Bunting advice

[jenniepanda]

I've seen loads of pretty bunting on craft blogs recently and wanted to make some for my daughter. However there seem to be loads of ways to do it.

I'm planning on sewing 2 triangles together so that it can be used either side, but was wondering if it's worth using interfacing for extra stability. Also I wondered what made the best string bit, bias binding, cotton tape, ribbon, or a strip of material. Or I even saw some made with giant ric-rac that looked really cool!

Has anyone made any and got any advice?

Thanks.

You can use cotton tape but it only comes in a limited amount of colours unless you dye it. Bias binding comes in lots of colours which will look pretty but it tends to stretch. Ric-rac sounds cool. Sew the fabric with right sides together. Trim the point and turn back to right side. Press. When you have the desired amount of triangles sew the edges to the lower side of the tape. Then fold in half so that the edge of the tape encases the raw edges of the triangles and machine stitch in place. You can use interfacing or thin wadding but it is not absolutely necessary, however it does help the bunting to hang nicely if the fabric is lightweight. It's very easy once you get going and if you get really clever you can attach felt or fabric letters to make up your DD's name.

I have made some using just one layer of fairly thick fabric (eg cotton twill). I cut it into triangles using pinking shears, and attached letters to it using bondaweb.

For the top bit I cut some colourful fabric into a long strip about 8cm wide. Then fold each edge into the centre so it looks like bias binding. Put the triangles along the centre line, close the bias binding and pin, then sew along the edge to enclose the triangles.

I don't bother with bias binding but just use tape... which has just made me think, it is generally just in white, I feel a dyeing session coming on!

I made some recenlty & I double zig-zagged the edges together in a bright contract thread. I like the idea that it will fray a little around the edges over time. I used satin bias which looked great and hopefully the double straight stitch will stop it stretching too much. But I like the idea of bunting fraying & stretching a little with time, flapping in the breeze & counting the years. It's not ment to look perfect forever.