How to Make an Entrance! (DIY Star Wars Fabric Banners)

Forget the balloons at the mailbox! A Star Wars Party deserves some truly special outdoor decorations. So for last year’s May the Fourth be with You Party, Jedi Master Heidi made these banners (and banner stands) for the front entrance of our house. They looked very festive, AND they served as a subtle warning to our neighbors that the Geeks were about to take over the cul-du-sac once again.

Now, if you don’t want to make your own stands, you can just buy a flag stand or banner pole. But here at M4P central, we are all for up-cycling and using things you might already have around the house (instead of buying new). So since we already had the shepherd hooks, this worked perfectly.

Needed:

Star Wars Fabric (we got ours at JoAnn in 2015)
Thread
Good Scissors
Sewing Machine
Pins

How To:

Banner:

Cut fabric to 34″w x 40″t.
Fold fabric in half length-wise (face-to-face).
Sew along the bottom and the side.
Turn right-side-out.
Fold the top edge inside (the ‘tube”) about 1″ and pin closed.

Cut 5 tabs to 4″w x 9″t.
Fold each tab in half length-wise (face-to-face).
Sew each into a tube (leave top and bottom open).
Turn right-side-out, and iron flat, with the seam in the middle.
Fold tabs in half (keep the seam hidden inside).

One folded tab at a time, tuck and pin the ends 1.5″ into the top hem of the banner. (you’ll need to temporarily remove the pins already there, then re-pin it closed)
Sew 2 seams along the top edge of the banner, to close the hem, and to securely attach the tabs.
Iron flat.

Stand:

Cut PVC pipe to 20″ long, with PVC cutter.
Cut notch on the back of the rod (with hacksaw) – make it just wide enough for your shepherd’s hook to fit into, and twice as deep as the shepherd hook’s diameter.
Spray paint black. Let dry. Repeat if needed.
Add end cap on the non-notched end.
Wrap lots of tape around the shepherd hook so the notched pipe has a ledge to rest on. (Make sure to position it so the pipe will hang horizontally)
Hang banner on pipe.
Secure pipe to shepherd’s hook loop with black pipe cleaner, and slide in place. The notch should rest on the tape “ledge”.

Tips:

This banner stand was meant for temporary use only. If you want something sturdier, you’ll need to permanently attach both sides of the PVC pipe with glue or wire, or consider buying a ready-made Flag Stand or Banner Pole.

Update: Readers Marshall and Sci-Fi Pie had a couple of great suggestions: Using different fabrics, these will work GREAT to replicate the banner display at Anakin’s pod race as well as the banners outside Maz Kanata’s castle in The Force Awakens. Thanks for the tips! (you can see their comments at the bottom of the post)