I have seen many different types of bunting floating around blog land and pinterest for months now. Bunting and banners are by no means new to the craft world, but they are new to me! I thought I would share the banners that were made for the party this past week and how I put my version of this classic party decor together. I made two different banners. One that followed the hungry caterpillar theme to display her month pictures. For the other I wanted to make something a little more nostalgic that can be used year after year. First, the hungry caterpillar bunting. (sorry for the SUPER crummy picture!)
I made two different banners out of the supplies I had below. I used the butterfly and the fabric to make a banner that draped in front of her cake. I used everything but the butterfly to make a monthly banner to display all those month pictures we have been taking. (sniff, sniff, only one more month picture left!)
To begin I took all of the dot scrap fabric that I had left over from her dress. There was a ton of pieces that were all short and I needed to create one long, thin piece. To do this I used my homemade quilt binding skills. This is the same technique that I use to create binding for quilts. I lay one piece facing up and another piece perpendicular facing down and sew horizontally. When unfolded and pressed it will create a discreet connection between the two fabrics.
Once I had all the pieces sewn together to form one very long strand of fabric, I attached them to a piece of rope. To attach the fabric to the rope I wrapped the fabric around the rope and then sewed right down the middle, permanently attaching all pieces together.
I then sewed on fabric triangles and attached her pictures with miniature clothes pins. This project took roughly one hour to complete and I think it displayed her pictures in a fun way!
The banner that I made for the front porch is one that I hope to have at Charlotte's birthday year after year. This year it was hanging on our front porch, in future years it might take up residence in many different spots. I enjoyed making this project. The level of sewing needed is very minimal. You only have to be able to sew a straight line. This was more of a fun cutting project. This is how I made it.
The supplies you need for this project include: scissors, two thick fabrics (I used outdoor fabric) and of course, my best friend, heat n' bond.
Trace all the triangles you will need (letters and spaces) onto the top fabric that has been covered with the heat n' bond.
Cut out all of the triangles and trace each needed letter backwards onto the triangles.
Cut out the letter, remove the paper backing of the heat n' bond and then pin to the solid color backing. Next, sew all the fronts to the backs.
To create the long strand I attached all the letters. I used the same binding technique that I referred to previously.
I hope to use this banner for many years to come! Isn't that one of the benefits of crafting- making family heirlooms that will be cherished for years to come! Hope you are enjoying our craft round up. Tomorrow we are pushing the pause button on the crafting to celebrate our little girls true first birthday. We have a fun and relaxing day planned. I am sure the camera will be in tow and if we still have any energy left at the end of the day we may post some pics of our fabulous spring day!
-melissa