For my 30th birthday, I decided to make bunting to compliment my vintage garden theme. Here’s how I did it.
You will need:
Material off cuts
Scissors
A4 piece of cardboard
Fabric Marker
Natural brown string
Sewing machine, cottons and pins
Mom (to operate the sewing machine!)
Iron and ironing board
Large Safety pin
Step 1: Cut out the flags
I bought off cuts of beautiful vintage material from Silk & Cotton Co. in Johannesburg. On a piece of cardboard, I drew out the triangular shape of the flag, and cut it out. Using the cardboard template and fabric marker, I traced the shape onto the fabric, and then cut out the triangles.
Step 2: Pair the flags
Since we are making double-sided flags, pair the flags with the pretty sides of the fabric facing together.
Step 3: Sew the short edge of the triangle
I’m not skilled with a sewing machine, so for this part my Mom helped! Besides, it was a good excuse to spend a creative girls’ day with my best friend!
Using the sewing machine, sew the short edge of the triangles together.
Step 4: Iron the hem flat
Open the flag, and then open and press down on the hem, and iron.
Step 5: Iron the flag
Now fold the flag along the hem, so the pretty side of the fabric faces outwards. Align the edges of the flags, and iron.
Step 6: Sew the long edges of the flag closed
Using a zig-zag stitch, sew the two long edges closed BUT REMEMBER to leave a 2cm gap on each side just below the short side of the flag.
Step 7: Attaching the flags to the string
In the area where you want to hang the bunting, hold up the string at the desired height with sufficient slack, and then cut the string.
Attach a large safety pin to the end of the string to assist you to thread the string through the flags.
Once all your flags have been threaded, lay the bunting flat and position the flags equally spaced, leaving about 1m on each side.
Pin the flags into place, and using the sewing machine, sew over the 2cm gaps to secure them to the string so that they don’t move once in place.
Step 8: Hang the flags, stand back and smile!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice bunting. I used pinking shears to cut out mine which means you can use half the fabric and you don’t need to worry about the edges. Then I folded over and sewed a seam to put the string through. Because it’s one sided though, it would look best against a wall while yours will blow nicely in the breeze. Happybirthday
What a great idea!
It was loads of fun to share a project with you, Rikki.
It’s been too long – we should do this more often!
xxx
I agree!
What a brilliant tutorial Rikki and what a lovely site! My sister helped my make bunting for my wedding. We used an patternless fabric and like Dagmar, used pinking shears to save sewing time. I loved my bunting but I have a little weakness for patterned fabric bunting… I think I may still make some :)
Thanks Monique! I still want to make some bunting using pinking shears, one can never have enough bunting ;-)
Lovely idea for a party. What size did you cut the triangle?Thanks.
Hi Sophia – My triangles were about 20cm (top of triangle – the part that gets attached to the string) x 26cm (the two long sides). Bear in mind the triangles will end up smaller because the edges get folded in for the seams. I made a cardboard template and then used a black marker to trace around the template triangle. Enjoy!
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