Bye Bye, Bunting

Since reacquainting myself with a sewing machine I've been mainly working on simple projects--variations on rectangles and straight seams. But as satisfying as making a tea towel or tablecloth is, it's not really much of a challenge. Which is why for my latest sewing adventure I made bunting! Practical--no. Fun--definitely. And nowhere near as simple as a tea towel.

Some of the fabrics I used. I wanted a vintage feel but still bright and colourful.

I got the template and instructions from Get Started Sewing, the book that inspired me to get back into this craft.

One piece cut out.

Ready for sewing

My favourite part was pivoting the needle when I reached the triangle's point. It's the little things.

Snip excess fabric to make a sharper point

After turning triangles inside out, you need to use something like a knitting needle or crochet hook to gently push out the point.

Before ironing...

...and after. If you don't like ironing then sewing is not for you.

Once all the triangles were done I got to make the bias strip they would all be attached to. That was not a fun process--next time I'm buying my bias strips ready-made. Here I've attached the first triangle to the strip.

After a lot of pinning and ironing and sewing and more ironing, the bunting is finally complete!

I made a loop on each side for hanging and fastened it with a button.

That is a lot of bunting.

My bunting ended up quite long. So long I could only hang part of it for this photo.

The best place to hang it without putting nails in the walls ended up being the hedge, which looks like it has a toothy grin.

Here it is with a peony. I'm very tempted to get some waterproof fabric and make bunting to festoon my entire yard. Also, I finally have a reason to use the word "festoon."

I'm really happy with how the bunting turned out, even though there were some frustrating moments (mostly involving the bias strip) and minor problems. If you read the captions, you know it also turned out much longer than anticipated. But I plan on making more bunting (definitely some holiday-themed ones, and maybe some waterproof bunting for the yard) and hopefully I'll avoid making the same mistakes again (and, fingers crossed, won't make any new ones).

Sadly, the bunting is back inside now, folded and put away. Much as I'd love to hang it up permanently, right now is not a good time to add more nail holes to the walls. We've decided to move, a decision that has me half excited and half overwhelmed. Now that I'm finished the two big projects I was working on (the bunting and my blanket) I get to focus on preparing the house and garden to go on the market. Not a fun time, as any of you who have been through it know. But I am looking forward to having a new (hopefully a little bigger) space to decorate and craft for. And I can't wait to take my bunting out of storage and set it up in my new home.

Photos ©Whimsy Bower

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