Project bunting banner.

 

I wanted to sew one of these for quite a while. I saw them all over the internet, on several blogs, but the coolest I probably ever saw was one in kindergarden, one that was about 50 metres long. That really, really impressed me.

Since it was my birthday this week, I thought I´d give it a try, and it´s really easy, has a great effect on my kitchen, and cost me hardly anything, since I could use up all the fabric scraps I collected over the years. The only thing I had to buy was bias tape, in a color I liked and in the length I desired.

Here we go: 

-First, cut triangles. To get it even, make a paper template, but it doesn´t have to be too accurate. That´s really nice about this project. My daughters helped cutting, too. We made many, many, many triangles, since you need two for each. 

-Sew them together, right sides facing. My girls had fun helping me match the fabrics. Again, it really doesn´t have to be accurate. 

 - To have a nicely popping tip after turning them to the right side, it helps when you cut the tip, like this.

-After you turned them, they look like this. My sons thought I was sewing little bags to fill with sweets for them, like I did in December. Well, to flatten it a bit, and make it look a little nicer, I sewed around the edges.

Like this. I did this one hundred times. Yes, I did. I know it sounds like a project for mad people, but it actually only took 2 rainy afternoons. This project is very gratifying. 

So, after you gathered all your triangles, it´s time to get out the bias tape, and string the whole thing together, like this:

Just wrap the top of your triangle between the two sides of the bias tape, and stitch over it, adding the next, and the next, and the next... and watch your new deco item grow. Again, my girls loved to match the triangles, so it was all fair and even, no color touching a similar one, no two same fabrics next to each other... it really became a complicated affair. 

Well, and that´s about it. 

Here is our banner after the first two hours: 

I tried to take a photo of it. The problem is, I don´t manage to get it on one photo in all it´s dimensions. See:

It just doesn´t fit. The only thing this picture shows me is that I need to paint the chairs.
So, I decided to take a video of it:

Tomorrow, we´re heading to the fabric store to get more bias tape - 20 metres this time, for our garden.
Though, of course you could just make a smaller one. Or embellish the triangles, with letters, or buttons, or other applications.
For the garden banner, I´m thinking about adding little bells to the tips of the triangles, so they´ll sing in the wind. Ahhhh!
Music for today:

Sir Paul has been my hero ever since I tried to give myself a Beatles haircut at the age of nine, and actually got into trouble for it, and therefore got to understand how rebellion, and haircuts, and music, are all connected. Listening to almost everything he ever published, including his weirdo Liverpool oratorio, really helped to broaden my musical understanding and building a passion. And this video is just too funny :)