How to Make Christmas Bunting
Oh I love a bit of Christmas bunting don’t you?
What you’ll need:
Christmas-coloured cord, ribbon or wide bias binding
Fabric in green, red, gold and bronze (a mix of patterns and shades)
Small Christmas decorations
A sewing machine
Needle and thread
Scissors
Glue
Wooden pegs (optional)
Method
1. Cut your fabric into isosceles triangles, squares or semi-circles (or a mixture of all three!). You can make double sided bunting by sewing two triangles together inside out, or else simply zig-zag stitch around the edges to prevent fraying. If you have pinking shears, you can use them as a simple and attractive way to cut the shapes and prevent fraying at the same time, although it is worth practising on scrap fabric as they can be unwieldy.
2. Measure the area to be decorated and work out how much space you will put between each flag (you might want to use the bunting as a place to peg up Christmas cards as well, so leave extra space if you want to do this).
3. Mark the position of each triangle and pin in place.
4. Hand sew or glue your bunting onto the string.
5. Add any Christmassy extras like decorations. This part is great for young kids, as it is less about precision and measurements and far more about creativity and Christmas joy!
6. Peg your Christmas cards on and put it up to spread Christmas cheer in your home, workplace or classroom.
An alternate style of bunting which is easy for those who don’t have a sewing machine (or whose kids really want to help) is to cut long strips of fabric about 3 inches wide and 1.5 feet long, fold over and then simply loop them around the cord, bringing the ends through the gap created between the fold and the cord. It’s quick and simple and has a home-made appeal to it.
Have you made your own Christmas decorations? How did they go?
Vivienne Egan writes for www.bakerross.co.uk
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