Heraldic Banner

Yesterday, My protege sister and her husband were invested as the new Baron and Baroness of Concordia of Snows in Scotia NY.  A few months prior, they asked me if I would make them a two sided banner with their coat of arms. She showed me one picture:

This is the coat of arms for the Duke of Savoy in the 14th century.  This standard only measures to be roughly 8" x 10". I decided, with consultation that theirs should be a tad bit bigger. She stated she wanted both of their arms created into a banner in the same fashion as this one.  So, I decided to do a bit of research (GASP!!!) and try to make it as accurate as possible.  Their coat of arms are these:

 I looked at many online to see what they were made of and their size.

15th C Banner of the Catholic Monarchs

Burgundy Flag 1474-76

1476-77 Burgundy Banner

Embroidered and Appliqued heraldic banner at the Museum Miltenburg, Germany

Though many of the banners I looked into were painted, there were a few that were appliqued and embroidered. Well..this is right up my alley.

The banner I made is constructed of black and white linen and silk embroidery and sewing thread.
I used a cardboard template that i traced off of their arms and cut out the elements of them. I used blanket stitch when attaching the flowers, porcupines and mountains to the base linen fabric. The details to the elements was hand embroidered with Splendor Silk threads.  I did use a machine to sew the four set of mini arms together to make each side of the banner. That is the only machine stitching used on the banner.

The final measurement of the banner is roughly 24" x 24". I am quite pleased with how it turned out as were my sister and her husband.