Coming up with handmade Father's Day gifts can be a bit of a challenge. When my husband recently came home with the mascot patch from his dad's high school letterman's jacket and said he'd like to somehow display it, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it. I've known my father-in-law for almost 25 years and he still proudly shares the story of the Polk County record for the quarter mile that he claimed at a track meet and then held for 20 years. This patch needed more than a frame around it. When I had to verify the time and length of time he held the record so I could finish the wall hanging I made for it, I got to hear every detail one more time. It's 40 years later and he's still proud of his accomplishment.

This project is one that you can embroider your appliques on with if you enjoy doing embroidery or the appliques can be attached just using some fusible web. Embroidering the appliques will make it easier to wash should you ever need to. Using just a heavyweight fusible web will allow you to complete it much quicker. It's a personal preference. I opted for the quicker route!

Begin by determining the finished size of your wall hanging and choosing the fabrics you want to use. Decide how many stripes you want and the height of each one. Using a Fiskars rotary cutter, cutting mat, and acrylic ruler, cut the stripes adding 1 inch to both the width and the height of each stripe. This will give you 1/2 inch on each side for seam allowances.

Stitch the stripes together along the long edges using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

If you will be adding type to your wall hanging, choose a couple of fonts that work well together. Keep in mind that you will be cutting each letter out by hand. More detailed or very thin fonts will be more difficult to cut.Print your words in reverse on a sheet of printer paper, tape fusible webbing, paper side up, over the type and run it through the printer again. Remove the fusible web from the printer paper and, following the manufacturer's directions, iron it to your fabric. Use a pair of Fiskars detail scissors to cut out each letter.

You can iron them directly onto the striped background as I did with my father-in-law's high school name. Or you can iron them onto another piece of fabric to frame them and then iron the frame to the background.

You can also add shapes to your wall hanging using punched stars, heart, etc. as templates to trace onto the paper side of fusible webbing.

Add the details of your special event by using fabric sheet designed to run through your printer or by adhering your own fabric to a sheet of printer paper by using a temporary spray adhesive.

Before assembling the layers of the wall hanging, attach your hangers to the back panel. I cut 2 inch tall strips of fabric and folded the long edges to the center, creasing the edges with an iron. This left me with strips that were 1 inch tall. I folded the short ends under 1/2 inch and stitched them in place. I then stitched the strips to the backing material sewing just along the long edges. The short ends were left open so I could slip a thin dowel rod through them. When determining where to place your hangers, remember that 1/2 inch of the material at the top of the backing will be the seam allowance. Also, measure carefully so the entire length of each hanger is an equal distance from the top edge so your quilt hangs straight.

Without the dowel rod in the hangers, layer the front and back panels right sides together. Make sure you have the hanger end of the back panel aligned with the top edge of the front. Place these 2 layers over a layer of quilt batting cut slightly larger than your front/back layers. Pin the layers together. Stitch around the perimeter of the wall hanging leaving an opening of about 6 inches for turning it right-side out. Clip the corners at an angle to reduce the bulk in the corners and turn the wall hanging right side out. Hand stitch the turning opening closed. Finish the quilt by stitching 1/4 inch around the perimeter. Slip the dowel rod back in and you're ready to hang your wall hanging.