I absolutely love Banners and with this free Banner SVG, you can make endless variations for just about any ocassion. In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to make a birthday banner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
How To Use This Banner SVG
You can use this free banner svg template to make any kind of bunting or banner. While the SVG file is specifically for cutting machines like Cricut or Silhouette Cameo (or any cutting machine that accepts SVG or DXF files), you can also cut this banner by hand.
The SVG and DXF have one rectangle and one start shape, sozed to fit as shown in this tutorial. Simply duplicate them as needed for your project. I have included the DXF file for Silhouette Basic Edition, and two PDF files of the shapes, so you can cut it this by hand as well, happy days!
A note on the PDF files: These files have the banner shapes laid out 6 on a page. Each shape is an outline only, so you can simply print the outlines onto the colored card of your choice using your home printer, and then cut out.
So, you get one pdf containing 6 star shape outlines and one pdf containing 6 rectangle shape outlines, sized to fit each other.
Grab Your Free Banner Cut Files
Fill in your name and email address below to access your free Banner SVG files. You will also get instant acccess to my entire library of Free Designs. Enjoy!
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Before we get started, please note that the font and letters shown in this tutorial are NOT included in the free files.
You will choose your own font, if you are making a banner that has text. If you are making a decorative, bunting style banner, then of course, no text is necessary.
The font I use in this tutorial is available from Fontbundles, it is one of my favorites!
You Will Need:
- Cutting machine, or sharp scissors and a printer
- Colored cardstock (65lb wieght is recommended)
- Decorative ribbon (either paper or fabric)
- Glue gun or Scotch tape
- Banner SVG template (fill in the short form at either the top or bottom of the page to get your free banner svg PLUS access to my entire free craft library!)
Cutting Your Banner
If you are using text, like Happy Birthday or Congratulations, count the number of letters in the phrase that is going on the banner. Also remember to measure your letters so that you get a good size that fits inside the star, but that is not too small.
If you are using a cutting machine with software, like Cricut Design Space or Silhouette Studio, you can do this by overlaying the letter W on one of the star shapes. The letter W is the widest letter in the alphabet, so you won’t go wrong if you use it as your benchmark letter for measurement.
Then, duplicate the number of both stars and rectangles to match the number of letters. So if you have 10 letters in your phrase, you will need 10 stars and 10 rectangle shapes.
You may have to to lay them out in batches in Design Space and Silhouette Studio, depending on how many you need.
If you are cutting by hand, simply print as many as you need from the pdf’s provided. If you are using your cutting machine, cut out your shapes and text. I am using my Cricut Maker for this project.
I started cutting the rectangles first, using bright red colored card.
Next I cut out the star shapes using pink card. The picture doesn’t do the lovely color of this card justice!
Next I cut out the letters I want for the banner. In this case it is for a 20th Birthday banner, which is quite a lot of letters! 17 letters to be precise!
Once you have cut all your shapes and letters, you are going to assemble them as shown in the next steps.
Assembling Your Banner Template
Now we get to the fun part. Assembly! For this step you will need to have your glue gun handy (make sure it’s charged up if you are using a cordless one), or a glue stick, your ribbon and sticky tape, like Scotch tape.
Lay out your rectangle shapes first. Then, one by one, lay a star on top of each rectangle, making sure it is centered.
Then lift up one side of the star (making sure you are still holding it firmly in place), glue the center of the rectangle below it and then press the star down onto the glue on the rectangle.
Repeat until you have stuck all the stars to the rectangles. I positioned the star with it’s top point aligned to the top of the rectangle to add a little extra design flair, instead of just placing it dead centre.
Once the stars are stuck to the rectangles, do the same for your letters, as shown below. I kept the letters centered to the star.
Finishing Your Banner
Once you have glued all the stars to the rectangles, and all the letters on top of the stars, lay it out in order on a decent sized workspace. It should look something like this:
Sticking The Ribbon To The Banner
The final step is to stick your ribbon to the back of your banner. You can do this with either the glue gun or Scotch tape.
For this banner I used clear sticky tape, and thin white paper ribbon with little red polka dots to accent the red rectangle.
THREE IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER
1. Make sure you measure the ribbon long enough to cater for all the banner rectangles, and still have enough ribbon on either side of the finished banner to be able to hang your banner up.
2. Make sure the distance between each rectangle is the same when you stick the ribbon to the back of each rectangle.
3. If your ribbon is patterned, make sure the patterned side is showing face up. I stuck half the rectangles on before I realised the ribbon had twisted and I had to start again! Doh!
Well Done! You Are A Banner Master!
And you’re done! You have created a beautiful banner for your special ocassion! Woohoo! Yay!
Download Your Free Banner SVG
To download your Banner SVG, please fill in the short form below to access your free files. You will also get instant acccess to my entire library of Free Designs. Enjoy!
