How to Make Cheese Flags

Here's a playful Instructable on how to make prayer flags in the shape of cheese wedges. Usually I make cheese out of milk (www.sfmilkmaid.com) but every now and then, I try out different mediums. These flags make for some truly 'cheesy' home decoration.

Gather roughly 1 to 2 yards of a light to medium weight yellow fabric. I chose a cotton broadcloth. Find a shade of yellow that leans towards the orange versus the green. Create a two-sided strip of cloth, approximately 8 to 10 inches deep, by folding one side of the fabric over on itself.

After making the fold, cut away the surplus cloth so you are left with just the 8 -10 inch doubled strip. This strip should run the length of your fabric piece (although it can also be shorter---meaning you will be piecing several segments together). Iron this strip to remove unwanted folds and wrinkles.

Knowing that the folded edge of the strip will become the top rim of your cheese banner, draw or trace a series of triangles. I draw these free-hand because I like a little variation. You can also cut a triangle from a cracker or cereal box and use this as your guild. Leave a small space at the folded edge (so that the triangle doesn't run off the fabric).

After pinning the fabric into place, sew along the triangle lines you just traced into the fabric.

Cut away the extra cloth (which will be a bunch of triangle shapes) on the non-seam edge of the fabric. I cut quite close to the sewing line because I plan for a little fraying but not too much. I don't serge the edges or invert the banner which means the sewing and the fray are visible. I like this look.

Lay out your just-trimmed strip of triangles then measure out a piece of rope or cord that is 2 ft longer. This cord will run along the top rim of the triangles to allow you to string them up.

Pin the cord along the folded edge of the strip of triangles (hanging over approximately 1 foot on either side). Next, fold the folded edge of the strip just barely over the cord (by about 1/2 inch). Finally, using a zigzag stitch, sew the cord into place.

Your cheese flags are almost done but there's one more thing to do: decorate them! To make them look more like iconic cheese, find a spare bottle cap (about 1 inch diameter) and a pad of black ink. Ink the cap (the bottom of the cap, not the top) and then press it into the fabric randomly (including at the edges). Make sure not to print too many circles.

Use a gray or brown shade of marker to make the cheese circles pop a little more. Trace just the lower or just the left side of all the circles to make them appear more 3D.

Create loops or circles out of the excess cord at the end of the cheese flags so that the flags can be easily hooked onto branches, nails or corners.

Now that you are done making the flags, put them to good use! I use mine to decorate my farmers' market or craft market tables. I think they'd also do well inside a cheese shop or in a preschool "kitchen area".