Make a Pennant for the London 2012 Olympics

Traditionally in sport, competitors exchange Pennants as a sign of friendship. To continue this tradition, and as a memento of their participation in the London 2012 Olympics www.quilts4london.org.uk  is organising a project to make an A3 (12" x 16") Pennant for each athlete - a personal gift for each athlete, created by you.

The Pennants can be made using a variety of techniques - patchwork, painted textile, photographs printed on fabric, felted, embroidered, cross-stitch, and appliqué (with lace and fabric or anything else), or knitted - and even embellishments can be added (Tassels, buttons, beads, fancy threads etc). They can be made by hand or machine. Quilted or unquilted.

The shape of the Pennant is derived from a sheet of A3 paper (42cm x 30cm approx). Pennant templates are available for printing out, but you have the freedom to make the shape of your pennant as unique as possible. In order to display the pennants, they all need a sleeve on the back, this needs to be a minimum of 2” wide.

You can do any design from abstract, patterned, pieced, pictorial to anything you fancy. It could be an image depicting something local to you, or maybe depicting a sporting event, or maybe celebrating your regional heritage and culture or made using local /regional materials. It can be anything you like. There are restrictions placed on the use of the Olympic rings logo and ‘London 2012’. This is to comply with the Branding Restrictions set by the Olympic Committee.

You have until the closing date of the end of December 2011 to make as many variations of Pennant as you would like. Over 12,000 took part in the Beijing Olympics, Paralympics and Special Olympics. 

The Pennants can be made by groups, by individuals, any age or ability. School groups, young quilters and embroiderers, textile students and other organisations are encouraged to take part. International participation are welcome too.

If you want inspiration and a flavour of what is required go to the Gallery  to see some of the completed pennants.

To find out more about this project go to www.quilts4london.org.uk