Soccer Banners

So for whatever reason, I volunteered to do both Nate and Dana's soccer banners this year. When I offered, I thought the deadline was September 14th, only to realize later, they meant August 14th. I took about a week planning them out in my mind and designing the appliques, another week procrastinating, and then spent several late night/all night sewing sessions to get them complete. They are still not totally done, I have to add uniform numbers and a few

finishing touches, but here they are.

Nate's team is called the Owls. I originally planned on having the owls sitting on the ball all the way around, but then I realized there were more than 8 players on his team and that wouldn't fit. So instead, they are lined in in the goal, and on the top of the goal. I think it turned out pretty great since I made up the patterns for all the appliques myself. They were surprisingly simple to make and I actually really like the idea of using buttons for the eyes.

When I add the numbers, they will go on each owl's tummy.

Dana's was a little more difficult. There were sixteen girls on the team, and each has to have a little part of the banner that is all their own, because at the end of the year they cut up the banner and send each little girl's part home with her as a keepsake. I wanted to make it soccer, but keep the theme of space, since they are the Meteors...thus I came up with the idea of the soccer balls being the meteors streaking through space. Each soccer ball was the white base with the black hexagons appliqued onto it, with ornamental stitching to make the white hexagons.

I still need to add red stitching around the yellow felt flames, to give them dimension and detail, and I also need to add the uniform numbers, but I really like it. The last thing I will do to both banners is fold back the tops and the sides to make a place to slide pvc pipes through, so we can stake the banners into the ground at their games.