Bunting!

Difficulty:

Cost:

This set cost me about $22. The squares of fabric are $5.99 from Spotlight and the bias binding was $3.99. This can be done a lot cheaper if you use up scraps of material that you have left over, but I recommend investing in the bias binding as it makes things very easy. 

Amy here! I'm home right now and I'm using the opportunity to raid the mystical realms of my mother's sewing cupboard. I realise that there are countless bunting tutorials out there but I have a thing for bunting. (Please see accompanying pictures)

 I  think of bunting as a bit of a palaver but really, this probably took me less than three hours to whip up. I'm giving this set to a special friend and I think bunting is one of the best gifts out, it's so personal and it shows that you made an effort. Bunting is also perfect for a flat. As a student there really is not going to be a better time in your life to adorn your living area with lots of  tiny flags.

Tools: 

Scissors

A sewing machine

Cardboard 

Pins

Materials:

A selection of material 

Bias binding 

Method:

To begin I would like to apologise to Ali. She is the fastidious measurer out of us and to be honest, I prefer a "rustic" style when it comes to cutting and sewing straight lines. I'm sure glad she wasn't with me to witness the things I had to do to get a good string of bunting.

Begin by cutting out a template for your flags from cardboard. My template measured about 17cm across the top and 22 cm down each side. I wanted my flags to be about 15cm by 20cm so I ensured that my template took seam allowances into account. Using your template cut out as many flags as you want.

You should have an even number when you are finished as your flags have two sides. At this point, I think it's a good idea to iron your flags as it's easier to work with flat and crisp material. 

Take each pair of flags and pin them together, right sides together. To save time I just put on pin at the top and one at the bottom. 

Then, sew along the long edges of your triangles. You don't need to sew along the top as it will be sewn shut later. When you get to the bottom, stop about 1cm from the end, put your needle in and pivot so that you can sew the other side. 

When you have sewn all your flags you can turn them the right way out. First you need to trim off the excess fabric at the bottom point so you get a nice sharp triangular point.  

Then, turn your bunting the right way out and using a sharp-ish object (I used scissors), poke out the bottom of your flags.

Unravel your bias binding and pin the top of your flags into the binding, folding the one side over the raw edge as pictured. You can leave a gap between your flags or you can sew them right next to one another like I did.

Finally, sew your flags into the bias binding, keeping as close to the bottom edge of the binding as possible. 

Finito! 

Happy days!