Banners are used at many special events all over the world and if you wanted to make your own banner with a support then it will require a lot of work but the end result would be more personal than a manufactured banner.

Things to think about before you start designing your banner are:

- Material - With the different materials you will have a different finish to the banner as a whole. If you use canvas you will have a matt finish but you can usually have a more detailed image on the banner, it is also probably the easiest one to work with by hand. The other alternative is PVC which has more of a gloss finish but is a lot harder to work with as you will probably require a specialised printing machine.

- Where the banner is going to be placed - This is important because it will help you decide on essential factors such as size. Generally the higher or further away from the crowd the banner is the bigger you need to make it.

I would suggest if you were making a banner for the first time and are fairly novice in this area you use canvas rather than PVC. This is because it easier for you to work with and you don't need to learn how to use any computer programmes to print an image or text onto the banner. You first need to make sure you have the right equipment before starting, for a banner that will stand 6ft by 2ft you would need:

- Banner canvas measuring 6ft by 2ft with slight over hang of around 2 inches.

- The right colour and type of paint.

- The correct eyelets for the rope you are using.

- Strong rope.

Once you have all the right equipment you can start the planning process, planning is the main factor. If you plan everything well then there will be no problems with your banner whilst building it. To plan your banner best you need to make sure you take accurate measurements of everything. The process should go as below:

- It starts with your material being the right size if it is off slightly when you have completed the work it may not hang correctly and all the time you had spent would be wasted. You have to make a hem along the edges of the material to make it stronger, you will do this by turning over the edges by an inch so you will have an inch of over hang folded at the back of the material. You then sew around the edges making the hem. Once you have the hem finished you need to insert the eyelets, you have to make sure the spaces are measured exactly as this is what will make the difference to how the banner hangs. When you have marked where the eyelets are going you follow the instructions that came with your eyelets on how to insert them.

- You can now get on with the decoration of the actual canvas, for this part you simply have to follow the design you planned.

- Once all the design is on the canvas and the paint is dry you will need to feed the rope through the eyelets and then get it in the right place securing it with the rope.

Although this method is easy enough there are companies that can design and make your banner for you in the space of 72 hours, where as it may take you longer and you wouldn't have as professional result.