Wednesday 28 September 2011

Bye bye Baby Bunting, Daddy's gone a-hunting...


Yes yes, yet another "look what I made" post... : )  I will sometime, soonish I think, write about something other than fabric and a sewing machine... : )

In the meantime I give you: Bunting.





I LOVE bunting.  I NEED to make more for my own girls - geez, even for the kitchen, the bathroom, for the heck of it! No seriously though - I do want to make some more for my home... sometime soon.  Of course this 10metre strip of double sided bunting (50 "flags" in total) is not for us... yup, another Christmas gift for a little girl!



I'm still to deliver the good in terms of a tutorial for the Dino's but here is a tutorial for my bunting.  Incase anyone needs it : )  As mentioned these are double sided and I chose to make it really long so it can be hung all around the room, zig-zagged across a ceiling, or whatever takes their fancy.

Cut out a template at the size you would like your bunting to be,  Adding on about 5mm to the edges to allow for the seams.  My template was: 17.5 cm across the top, 23cm along each side and from top middle to point: 21cm.

Use your template to measure and cut out the amount of flags you desire.  To save time, fold the fabric over (you could pin it to stop it from moving around) and cut both sides at the same time.  


With right sides together sew each flag around the angled sides.  When you reach the point, keep the needle in the fabric and turn it to go back up the other side ensuring the stitching is therefore continuous. 
When you reach the end of the second side of the flag, save time, thread and effort by sewing a couple of stitches without fabric before sending in the next one.

You'll end up with a whole chain all done in one go!



Now cut them all loose from each other by snipping the thread between them.  Trim back the point, and I also found I got better results if I trimmed the seams along the sides back just a little way up.  Less bunching that makes for a nice point once we turn them inside out. I use a leadless bic pencil to help achieve a nice point.


Once they've all been turned, we need to iron them.  It will help to insert your template and iron with whilst it's in to get the seams even and flat. 

Trim back the corners at the top edges to get a straight and clean edge along the tops.

I used some bias binding for the "string" part, folded in half.  Pop the flags in the fold and sew along the edges.  It's up to you if you want gaps or none, and if so how far apart.  I used the metal plate of my sewing machine as a guide.  Once I reached the end of one flag the other one was slotted in to start at the edge of the metal plate.  Leave about 10cm or however much you see fit at each end (should be enough to tie the bunting to it's hanging space when it's done).  Of course include these ends when you sew the strip and double back over tidied, folded ends.

Tada! You're done.  Now go hang it up and enjoy!
Happy Thursday!
xx
Linking up with much more clever people here.













10 comments:

  1. I LOURVE bunting!
    Tsunami and Philosopher each have bunting in their rooms - now I want some for the tree house
    Your's is soooooo pretty

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  2. Great to have a tutorial, I've never made the 'properly' made bunting, but I'm determined to now. Great choice of fabrics x

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  3. Lovely bunting - nice colours and great to see a tutorial too :-)

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  4. I love bunting too - there can never be too much (mainly because there are so many fabrics to make it with)!

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  5. what a great detailed tutorial, beautiful

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  6. Great bunting, love the fabrics that you chose! I haven't made any bunting yet, but maybe I should give it a go...

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  7. it's a great idea to put the template inside when you iron it. well done.

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  8. Hey! I'm just in the process of making some single bunts for a swap, so your finishing off tips were wonderful (I've never made bunting before). Thanks for the quick how-to! :)

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  9. I love your extra tips. I couldn't find my book with my pattern I've used before but now I'm glad I found your tutorial as I think I will have even better results!

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  10. So neat! I was going to do single bunting but yours looks so professional and nicely finished. Thankyou for the ideas

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