Thoma, what's the fabric you're using for the larger banners you do? Also do you usually purchase in store on in bulk online? I'm sure you've answered this elsewhere, but clicked through the first few and didn't see it. Planning to make a large purchase...
Always poly/cotton blend. Now for protest/well wishes/anti- type banners will get cotton since those can tend to be one-offs and are cheaper on the dollar. Jo-Anns is my place of choice due to the coupons I use to help get the costs down. I have ordered online a few times as well. I used to order a lil bit here a lil bit there, depending on the project, but these days, ordering a bolt's worth of fabric is the way to go. there's usually 25 yards in a bolt. And sometimes they'll "cheat" abit and add previously cut fabric to another bolt to make up the 25 yards. I can manage to sew that up, but it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when stores do that. I'm kicking myself at having lost some solid point of contacts that the Dept. of Labor gave me a few years back. These were contacts to some textile mills in the U.S. that sold fabric in bulk. Now when I say bulk, I'm talking larger in bolt size than consumer stores. The typical bolt comes in a height of about 44 inches tall but the one fabric mill I was in contact with (based in N.Y.) sold them at bolt heights much higher. THAT is the way to go for larger tifo displays I'd say because sometimes sewing smaller bolts together can be okay, but visually at times that can look like an eyesore. But that's just my own viewpoint on that. I'll have to use my guv'ment networking skills with the Dept. of Labor again for the mill contacts Rambling complete.
Found what appears to be a decent site selling 20yd bolts at $48.95, considerably cheaper than JoAnne's where they go for $79.99. Think that would will work Thoma?
Some on these boards might say, "you know where you can stick your banner?" Of course I am not one of those people. My advice is, if he is willing, just apply adhesive to his back and stick him on. If he does not want to do it then take him to a club or somewhere, drug him, and then use a really strong adhesive to bond him to the banner - in case he struggles when he comes round. Odd request - but hopefully that will help.