Bunting help

[tummytickler]

I am a total beginner at this, currently researching the best sewing machines for me to learn to sew with. In an ideal world i would be able to sew clothes for myself that look great and don't look hand made - I have a long way to go!

First i need to knock up some bunting ready for dd's birthday, without a sewing machine.
Is it possible to do it by hand - is it as simple as it looks?

Any pointers welcome!

It si possible, most things on a machine can be done by hand, but it will take aaaaaaaages!

If you aren't too fussed on a particular fabric then I woudl use felt or fleece as they don't need hemming, so you would just make the 'flags' one fabric thickness and sew the tape/cord along the top.

or use those zigzag scissors (can't remember proper name) and then you don't need to sew cos the zigzag will stop them freying and then u just need to sew top to tape.

If you used pinking shears the bunting would have a front and back though, and the back would be the back of the fabric.

If you want fabric back to back then you need to sew the triangle bit, if you use felt or fleece the back of it will look okay.

[lazyarse]

Although looking at this it depends on the fabric you use, thick calico is 'doublesided'

Some other mums and I made a load for school a couple of weeks ago. We just used various bits of material that people didn't want, mostly old duvet covers and other bits of cotton. We didn't hem or use pinking shears and it looks great - it's already been hanging outside for a week in rain etc and isn't looking ratty or fraying. I reckon if you want it to look jolly at parties rather than as a permanent item of home decor it's not worth the extra time it would take to hem. Our pinking shears were all blunt or we would have used those.

After much discussion we made a template the size of an A4 triangle, stitched onto tape with zigzag stitch and left half a triangle's gap between each triangle. You definitely do need a sewing machine if you want to make more than a couple of metres of it.

jackbauer - i'm being totally dumb but confused as to why there would be back and front with pinking sheers? does it make the different sides look different?

i'm currently doing a beginners sewing class so v new to this

thanks in advance

Freecycle for a machine.Must be sewing season as there were no less than 4 machines on our local freecycle today.

But I would be even lazier than Jbiz and would simply either glue or staple the bunting-specially if its for a short time use.

I have made seamed bunting, pinking-sheared bunting and also just cut the triangles out with normal dressmaking scissors. The seamed bunting is very time consuming and unless you're going to see both sides, not really worth the hassle!

Unless you're going to have to launder the bunting, I think you should be ok using cotton fabric and just cutting using normal dressmaking scissors. Pinking shears are very expensive so not worth investing in unless you are going to be using them alot. I bet you can find someone who's got a pair lying around that they'll lend/give you if you ask.

I used bias binding and ironed it in half lengthways so that it was easier to ensure that you get the triangles of fabric in the right place. You can then either pin the triangles to the bias binding (or just go for it if you're lazy like me!) using your machine's zig zag seam.

If it's not going to be scrutinized up too close, you could probably staple the fabric to the bias binding, but don't think it'll last as long as if it's stitched.

BirdyArms - I discovered that if you cut through pieces of aluminium foil it miraculously sharpens your pinking shears! Mine are a hand-me-down from my MIL so are ancient. I thought it was worth a try when I realised a new pair would set me back about £30!

Pebbles - re front and back thing:

Usually good or long-lasting bunting is made from two triangles of fabric which are sewn together down the long sides, turned inside out (to hide the seams), ironed flat then attached to binding which folds over the top, or to two pieces of fabric tape, trapping the top of the triangle in between. This means that the bunting is the same both front and back and looks nice if it's hung from the centre of a room instead of just flat on the walls as it both sides will be seen.

If you short-cut and use pinking shears, there's no sewing, but unless you then glue two triangles wrong sides together then each triangle would only be printed on one side hence there would be a "front" or best side, and a "back" or plain side.

If it's just for fun then single sided is quickest. You can staple the triangles to ribbon or tape to cut out any sewing.

HTH!

Bellepink - thanks so much, totally makes sense, doh

Cheers