A few of my girlfriends’ little boys are playing pee wee football this fall. Imagine adorable little seven-year-olds in all their padded and uniformed and helmeted glory. Oh my, the cuteness is on a whole different level.

So it was definitely time to cue a few “yes, I’m that mom in the stands” pennants! 🙂

I bought one yard of black felt and used one of my son’s existing “real” pennants as a measuring guide for my DIY ones. I free-handed the number-cutting out of the uniforms colors, cutting one number slightly smaller than the first to give a layered look on the pennant. The trick to getting your numbers the right size with the right slant in order to be accommodated on the pennant is to cut a wedge of the contrast felt in the same shape as the pennant; that way, whatever you cut out of it, you already know will fit! Voila, problem solved!A simple zig zag stitch around the perimeter of each layer was all it took.

I also sewed the sides and top of a simple tall, skinny rectangle to the left hand side of the pennant to create a rod pocket for the dowel.

These dowel rods are available for under a dollar each, and I use my branch trimmer sheers to cut them in half. [The one on the far right is our personal one, and the length is shorter because Sissy cheers with that flag… And she’s two… And I have no desire to be inadvertently whacked in the face (repeatedly) with Bro’s pennant during every one of his games. So the shorter dowel creates more control… and, happily, a smaller whack radius.]

To secure the dowel in the pocket (to prevent it from flying through the air towards the visitors’ stands the first time you wave it), make note of where the rod pocket ends (mental note, finger hold, or sharpie mark, whatever works best for you).

Then take a piece of duct tape a few inches long (like about 6″ in this case) and tear it in half so you have two skinny pieces about 6″ long each. Starting a little above your mark (so it is covered by the rod pocket), wrap around the first strip of duct tape. Then add the second piece just above it sticky side out. Then tear off and add a third strip to secure the other side of the facing-out strip.

The two outer strips act as a stopper so the facing-out strip doesn’t slide up and down the dowel rod. The inner strip provides just enough grip to the inside of the pennant’s rod pocket that you won’t lose your flag during your passionate mommy cheering, but not so much grip that you cannot easily remove the dowel at the end of the season to reuse for next year (and to keep the pennant as a souvenir of the season, if you and junior so wish.

Good! Now you’re ready for another season on cheering on your #1 star athlete! And he or she will be so tickled to see his number up in the stands on game day!

So, is anyone else out there “that mom in the stands”? Please tell me I’m not the only one!

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And yes, I do have a bit of a thing with cheering for my kids… [Yep, just search the word “pennants” on my site…] But hey, our kids are only little once! Read on…