Bunting addict.

It's been a little while since I sewed any bunting but as I had a bit of fabric left over from my hot air balloon and a quilt I'm almost finished, I decided to make some bunting for our room. This bunting may not stay hanging here forever but it is always a nice touch to a room and could be taken outside or into the lounge room for parties etc. I feel like I've worked out how to make bunting easily and it looks neat and beautiful when finished.
Today I thought I'd share my step by step guide to making bunting. There are so many other ways to make it but this is the way that works for me (and my limited sewing skills).

You will need:

-a paper triangle template (make your own)

-fabric

-pins

-an iron

-a rotary knife (optional)

- a sewing machine

-paperclips

-cotton

-bias binding

1) Draw a triangle shape that you would like each piece of your bunting to be. Use scissors to cut out the material . You will need two triangles for each piece of bunting. When they are cut out pin them inside out.

2) Use a straight stitch to go around the two longer edges of the triangle and then fold the triangle inside out. Once I have done this I then iron the triangles nice and flat and use a rotary knife to ensure that the top of the triangle is straight.

 3) You can make your own bias binding if you want but as I have a large stash (from a garage sale goodie bag), I used some turquoise bias binding that I already had. I pinned the triangles in a pattern along the bias binding and then sewed it into place. I sewed it so the bottom of the bias binding connected with the fabric.

4) Using paperclips, I pinned back the bias binding so it wrapped around the other side of the triangle and carefully hand stitched it in place using some turquoise cotton so it is barely visible at all.

When you've finished hand stitching the back bias down you end up with a lovely, professional looking string of bunting, perfect for a bed, party or just crafting up an area of the house.

I'm still working on understanding the lighting in our master bedroom and how best to capture it as soon I'll share the entire master bedroom and some future plans. If you haven't sewn bunting before, do have a go, it's easy and fun and a great way to use up leftover fabric :)

Lisa x

For details sake:

'we should probably cuddle now' cushion- society 6

bedspread- manchester warehouse

throw- laura ashley

bedroom furniture- enfield furniture

lamps- beacon lighting

Some festive cheer...

I'm starting to feel a bit festive as the count down to the end of the school year has begun. Christmas is such a fun time for craft addicts like me ( without forgetting the true meaning of Christmas of course). I decided to kick start the christmas decorating with some christmas bunting over the mantle piece.

Lots of red and green material

Regular scissors

Pinking shears

Bias binding

Pins

A piece of paper cut to the size you want

A sewing machine.

To begin with I made the triangles by pinning the paper triangle onto the material. Then I cut around the triangle using regular scissors. Once cut I then cut the two side edges using pinking shears so they wouldn't fray.

You should end up with something that looks like this. Then I made 7 different triangles as this was the length of my mantle piece. 

I sewed them together using bias binding and there I had it, some pretty christmas bunting ready to hang!

I used thumb tacks to hang it in place and added a few little silver bows for that extra special christmas touch...aw, doesn't it look all festive and pretty?

Then, because I am simply a massive fan of vases filled with things, I  put some red and silver baubles in a vase for an extra Christmas touch.

Have you gotten into the christmas crafts yet?

Lisa x

P.s I'm linking up with Southern Lovely
We Like To Learn As We Go
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Someday Crafts
The Taylor House
Live Laugh Rowe
A Glimpse Inside
Seven Alive
52 Mantles
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Bloom Designs
House of Hepworths
Momnivores Dilemma

Not your ordinary bunting.

I love finding random bags of bits and pieces at garage sales and was delighted when I bought a $2 bag of craft goodies and found some perfectly cute felt creations that I could turn into charming bunting.

Firstly there was a collection of hand sewn felt mini ovenmits. They were all hand made and embroided and I knew they'd make some cute bunting.

I simply attached them to a piece of string using a glue gun and hung them up in the kitchen for a touch of extra cutest ( sorry for the awful quality of the below photo, this amateur photographer had trouble with the light!)

I also found these little handmade doll dresses which I attached to string  using a glue gun and turned into patterned bunting. After all when you have lots of something little, bunting seems like a good option! I didn't want to just throw them out or donate them as they'd clearly been made with love and could be transformed into something I could use. I always appreciate hand made crafts and they were so darling, I just wanted go get them out and show them off in my home.

Have you ever made any surprise discoveries when you have thrifted a bag of things? How did you use them?

Happy thrifting!

Lisa x