Tips for making bunting

There are 100’s of reasons to make bunting, birthday bunting, easter bunting, new baby bunting and of course street party bunting to mention a few. Bunting is synonymous with parties, village fetes and having a good old British knees up! The Create Place, a fantastic crafting organisation in East London are offering Royal wedding bunting workshops but we happen to know they are fully booked. Don’t despair! We asked Jill from The Create Place if they’d mind helping us with a few tips for making your own bunting!  Hurrah!

Top tips for making your own bunting!

Written by Violet Iris

Whether it’s tongue in cheek cutesy or full on traditional twee, bunting adds a sense of occasion to any event from backyard barbeques to weddings and ruby wedding anniversaries.

Want to get crafting your own bunting creations, look no further for advice on how to create beautiful bunting on a budget!

1. Don’t be biased:

Bias binding is the bunting maker’s secret ingredient. Buy a suitable colour (satin or matt) and cut the length you require for your bunting, any good haberdasher will charge no more than 50 pence per metre; then iron the bias binding in half lengthways – pin your triangles inside the bias binding fold and run it all through the sewing machine once complete.

2. Getting attached:

Remember to leave a generous length at each end… don’t be tempted to put your first triangle too close to the end. You may need to tie the bunting around a tree, remove a knot which won’t be budged or simply tie your bunting somewhere further away where the first length won’t be seen. You can take away excess but it’s tricky to add if you don’t give yourself enough. Be generous.

3. Thrifting is the way forward:

Cotton prices have soared after the sad events across the globe and fabric is sadly becoming more and more expensive. Use your imagination and your old remnants to create a truly unique, upcycled string of gorgeousness. Remember you can also combine ribbon, trimmings and other haberdashery, even buttons and patches in order to make your bunting truly beautiful. Get creative, old net curtain or leftover yarn, even broken necklaces can be added to your bunting to make it extra special. In fact purchases at your local charity of thrift shop mean you’ve supported a good cause whilst indulging in some therapeutic crafting. Guilt free bunting for your garden, bedroom or street party!

4. Beware the British weather:

Mouldy bunting is not appealing with those dreaded black spots, and after all your hard work you don’t want to see the fruits of your labour tarnished due to a lack of care. Make sure you take bunting down after use; the rain will not do it any favours. However if you’d like all year round bunting invest in some plasticated fabric, available in a range of gorgeous patterns, and use that instead! If you do forget to remove the bunting after a few too many glasses of vino at that summer barbeque, a quick wash at a low heat should prevent mould appearing.

5. Double the fun:

Make your triangles two layers thick for more durable and reversible bunting. Pin two identical (or different?) fabric triangles together with the best side of the fabric facing inwards. Sew the two sides of the triangle, leaving the base open. Turn inside out and iron to keep in place. When you sew the base into the bias binding it will be sealed. Handy tip: if your fabric is particularly thin or lightweight place a triangle piece of light coloured plain fabric or calico inside to stop light coming through.

6.Think outside the triangle:

The traditional bunting triangle is a symbol of celebration to us all, but how about other shapes too…? Lettering can be cut and sewn into bunting, hearts can be used to create an extra cutesy feel and other shapes such as squares or flowers can make a unique string of bunting which will have that celebratory feel yet with an original twist! Remember you don’t have to make full size bunting either; mini bunting can look great on a bookshelf, mantelpiece or event to brighten your desk at work.

7.Get creative!

Using fabric pastels, lino cut prints or permaset paints you can transfer your own artwork on to your bunting triangles. The possibilities are endless… remember to heat set your artwork using some baking parchment and an iron before you wash it or risk it getting wet.

Most importantly enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the end destination; why not get a group of friends or neighbours together for a tea, cake and bunting crafternoon? Then your gorgeous string will remind you of happy times as well as looking utterly fabulous.

Happy Bunting ♥

Not everyone has the time to make their own bunting, luckily all this fabulous bunting on display is available at Folksy.com, just click the images for more details on how to buy or perhaps have some made up especially for your party!

For even more ideas and inspiration take a browse through all the bunting uploaded to flickr

Image Credits –

Khow – Royal Bunting

Nellie Dean – bobble Bunting

Nickynackynoo – Fairy Cake Bunting