Everyone has different criteria for what makes a perfect
gift and some people are really hard to buy for. There is a challenge when it comes to
handmade gifts – for many people handmade reminds them of those gorgeous little
crafts that small children bring home to their parents dripping glue and
glitter. People love to receive those
gifts from children but as we grow up we become concerned about anything we
make turning out to be an explosion of random craft materials and that it won’t
really turn into anything useful.
Handmade is tricky but when it is done right those gifts can be the
best. For me handmade gifts sum up what
giving is all about – not just money but something of you has gone into the
gift. So how do you get it right?
I think the key is not over complicating things – simple
gifts can be the most perfect. A gift I
love to receive is pretty things for around my home – things I see every day
and remind me of the person who gave them.
So I have decided to share a tutorial on how to make bunting. This is perfect for any time of year but with
some clever fabric choices and colour selection bunting can make a country chic
style Christmas home.
You will need
-
Fabric of your choice
-
Bias binding to match your fabric
-
Ruler, pencil and card/paper
-
Pins
-
Needle and thread or sewing machine
-
Iron
1 1. Measure out a triangle on paper. This can be done by measuring the base and
then marking the half way point all the way up to how high you want your
triangle to be. Then draw the
lines. You can fold in half to ensure it
is even
2. Trace out the triangle onto your fabric as many times as you want. I made 6 triangles for my bunting so I cut out 12 triangles of fabric. You can make your bunting as long or as short as you need
3. Place your triangles with the right sides of the fabric facing each other in pairs. Sew from the base up to the point and leaving your needle down lift the foot and turn the fabric. Then sew the line along the other edge of the triangle back to the base. Leave the base unstitched.
4. Once you have done this turn the triangles so you have the right side of the fabric facing you. Push the point out using anything that isn’t too sharp ie the end of a pencil or crochet hook. At this point it is really important to iron the bunting to ensure it is sitting correctly.
5. Now you need to work out how wide apart you want the triangles on your binding. I left a 10cm gap between each flag. Place the triangles into the binding and fold it over hiding all the raw edges. Pin in place and sew neatly along the edge of the binding. I used a zig zag stitch as it looks nice but also ensures you don’t miss any of the bias binding when it is folded.
6. Now trim your edges and display or wrap up for that perfect gift!
The fabric I have used was gifted to me by a friend and it
has previously belonged to her Nan who didn’t have the opportunity to use
it. Hanging this bunting up I think
honors her and the special person she was in my friend’s life.
If you have something special that belonged to someone who
was important to you why not incorporate it into a gift for someone or for you
so that it becomes a part of your home on a daily basis.
I hope you have fun making the bunting – do send me pictures
of how you get on!
x
