Craft fail in the works

I got my skirt panel pieces stenciled up but the pennant felt really did not hold up:

The spray adhesive was too strong in some places so the paper pattern didn't easily peel away. But after painting on the stencil, the paint stuck to the paper and peeled the paper away from the felt. Some of the shapes tore. Other places in the stencil are very thin.

So now I also have paper stuck to the top layer of the skirt:

But this is what it looks like after I almost have both back panels stitched (the shapes, that is):

Stay tuned...

I want to learn how to sew, but I'm intimidated by sewing machines (when I was younger I'd use my mom's machine, and I kept breaking needles because I didn't have the tension right) so I am going to try hand sewing. My first project is an Alabama Chanin skirt. So far, I've cut out the pattern on the fabric, basted the waistline, made and cut out the stencil, and acquired stenciling supplies:

 So far, so good. But now that I'm looking at the stencil on the skirt's top layer, I'm wondering if I should use red thread. Originally I was planning on doing negative reverse applique with navy paint and navy thread; and inside and felled seams, but now I wonder... would red be more fun? I think it would with the contrast, but the navy thread would make the skirt match a wider range of clothes, so maybe someday, another skirt.

It was slow going, putting the pattern together:

So slowly but surely, we shall see how this goes!