How To Make A Two-Stick Banner

A two-stick banner is a great way to add colour and passion to your terrace, they are very popular among German football fans were they are known as a Doppelhalter – Double Handler. Here’s a brief insight into how to make one.

What do I need?

A Template (picture, logo, design)

Fabric

Fabric Paint

Brushes

Two Plastic Rods

Instructions

The Material:

Once you have grabbed the fabric the more lightweight the better, you should stitch it up. Of course you can also do this after you've drawn the design on it, however, it is easier to do this in advance so that the picture is actually "the middle". A good and proven size is between 70x90cm to 90x110cm (depending on the "span"). Anything beyond this can be troublesome and heavy on the arms when holding the banner aloft.

Sewing Guide:

1.       I like to get my folds in place before I start the sewing process. First I fold and iron creases to help keep the fabric in place (top and bottom about 1 inch, and the sides 2 inches, depending on the thickness of your flagpoles).

2.       First fold the longer sides (A), then the top and bottom of the flag over the side folds (B).

3.       Cut a little off on all four corners of your banner.

4.       Using a sewing machine stitch around your banner.

5.       On the bottom of the banner don’t sew the bottom edge corners! The flagpoles are slotted in here.

The Motive:

Basically, it does not matter what theme you use. Your creativity has no limits I.e. - club crest, your favorite player, political message. Take images from internet and combine them till you have something your happy with. A brilliant creative program you can download is Gimp, it is similar to Photoshop but it’s free,

The Techniques:

q) How do I transfer the design onto the fabric?

a) There are different techniques to transfer the design onto your banner. Not everyone is a Picasso, here are a few tricks to help you gets a super looking banner.

Freehand Drawing/Painting:

Painting the banner yourself is fun but only if you have the artistic talents, make sure you get plenty of practice if attempting this method, as you don’t want your banner coming out looking nothing like you intended.

Stenciling:

For stenciling I recommend a poster printing program or website like (www.blockposters.com). Note: Your image must be saved to your PC, so you can uploaded your image, once your happy with the dimensions print it out and stick the A4 sheets together with sellotape. Now carefully cut out the image with a craft knife making a stencil. Then lay it onto your fabric and tape it down so it won’t move. You now have a couple of options, lightly spray with spray paint or draw round the stencil and paint by hand later.

Overhead Projector:

The simplest and most used method. Print or Trace your image onto overhead transparent film and project it by projector onto the wall, make sure fabric is secured to the wall with pins or tape, then sketch out the outlines with pencil or fabric chalk. If you don’t have a projector at home, maybe you can lend one from school or university, perhaps you can borrow one during your lunch break.

Grid Technique:

In a nutshell, the grid method involves drawing a grid over your reference picture, and then drawing a grid of equal ratio on your banner. Then you draw the image on your fabric, focusing on one square at a time, until the entire image has been transferred. Once you're finished, you simply paint over the grid lines, which will now be in perfect proportion!

For example; if the squares on your reference picture is 1 cubic inch, 5" x 5", if you wanted the painting on your banner to be 10 times the size, then the squares would need to be 10 cubic inches and so on. 

Painting and Coloring:

Before you begin you should first put down several sheets of newspaper or cut up some bin liner bags and put them under your fabric so no paint goes through the material onto your floor or table. The best paint to use is Fabric Paint or Acrylic Paint as it is fast drying and waterproof, don’t buy expensive paint – (your not painting the Mona Lisa, go for the cheap stuff). The bigger the area the bigger the brush should be, the small hard to get areas, you should scale your brush right down, mask off with masking tape if you need to. Take your time while painting. Once your work is dry add detail with permanent marker.

The Flagpoles:

So now it just needs the sticks for the sides. Get yourself plastic plumbing pipe or conduit from the hardware store which is easy to transport and lightweight to uphold. Split your rods into four and use two couplings, this will make it easier to gain access into the stadium, you can then assemble them together with strong tape on the terrace.

Once you're happy with your finished design you are now ready to display it on a match day, so hold it aloft and others will follow.

Some examples from Columbus Crew fans.

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