How to…make No-Sew Bunting!

**Please DO feel inspired by this post! Please DO have fun and create! Please DON’T copy or call it your own!  Please reference back to Red Ted Art!! I own the copyright!!**

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Sewing is something that I really can’t do – I don’t know why, but my thread always breaks or gets all muddled up and my lines are never straight. Bah! Recently, I visited a friend’s house and she had sown a beautiful bunting for her son’s Birthday. It reminded me that my sewing skills indeed are rubbish, but that I really wanted to have a go too. So I sat and I sat and I sat. And I thought and I thought and I thought. My twitter friends came to my rescue when I asked about iron on ribbon: Wonder Web. What wonder wonder web is! Basically you place it between the 2 pieces if fabric you want to sew and iron it on. (It melts). Would this work for bunting? I saw. I tried. I succeeded. Now you can too!

What you need: My bunting is 3.5m in length. For this you will need: Fabric (approx 6″x24″ x 4 patterns or less patterns/ more fabric), Wonder Web (25mm, 8.5meters), Cotton Bias Binding (25mm, 8.5meters), Scissors, Card (6″x6″), Iron & Ironing board, 2 Tea towels – at the end some pins – but you can manage with safety pins/ paperclips, pen or even cloth pegs, pins do work though!

Step 1: Draw a template on the card, I made the bottom of the triangle 6″, drew a 6″ line from the centre and joined the top of the line with the botton part of the triangle. Makes nice dimensions, but ANY triangle will do

Step 1 & 2 - cutting fabric

Step 2: With pencil, draw the triangle shape on cloth – mind how the pattern goes it may look better in a certain direction. If you top and tail triangles, you save cloth, as well have less to cut. I cut 3 of each of the 4 patterns: 12 triangles. Am sure 9 would like nice too!

Step 3: place 2 pieces of cloth together, cut a strip of Bias Binding the along one long side, cut a piece of Wonder web and place on Bias Binding. “Wrap” binding round the edge

Step 3: prepare the bias binding & wonder web

Step 4: place on tea towel, put another towel on top. Hold in place – it is v easy that the bias binding moves, so be careful. Place HOT iron on top. Check nothing has moved and repeat with hot iron – I leave it a little while so that the wonder web really melts. Don’t burn it though!!!

Step 5: tidy “tips”. And repeat Step 4 on other side of triangle. I make the bias binding longer on this side so it sticks out. This way you can trim to a nice crisp edge. Make up all 12 triangles.

Step 4: Iron & Trim

Step 5: repeat

Remember to place a tea towel underneath and on top – else you will get a sticky iron and ironing board!

Step 6: Trim all edges

Step 7: Lay “hanging” Bias Binding (I used 3.5meters) on floor and space out flags evenly – you can do this with a ruler or just roughly by eye. Mark middle of the bias as to where they need to go with a pencil or pin them.

Step 8: This was the trickiest bit of all, as it is such a long piece. And then iron section for section. Keep checking everything is nicely aligned. I press briefly with iron so that it holds, check it and if ok, then put the iron for longer, so that it really sets. I then went over the whole lot again making sure all the wonder web has melted and secured tightly.

Step 8: The "hanging bias

FINISHED!!!

It took me two leisurely evenings of watching TV to make TWO SETS!

Please DO email me if you have any problems/ questions! 

 

 

 

More “How to…”s: 

How to make a Flower Pom Pom (guest post) – simply gorgeous – use as wedding decor!

How to make a Paper Envelope 

How to make a No Sew Bib (out of an old shirt) 

How to make a Fabric Mâché Bowl (from old scraps of fabric!) 

How to make a Paper Flower (from newspapers)  (guest post) 

How to make a Paper Boat (vlog) 

How to make a Paper Cup (vlog) 

How to make Swedish Hearts (Paper Baskets) (vlog) 

How to make No Sew Bunting  

How to make a Balloon Poodle (vlog) 

How to make Seedling Pots (out of newspapers) (vlog)