Since we're expecting our second baby in January, it's time to clear the nursery! Accordingly, I've taken on a new project: decorating the toddler's new big boy room. Unfortunately, this also means giving up the momcave (AKA my sewing room). So before we paint or make any major changes to the room, I want to get all of the sewing projects done before my machine gets evicted and relocated to the chilly basement. So far, I plan to do a set of coordinating flag pennants/buntings to hang from the ceiling, this name bunting for the wall above his bed, and a matching bean bag (photos coming soon!).
I started choosing my fabrics and colors with a trip to IKEA. Z picked this bedding, and since we got a smokin' deal on it, I bought a second set to use for bunting/beanbag fabric. We picked some coordinating curtains that were (lucky me) way too long, so I was able to hem them and use that spare fabric as well.
If you'd like to make yourself a snazzy bunting like this, you'll need the following:
- A few different coordinating fabrics (good project for scraps)
- (Optional) White fleece or felt for backing.
- Black (or your choice) fabric for letters
- A computer with a printer (unless you're lucky enough to have a silhouette machine or cricut)
- Paper/cardstock/cardboard/etc and a pencil to make your pattern
- A ruler
- Fabric scissors and (optional) rotary cutter.
- Heat 'n Bond or Wonder Under (to attach letters)
- 2-3 yards of double fold bias tape or quilt binding in white. (Can also make your own bias tape from fabric or ribbon)
- Decide what size you want your pennants to be. I went with 6" wide by 9" long. Using your ruler draw out a triangle according to your measurements. This is your pattern. Cut it out.
- Choose how many flags you want of each color, and trace your pattern on to the wrong side of your fabric. If you turn the pattern upside down every other time, your triangles should fit next to each other with no fabric wasted in between. Cut these out using your rotary cutter or fabric scissors and set aside.
- Iron a sheet of heat n bond or wonder under onto your black fabric. The size you need will depend on the name and your font size, but 8.5"x11" worked well for me. Leave the paper backing on for now.
- To create your letters using a computer, open up your word processing program. Choose a font you like, and type in the letters of the name. If your name has repeat letters, you only need to type one of each letter. I used a font size of 200, but you might need to experiment and see what you like best. Once your letters are printed, cut them out and trace them **BACKWARDS** on to the heat n bond paper (see below).
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| Don't forget to trace it backwards! |
5. Cut your letters out carefully, leaving the paper backing on. You should have something similar to this:
6. Once you've cut out all your letters, lay out your pennants in the order you'd like them. Peel the paper backing off each fabric letter, and place them in the center of each flag, leaving enough room on top of the pennant for your bias tape to overlap. Iron them on one at a time.
7. If you've opted to put a layer of backing on your flags, now's the time to attach it. Pin flags and backings, wrong sides together, and sew around your flag using a 1/4" seam allowance.
8. You're almost done! It's time to attach the flags to your bias tape. Place flags in desired order, end to end so that corners are touching, but not overlapping. Unfold your bias tape once, and place flags in order at the crease of the tape. Be sure to leave a few inches of spare tape at the beginning and end of your bunting for hanging. When you fold your tape back over, you should have the same width of tape overlapping the front of each flag as the back. Pin in place, then stitch the entire length of your bias tape at the open end.
9. Hang in desired location to make an extremely adorable space.
