No-Sew Fabric Heart Banner DIY Using Paper Printables

Are you looking for a way to use paper printables to make a fabric banner to hang in your home?

Well then, you’ve come to the right place, my friend!

I was looking for a way to use paper printables to make a fabric banner to decorate my corner cupboard.

I always like that fabric gives better texture and coziness to home decor. So, I went looking in my cupboard at home to see what I could find.

Well, it turns out I had a drop cloth that I’d purchased a few months ago. Drop clothes are both cheap and have lots of texture. Perfect!

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and I like my home decor to have a vintage feel to it. So, I decided to create a vintage heart printable for my fabric banner.

I have a link for them in the supply list if you’re interested. They are available in my Etsy shop.

Great thing is you can use this hack with any printable that suits your fancy.

Now let’s get to it and make this vintage heart fabric garland that you can hang on a buffet, mantle, cabinet or anywhere that fits into your own home decor.

Supplies Required for Fabric Heart Banner DIY

• Large Paper Heart Printable in my Etsy shop (4 and 1/2 by 3 and 1/2 inches)
• Small Paper Heart Printable in my Etsy shop (3 inches by 2 and 1/4 inches)
• Fabric Mod Podge (Amazon)
• Jute Twine
• Drop Cloth (Amazon)
• Rice Paper (Amazon)
• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun (Amazon)

The jute twine and glue gun are not pictured in the image below.

The vintage heart paper printables are available in my Etsy shop; this tutorial uses the smaller version.

Cut Out the Paper Heart Banner

Next, grab your scissors and cut out the paper banner.

Cut the Drop Cloth Out Around the Banner Printable

Using the paper printable as a template, cut out the shape from the drop cloth. I left a little room around the edges for the drop cloth to show.

At the top, you’ll want to leave enough room for the edge to be folded over and glued around the jute twine.

This doesn’t have to be perfect. We’ll trim it up a bit after gluing the paper printable to the drop cloth.

Place Fabric Mod Podge on the Back of the Printable

Get out the fabric mod podge and a paintbrush. I used a piece of blank paper to put under the paper printable, so I didn’t get mod podge on my work surface.

Be sure to get all the way to the edges so that the corners don’t pull up.

Adhere the Paper Printable to the Drop Cloth

Place the fabric printable glue side down onto the drop cloth.

Use the heel of your hand to press the rice paper onto the drop cloth. Be sure to press around all the surfaces in order for the drop cloth texture to show through.

So far, so good. Now we can see the texture coming through the rice paper.

Trim Excess Drop Cloth from Around the Edges

Once the paper printable dries a bit, trim around the drop cloth border so that it looks a little cleaner.

This is what we’ve gotten so far. Now it’s time to make the rest of the vintage hearts.

Make the Rest of the Vintage Hearts for Fabric Heart Banner

Once you’ve cut out the first drop cloth shape, you can use that as a template to cut more to make the process go a little more quickly.

Remember they don’t have to be perfect. It just adds to the vintage look.

Attach the Fabric Banner to the Jute Twine for Hanging

It’s time to attach the jute twine to the paper printable fabric vintage hearts.

Lay the jute twine along the upper portion of the fabric hearts.

Get an idea of where to run your hot glue line by folding the drop cloth over at the top.

Run a line of hot glue where you want to glue the edge of the drop cloth down.

Fold the drop cloth down over the string adhering the edge with your line of hot glue.

Continue gluing in this pattern and adding hearts until your fabric banner is complete. I estimated the distance between mine, so they are not all exactly the same distance apart.

But that’s ok! It adds to the homemade appeal. Am I right?

Same Heart Printables, Paper Garland Version

Let’s have a look at how this heart banner comes out when just using paper instead of fabric.

I usually print paper banners on cardstock to give them more substance.

Simply print them, cut them out, use a hole punch to place two holes at the top, and then string them.

I used a hole punch that has a smaller diameter than a standard hole punch. This just helps the banner not to slide on the string as much. I’ll link it here (1/16- and 1/8-inch diameter hole punch) if you want to check it out.

This is the smaller heart banner version.

This is the larger version.

And just two quick pictures of them strung on jute twine on my chalkboard.

Just a different look for the same printables. And really, after making both sets, I like them equally for different reasons!

I like the way you can see the jute twine on the paper version. However, the fabric version is a little darker because of the rice paper and curls up a bit giving it even more of a vintage vibe!

Finishing Touches for a Fabric Heart Garland DIY using Printables

So, now it’s time to wrap this post up! Sometimes projects don’t turn out quite like I’m expecting.

However, this one was both easy to complete and budget friendly! (especially if you have some of the supplies already on hand)

You could use whatever fabric you have at your house, just be aware that the texture of the drop cloth coming through the rice paper may not occur with certain fabrics.

And this hack should work with whatever paper printable you choose. However, I’d love for you to check out my shop on Etsy for these vintage hearts for Valentine’s Day.

My printer had no trouble and did not crinkle the rice paper that I have linked in the supply list, making it super easy to print the designs out.

So, all in all, this project didn’t take me long at all! I love hanging garlands around the house for different holidays, so this is an easy way to make that happen for each holiday and season.

I’m planning to create more banners for different holidays and seasons, so please save this post and check back. Or consider signing up for my email list to be notified of new posts. And (drumroll), I sometimes give discounts there too!

Happy crafting this Valentine’s Day and leave any questions or comments below.

As always, thanks so much for reading!

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