Latest Prayer Flag

Having become involved with the Sew Powerful Purse Project, it seemed only fitting that I hang a prayer flag in the garden to remind me to offer prayer for the young girls in Zambia and for the team that works tirelessly to keep them in school.

I like using the prayer flags as a way to try out new techniques and products. Hanging out in the elements where they will eventually decompose and where no one will see all my little boo-boos makes for pretty much a stress free effort. Having read about using Terial Magic as a fabric stabilizer before cutting with the Silhouette Cameo, I gave it a try. I like it!  The fabric was very much like paper and didn’t fray with the cutting. According to the bottle it also works to stiffen fabric before printing fabric with the computer; I haven’t tried that yet but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. According to the instructions, the stabilizer washes out leaving a soft fabric. (Since this will be hanging in the garden, I saw no need to wash it.) 

Following the directions from the Silhouette School Blog, I ironed Heat ‘N Bond to the fabric before cutting the letters with the Cameo. There was one little glitch, the letters did not adhere to the black fabric. Hmm….I bet that is because I didn’t prewash the fabric as instructed. So fabric glue to the rescue. This stuff works really well; again it gets tested in the elements quite often.

I will post more about the Sew Powerful Purse project after I have more purses to show. In the meantime, I have found what I think will be an excellent resource for improving my sewing skills; and it is free! More about that later.

If you would like to see more of the prayer flags that are currently in my garden as well as those that have been retired, there is a link at the top of this page. More information about the Prayer Flag Project and directions for making prayer flags can be found here.

Prayer Flags

Being away from The Underground 6 months of the year, I haven’t had much to share in the way of crafts. A friend’s art club is thinking about making prayer flags as a group project. Having made a number of prayer flags, I offered to share a bit of insight here on the blog.

I am not an artist, but have been a crafter as long as I can remember. I ran across an article about the Prayer Flag Project in a Cloth, Paper Scissors’ magazine in 2012. I was hooked. There is no right or wrong way to make them and, since they are made to hang outside in the elements, there is no need for perfection. It is an excellent way to use scraps and to try new techniques.

Below are directions copied from ThePrayer Flag Project website.

Here's Vivika DeNegre's tutorial on how to make a prayer flag. Feel free to be creative and change them to fit your own style. The dimensions used here are 5”x 8” dimension with a 3” hanging area (12.5 x 20.5 cm with a 7.5 cm hanging area) as described below.  Do sign and date your flag. Let me know via email that you are “praying along” and include a photograph of your work or link to a blog so I can post about your flags as well.

Also you can post your flags on our flickr group.

1. Create a place to thread a string by folding one short end over to the back by 3” and press, making a rectangle approximately 5”x8”.  

2. Choose a theme for your prayer, and embellish your flag with paper, painting, stitch, embroidery, buttons, etc.  You are only limited by your imagination and your stash.  Examples of flags can be seen on our flickr group.

3. Add words or journaling to your flag using free motion stitching, hand stitching or simply by writing in a permanent marker.

4. Sign and date your flag.

5. Join the Prayer Flag project (how to participate)

6. Hang it outside!

You will notice, nothing is said about hemming the edges. If you take a look at mine, you will notice most edges are hemmed.

Positive Prayer Flags

I participated in an artist Positive Prayer Flag exchange in 2017, none of the flags I received had hemmed edges, so I no longer hem mine. I wish I could share the beautiful, artistic flags I received, but I am not sure about copy rights and would not want to infringe.

When I am asked to do a workshop, I will take a width of fabric, cut it to an 11-inch length, fold down 3-inches, sew it and then cut into 5-inch widths, making several 5”X 8”-inch flags. Remember these will eventually disintegrate in the elements, so there is no need to back-tack.

As for fabric, I use whatever I have on hand. I really like using Everbilt drop cloth from Home Depot.It takes stenciling really well and the thread pulls easily for a fringe.

And it is inexpensive! (I use drop cloth in a lot of my crafts. It is a good idea to wash the cloth first.)

Pinterest and Instagram  are excellent places to find inspiration.

Click here to see some of my flags.

I hope the art club has a fun evening making Prayer Flags.

As for me, I will be living in a 200 square foot RV for the next few months. I have colored pencils, my Featherweight (aka Miss Wilma) and a bit of fabric with me. Maybe I will create something to blog about.

Nature Theme Prayer Flags

What does one do when a Prayer Flag Swap is cancelled? Finish the flags and hang them in the breeze, of course! One of the reasons I like doing prayer flags is to experiment with various techniques and products without concern of perfection. Since I will not be swapping with other artist, the pressure is off and I can just have fun. (But I will miss receiving truly beautiful art from others in the swap.)

Having bought a new printer for the RV and knowing I would be creating while traveling, I chose to experiment with printing on fabric for this project. This sweet little Epson WF-100 is not much larger than a book.

(I prefer Epson printers for fabric printing as they use the Dura Brite ink that doesn’t smear and is pretty much water proof.)

Usually I adhere fabric to either heavy duty freezer paper or to the sticky side of a full size mailing label (my preferred method) before sending it through the printer. Since we were traveling in a small RV I needed to limit my supplies so I took along June Taylor Fabric Sheets for ink jet printers.

Using photos from our winter trip, I cropped and sized them in Photoshop Elements and printed them on the fabric sheets. It was a long drive across the country, so I embellished with embroidery as I rode along (no, I don’t drive The Wanderer.) When I arrived home, I stitched a casing and added eyelash trim. 

The printer performed perfectly, no jamming or ink smears.

Fabric pens travel nicely (aren’t messy like fabric paint ;) I used Tulip Fabric Pens  to paint on drop cloth (which is becoming a favorite canvas.) Adding buttons, beads and a couple little butterflies, it is quite a cheerful little flag.

Now that I am back in The Underground, I have choices. My plan is to finish those projects I have started before I began something new. With a head full of ideas and a wide selection of supplies, I bet that doesn’t happen.  And now I hear my garden calling…..and I must go.

B+

When I was invited to participate in a Facebook prayer flag project, of course I said yes! The objective was to promote positive thoughts in today’s stressful environment; thus The Positive Prayer Flag Swap. The basic instructions were to make the traditional 8X5-inch prayer flags from the Prayer Flag Project. We were asked to be non-political and avoid religious statements. The rest was left to our imagination and creativity. So I got out fabric, buttons, burlap, paint and such. I fired up the Silhouette Portrait and printer. And did I ever have fun! I mailed these 12 flags which will be swapped with flags from other crafters/artists throughout the country.

I love using prayer flags as a way to try different techniques and products. (Culling my collection of fabric, buttons, ribbon and lace is a bonus.) Here are my favorites from the batch I mailed.

Applique using Silhouette Portrait

Painted fabric, stamping

Coloring book page scanned and printed, quote printed on fabric

Painted fabric, stamping

I have been making prayer flags for about five years. Sometimes they are for family or friends that are ill or bereaved, sometimes they are for celebrations of new homes, jobs, or babies, and sometimes they are for life changing events like graduations, marriage or retirement. I most often make a card with a photo of the flag which I send to the person for whom I am saying a prayer.

I love watching them sway in the breeze. 

As you can see, some have been hanging in the outdoors for quite a while and some are new additions.

Can’t wait to see the creativity in the flags I receive from the swap!