How to Make Double Sided Bunting

How to Make Double Sided Bunting The first time I made some bunting was for my classroom, way back when I was a primary school teacher. I wanted to make my learning environment vibrant and homely at the same time, and bunting is a quick and simple way to achieve this. As with any project, I spent a lot of time choosing my colours and patterns. When thinking about where you are going to hang your bunting, remember to complement the patterns and colour shades with the background and furniture. I chose a mixture of spotty, tartan, plain and floral as I was going for a spring, fun theme and just wanted to experiment a little. I learned from my mistakes along the way so hopefully you will be able to avoid these by the handy tips within this blog.

My first 'snag' was using a paper template for my flag; I would highly recommend making one out of cardboard or even wood (see photo above) to avoid a long and tedious job of measuring the flags out or cutting the paper by accident. It provides a much more accurate bunting flag size.

When I first began, scissors were my method of cutting; again there is a much quicker and easier method by using this 'beauty' Rotary Cutter. (see photo above). Previously, I had to mark out all the lines and use scissors whereas, with the blade tool, I could cut each flag individually and much quicker. It now only takes a couple of minutes to cut out a whole metre of material. Another handy tip is to fold the material 4 times neatly, so that you can cut out about 8 flags with only one cut.

Once cut, I used to pin the triangles together before sewing. Nowadays, the only materials I use pins for are silk or lace as normally the material stays together whilst sewing. Sew along the two longest sides of the triangle, leaving the top side open. TIP: remember to sew the material inside out so the pattern you want showing is facing each other.

Next, it's time to turn the flags inside out. This is pretty straightforward, I use a mechanical pencil to make the end point really sharp and it doesn't leave a pencil mark either. TIP: learn the pressure point of the materials otherwise you will end up with holes at the points!

After you have folded them all the right way and given them a good iron press to smooth out the edges, it's time to join them all up using Bias Binding. Fold the bias binding in half and sew the length of a few flags, so you have enough at the end to make hooks. Keeping the needle in the material, bring the foot pedal up and slide in your first flag in between the folded bias. Then away you go, remember to keep the spacing even between the different flags. To finish I always fold the excess over and stitch a loop so it is easy to hang and ready to use. And it's as simple as that. Please comment below if you have any tips. Happy Bunting!