When I set my heart on having a tea party for my birthday I knew I'd need to come up with something to decorate it with that was effective, cheap and easy to make. I had been perusing the many crafty blogs out there I spotted some very pretty bunting. I'm a bit of a odd bod in that I took one look at a picture and thought...I can do that. I didn't then follow through and read the instructions. Hmmm. But, I am quite happy with how mine turned out and in case you are the kind of person who does read instructions then I've added a basic "How to".
Here is the length that I made out of bright fabric- I also made two lengths of more subtle colours. The plan is to put this one up in the girls bedroom- an idea that they love.
What do you need to make this bunting:
Scrap fabric- mine is made from old pyjamas, off cuts of cushion fabric, old curtains, a torn shirt, old skirts and dresses as well as some choice pieces of fabric from my stash. You could use pretty much anything- you could make it from all the same fabric or just two or three different things- I am tempted to make a set using old bedding as there is always pretty bedding to be found in charity shops.
Plain Fabric- this makes the bit that you attach it to. I'm not sure how other people do it but I used lengths of fabric from plain flat sheets. I have a giant pile of these so it made sense for me but you could use pretty much anything. I would recommend something of at least a meter or so and more if you can source it.
The usual- scissors, thread (I just used white), card, fabric marker (I just used a normal pencil), iron, and a sewing machine would make this a much faster project but could be done by hand
Above you can see some of the more subtle colours- this is probably going to be come part of my Easter decorations and be hauled out at any future spring/summer events.
Getting Started:
From a piece of card cut a template triangle. I didn't use any particular measurements- just went with something that looked about right proportion wise (in fact, each individual triangle is probably slightly different in size.) - remember you will need a seem allowance.
Use this template to mark out shapes on fabric. If you fabric is striped it can make for more interesting bunting if you rotate the shape so the pattern is displayed differently on each one. Remember that each triangle needs a partner. I matched mine together in pairs but there is no need to- it's your choice as long as each triangle has a partner! I spent time cutting around existing patterns (see the flower above).
Once you have your triangles marked out, cut them out and place them right sides together. Sew along the two long edges leaving the top open- this will be hidden by the top of the bunting. Trim excess fabric- especially at the point (I find it useful to have an obliging husband at this point but obliging children, mothers, friends, neighbours, passing strangers could serve equally well). Ta-Da you now have the makings of bunting.
Once you have made enough triangles for your bunting (this will depend on how much you want to make) for your length you are ready to make your top piece. Decide how wide you want it to be (again I just made this up, but about 1cm is probably reasonable.) and cut your fabric 3-4 times as wide along its length. I'm super lazy so don't sew any more than is strictly neccessary so this is how I did it but if you want to do it properly, feel free. Fold each long raw edge into the middle and press, fold in half and press again.
Leave a small length at the end (about 2-3 centimetres) and pin your triangles in to the fold- if you are doing this with lots of patterns then you can hold it up to see how it looks and adjust. Once you have your arrangement simply sew along the length as close to the edge of the top and to the triangles as possible- mine is wonky but it is all part of the charm. To join strips together I simply left a longer length at the start and pinned them together with a 1-2cm overlap and sewed along it. It can be fiddly but it is worth it. At each end I simply turned the ends in and sewed along the closure.
Added Extras:
If you have plain fabric you can jazz it up by adding embellishment. I used scraps of ribbons ( I throw NOTHING away) and bits of lace ande sewed them on in a pretty much random pattern. Above you can see my blue ribbon on leftover linen from cushion covers. I simply sewed them on roughly before sewing the two sides together so there was no need for being too tidy.
Wow, that was a lot of instructions. Hmmm...that would be why I never read the instructions last time around. If you've made it to the bottom of this post then thanks for hanging around! If you have a go at making your own bunting let me know how it goes and if you find a way to make it even lazier easier then please share! I can't wait to put them up again...how early do you think I can decorate for Easter? this weekend?
