Prayer flag tutorial.

A few years back I discovered Tibetan prayer flags. I made some traditional ones for a friend of mine after her father passed, and I've loved them so much that over time they have become a staple in my life. 

You can google them for the full meaning, but basically prayer flags are a string of red, yellow, blue, green and white fabrics with traditional symbols and mantras printed on them. They are thin fabrics that unravel easily in the wind and you hang them with all of your good intentions in mind. As the threads unravel and blow off in the wind it is believed that they carry your good thoughts, prayers, blessings and intentions out into the world, for all to benefit. 

I was fixing up our yard a little this spring and wanted to hang some new ones up behind the house. I did go and buy a string or two of pre-made ones but I felt like something a little more personal was needed, so I decided to make my own. I picked fabrics that had colors close to the traditional kind, and ones that had the most meaning to me. The whole idea behind the flags is to send your best wishes out, so I wanted fabrics that were full of good memories and great wishes.

Hand sewing them is a great meditative task, but if you have a machine it will go much, much quicker. When you hang them please be in a peaceful and relaxed state. I think that anyone of any religion can make the most of these, as good thoughts and prayers are always needed for those around the world. 

When my friend Jessica was here she took some really lovely photos of the flags, although now they are pretty faded and thready :)

So here you go,  please excuse the awful format as I took photos of the instructions instead of scanning them. And also, my spelling ;p there's no auto correct on my note paper!