I wanted to make some special decorations for the party we threw to thank our friends for all their wedding help. We strung up Christmas lights between the porch and the garage, and I decided to put together bunting that reads "WE LOVE YOU." Check out photos of the bunting in action, and follow the DIY steps here to make your own! (After the jump.)
- Fabric scraps
- Twine
- Scissors
- A ruler
- A pencil
- Paint (I used acrylic)
- Cardstock
- A sewing machine (or a lot of time on your hands) and basic sewing skills
- Cardboard
- An iron
- A small paintbrush
All told, this took about three hours.
Using a ruler, trace the flag stencil on cardboard as a cross: 12 inches wide, and 8 inches tall. Connect the lines to form a diamond.
I love it when Samson photobombs my DIYs.
Gather up your scrap fabric. Since I had gold paint, I tried to choose colors and patterns that would show the paint easily. Trace your cardboard cutout onto the fabric, then carefully cut it out. Continue until you have enough flags to spell your message! I made eleven: one for each letter, plus two to use as blank spaces between the words.
This is what craft projects look like at our house.
Fold along the middle (8 inches), and iron along the fold. This was a good opportunity for me to iron out a wrinkle (or two) as well.
Next, draw your letter stencils on the cardstock.
Cut out the letters, leaving the stencil.
Get ready to paint! Kristie pointed out (luckily just in time) that the flags should not be folded while you're painting the letter; if the paint bleeds through, it could cause it to stick together.
Hold your stencil flat as you paint.
Allow the letters to dry completely.
Next, measure the area where the bunting will hang and cut a length of twine that's quite a few inches longer so that you'll be able to tie it on both sides. Fold each flag over the twine and pin into place (keeping in mind you'll need extra space on both sides of the message).
Using the zig-zag setting on your sewing machine (I'm sure there's a technical term for that but I honestly have no idea what it is!), sew along the twine. The feet kept the twine in the middle for the most part, but pay close attention and make sure the zig-zag is going over the twine.
Don't you love this tea set fabric?
Once you've sewn all the flags, that's it! You're done! Hang and enjoy.
