Leather and Felt DIY Handlettered Pennant (2 Ways!)

How to make a leather and felt DIY handlettered pennant 2 ways- by hand with paint, or with your Cricut and digitized lettering.

Today I’m excited to be checking a DIY off my list that I’ve been thinking about for SO long. I sketched out this idea 2 or 3 years ago- back when I got this leather and felt. What has taken me so long?! They turned out just as great as I’d imagined. I wanted to show you two ways to make them so you could pull this off without any fancy tools or if you have a Cricut, you could make it that way as well. 

The first thing I did was sketch my designs. I did this on my iPad Pro, but you could definitely do it on paper as well. Once you know what you want them to look like, it’s time to get crafting! 

First up… let’s cut our felt! I have this really nice thick/stiff felt from the fabric store from a project ages ago. I’ve been holding onto it with this project in mind. I cut the felt using a rotary cutter and cutting mat. I just used the ruler on the cutting guide and made mine 6 inches x about 13 inches long. I cut the edge straight, then folded it in half, lining up that edge to cut from the top corner on an angle to make the pennant shape. You could be more specific if you prefer. Mine are definitely not perfect triangles. 

I cut the leather the same way. I skinned a couch a few years back (exactly what it sounds like, find a free couch on Craigslist and cut it apart!) so this leather has the perfect worn in texture to it. I have some larger pieces from the cushions, but the smaller scrap pieces from some of the details are all that you need for this project. Cut it into one inch strips for the top of the pennant and then I cut 1/4 inch strips to make the little ‘ties’. I assembled it all with a hot glue gun then got to my lettering!

I love how easy it is for me to letter on my iPad, then cut that out with my Cricut to iron on. I did that for the ‘Team Pastoor’ design and used a varsity font from Cricut Design Space for that one. It went on so quickly and it looks professionally made (I think). I just used their standard iron on vinyl.

The hand painted one looks rad too- I should probably do a second coat of white but was too impatient to share it, so am happy with one coat for now. I used a matte white fabric paint for this one. Sketch your design out on your pennant using a quilters pencil, then go over it with your white paint. I usually prefer to use a pointed tip squeeze bottle for this, but my matte fabric paint was too small of a bottle to use this method. Since it’s not being washed, I really could have used any paint. To paint the letters, I used a small flat paint brush that I have cut shorter. I use this anytime I’m working with coarse material. By cutting it shorter, the bristles are touch enough to get into all the little nooks without fraying. 

That’s it! They are such a fun afternoon project- I can’t wait to decide where they will go in our house! I’m thinking I might keep one for my office and put one in the boys’ bedroom. But I also want that Team one in our main living area somehow. 

As always- if this projects inspires you, I would so love to see what you create! Just tag me on social @colleenpastoor.