Brown Bunting

This evening's normal commitment was canceled due to the weather, so there was extra time to sew. (The wonderful thing about being partially self employed is the ability to pick up a project at 8:00 in the evening just as easily as at 8:00 in the morning.)


Over the weekend, I picked up some fabric scraps at an estate sale. (They have since been doing their best to air out and cease being musty.) Most of them seem to be pieces from old clothing, and they are just the right size to turn into a quick set of bunting.


Of course, old fabric requires excessive amounts of ironing before it will be wrangled into submission - and lets off all sorts of interesting smells during the initial heating.

Eventually, though, all was right side out and crisply flattened. More pictures of the finished project to come tomorrow, when I can photograph it in daylight.


How to: Freehand a large triangle onto a sheet of printer paper to act as your stencil. Trace and cut twice as many triangles as you want for the finished bunting (two raw triangles for every finished one). Iron triangles into submission. Sew all triangles right sides together leaving a significant hole on the top for turning. Trim corners for easy turning. Turn all pieces right side out taking special care to fully poke out the corners (a pen or pencil works well). Iron flat again, this time folding in the top holes so that there is a smooth seam across the top.

Cut and iron binding tape. Your length should be [number of finished triangles] * 1.5 times the width of a single triangle + 2 times the width of a triangle.

Sew a small loop onto onto one end of the tape. Continue sewing until the near edge of the loop reaches the back edge of your machine. Place first triangle under the free tape. Sew tape to top, front edge of the triangle. This effectively seams the open top of the triangle as well. (Note: Getting over the corners of the triangles can be tricky. I had to hand feed a few stitches for most types of fabric.)

Continue sewing along the tape until the near edge of the triangle reaches the back edge of your machine. Repeat the process with each remaining triangle and finish the end so that it matches you initial loop in size and length. Trim any remaining tape. Trim any loose threads. Hang your bunting.