Your Materials

This project is pretty simple, it uses two materials:

I used the heavy duty, no sew Heat n' Bond which makes my life even easier.

STEP 2: Iron on the Glue

If you have never used Heat n' Bond, you're in for a treat!

It's an iron on double sided glue that is safe to put in the laser cutter. This mean fabrics can be turned into iron on patches, cut into complex shapes and then ironed in place. It's absolutely incredible.

With a hot iron, simply cut a piece of glue that fits your fabric, place the paper side up and iron for a few seconds. This will set the glue in place and you're ready to laser cut your felt.

STEP 3: Laser Cutting

I created laser files in Illustrator using icons I downloaded from the Noun Project. The Noun Project is a searchable database of thousands of icons, submitted by designers all over the world. The icons are available for purchase inexpensively, or available for free with attribution. (See the final step of this instructable for attribution for the icons I used).

I used white felt with Heat n' Bond ironed on for the text / decorations, and black and red felt for the backgrounds. Acrylic felt cuts very easily, I used an approved paper setting for the machine I was working on and the felt cut beautifully.

STEP 4: Ironing

This is a very easy project.

Peel off the paper backing from the white felt.

Place the piece by eye.

Iron for a few seconds.

Let it cool.

You've got a pennant!

STEP 5: Hang It Up / Make One Yourself.

Now you're ready to let everyone know you are a participant!

I've attached all the files you need for laser cutting, each with attribution for the icons used.

I'm also including it here:

Astronaut by Nook Fulloption

Star by Nook Fulloption

Knot by Darrin Higgins

Carabiner by Anton Gajdosik

Boot by Lauren Frager

Laurel by Juraj Sedlák

All from the Noun Project.

Comments

Penolopy Bulnick 6 years ago

These came out great! I love the detail you can get with the laser cutter :)
I really need to use my laser cutter. What was the "approved paper setting" that you used? Do you happen to know the settings?