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Reusable felt Bridge tallies


Bridge Tallies
Set of eight, reusable Bridge tallies for two-table progressive Bridge party

Here is an old-fashioned item that would make a sweet gift for Bridge-playing friends. This set of eight  Bridge tallies can be reused for parties of two-table progressive Bridge. Each player writes the score for each round of play on a small tablet stapled to the inside of a decorative cover, adds up the total at the end of play, and tears the top sheet off, leaving the tally ready-to-use at the next party. These directions include a PDF illustrating the progress of Bridge play to be printed on Avery self-adhesive name tags and adhered to the inside of each tally.

Materials
  • 8 pieces felt  4 x 10 inches each, any color or combinations of colors plus trimmings and scraps of felt and/or yarn for decorating the tallies (You can get three cuts from each 10 x 12 inch felt piece if purchased as individual pieces  and so you will need three pieces for one set of Bridge tallies. If you are using yardage, you will need 1/4 yard of 60-inch felt, or scrap pieces as available.)
  • 8 pieces PellonDécorBond fusible facing cut in a rectangle 2.5 x 3.5 inches each (round corners)
  • 8 pieces Pellon Décor Bond fusible facing cut in a square 3 x 3 inches each (round corners)
  • 1 sheet Avery 25395 self-adhesive name tags (8 name tags per sheet)
  • Post-it notes, preferably with lines printed on the note
  • Peel & stick acrylic jewels (if desired)
  • 8 short pencils (if desired)

Equipment
  • Multi-needle, needle felting tool
  • Large brush-style needle-felting mat
  • Sewing machine
  • Iron
  • Stapler
  • Highlighter pen

Procedure
1. Decorate each 4 x 10-inch piece of felt using contrasting scraps of felt applied by using a felting block and multi-needle felting tool. Place the area to be decorated (the bottom half of the 4 x 10-inch felt piece) on the felting mat; arrange felt cut-outs and/or yarn on the felt base, and attach the yarn and cutouts by repeatedly punching the decorative pieces through all layers with the felting tool.


If you want to decorate using card suits, you can make a diamond by placing a square of felt on one of the square’s corners, make a club by placing three circles of felt together in a small pyramid. A heart is easy to draw, and a spade is an upside-down heart. You could also make initials, or other designs with yarn.

2. When you are finished felting the décor, fold your decorated felt piece in half to make a 4 x 5-inch tally with the decoration on the outside of the front and the fold at the top. Reinforce the fold by topstitching about 1/8-inch from the fold, across the top of the tally. (To see what this looks like, check the photo above of the finished tallies.) Repeat for all.

3. Press out wrinkles with your steam iron, and trim if necessary. Use scissors to round the free corners at the bottom of the tally, opposite the hinge. Repeat for all.

4. Open up the tally and lay it flat on your ironing surface with the decorated side facing down and the hinge is horizontal, opening up like the lid on a box (not like a book). Using a hot steam iron, fuse the Pellon Décor Bond rectangle on the top of the felt piece, above the hinge. Fuse the Pellon Décor Bond square on the bottom of the felt piece, below the hinge, centered on the felt, about 1-inch away from the hinge. (See photo below.) Repeat for all.


5. Separate about 8-10 Post-it notes and apply them to the Pellon Décor Bond square below the hinge. Using one staple, staple the stack of Post-it notes to the tally with the smooth side of the staple on top of the paper and the staple showing on the back of the tally. Repeat for all.

6. Prepare the Avery name tags by accessing the PDF file titled Bridge Tally for Avery 25395 Name Badge from the Internet and printing one page of tallies on the name tags (8 to a sheet). (Alternatively, you may hand print each name tag with the information listed in the table of information, below.) Using a highlighter, highlight the number ONE on one nametag and highlight each number ONE on the grid. Highlight all numbers TWO on a second nametag, and so on, until all eight nametags are identified by a number ONE through EIGHT.

7. When the name tags are printed and prepared, peel from the backing, and place one on each Pellon Décor Bond rectangle above the hinge of each tally. Because the name tags are self-adhesive, they will stick to the smooth Décor Bond with no other adhesive necessary.

8. If desired, cut two 1/4-inch vertical slits about one-inch apart above Post-it notes beneath the hinge on the bottom of the tally. Slide short pencil into sleeve formed by slits. 

9. If desired, embellish decorated front of tally with peel & stick acrylic jewels. 


                                                             

Table of information to be printed on 8 per sheet Avery self-adhesive name tags for two-table progressive Bridge party:

Table 1
Table 2
1
1-6 v 2-5
3-8 v 4-7
2
2-3 v 5-8
1-4 v 6-7
3
1-8 v 3-6
2-7 v 4-5
4
1-2 v 3-4
5-6 v 7-8
5
1-7 v 2-8
3-5 v 4-6
6
2-6 v 3-7
1-5 v 4-8
7
2-4 v 6-8
1-3 v 5-7

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