When I was working on the baby’s nursery I knew I wanted something personalized in the wall art. I didn’t want something as obvious as a giant monogram, but something that was more subtle and would blend in with the ‘nautical’ theme.
I knew that ships use standard International Maritime signal flags that represent letters of the alphabet. I thought that would be the perfect solution.
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Because the frame was so long I decided to write out the baby’s name, JOSH, instead of just his initials. When I sat down and drew out the actual signal flags this is what I came up with:
Juliet-Oscar-Sierra-Hotel
I wanted the flags to hang down, more like real flags so I stretched the design so they were more clearly
directional. The flags in the diagram are displayed hanging from the right, so I had to rotate them 90 degrees so they would look like this when hanging in the frame:
directional. The flags in the diagram are displayed hanging from the right, so I had to rotate them 90 degrees so they would look like this when hanging in the frame:
I used some solid cotton fabric from my stash and cut out simple shapes (taking into account a 1/4 inch seam allowance) that made up the flags:
I sewed them together and I was left with little flags that had unfinished edges.
I sandwiched the flags (right sides together) with a square of white fabric exactly the same side and sewed around the edges leaving a 3/4 inch space on the bottom.
I turned the flags right side out and used a chop stick to get the corners nice and square. I pressed them with my iron (including pressing closed the opening I used to turn the flags right side out. (You could hand stitch the opening closed but since they are only hanging on the wall and won’t really get touched I decided not to.)
I hung them on the twine frame using alligator clips making sure I had them correctly oriented.
I hung the finished piece between my crackle finished oars:
Here is what they look like displayed in the nautical nursery:
Right above Josh’s crib. I love how personal it is, but unless you are a boat captain you may never know it!
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This is a very cute project, Kim! I had no idea a flag alphabet existed. I love the whole room!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cristina!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely adorable!! You are so creative.
ReplyDeleteHow cute!! What a great idea and I love how the room looks!
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute idea. I love the nautical look and the flags make a great touch.
ReplyDelete