Triangle bunting garland tutorial

Triangle bunting garland tutorial

• 6.21.2011

For a long time I have known I want to do triangle fabric bunting at my wedding!

Here are a few examples... I know I have seen the perfect thing in the past, but don't have the perfect pics on hand.  You know what I mean--triangle bunting garlands, in colors that go with the other stuff at the wedding, strung along the sides of the reception area.

From Ruffled

From Veganbride.com

From 100 Layer Cake

From Ruffled

From Martha Stewart Weddings

We're getting married in a garden, and will probably hang the garlands on the bushes and such surrounding the brick patio area where we'll sit to eat.

So of course I wanted to make my own!!  I know there are lots of great bunting tutorials out there so I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but everyone does things a little differently so hopefully some of you will appreciate seeing my way as well!  Check it out...

• Make a pattern that's the size and shape you wanted.  I wanted medium-sized triangles, so I made a triangle and doubled it.  Double your shape so you can fold it back on itself.  I taped my triangles together.

• Cut out the diamond shapes out of all your favorite crazy fabrics!  I had a lot of fun going through old fabrics and pulling them out again.  You don't need much to do this!
• I found it was easiest to trace the pattern with a fabric marker, then cut out along the lines.

• Cut out a bunch.  I also used some triangles when I ran out of fabric for diamonds--you can sew them back to back and make them work, too.  I sorted all my pieces in pie pans.

• Lay out all your piles of triangles in the pattern you want.  I planned to make a lot of garlands, so had 3-8 pieces of each color and make several garlands with the same or similar order.  I used a lot of yellow and sort of alternated yellow and other colors.

• Press each diamond in half, folding wrong side to wrong side, and put your ribbon through.  You can use whatever kind of string or ribbon you want, as long as it's strong enough not to break with the weight.
• Pin along the ribbon, to keep the triangle in place, and pin on each side.

• Measure the same distance between each flag.  Some people put all the flags next to each other, but I wanted about 6" between them all.  Makes the garlands longer with fewer flags!!

• To the sewing machine!  Sew along the diagonal sides of each flag.  I recommend a straight stitch about 1/4" from the edge (the width of the presser foot).  Do this for all the flags!

• Now, get our your pinking shears and pink the edges.  Lots of scraps fall off...

• You can also use a pinking blade on your rotary cutter if you like.  It's a little easier if your shears are sort of dull like mine are!

• They're done!  I wrapped mine around an old fabric bolt, like how we store Christmas lights, to keep them from tangling.

They'll look a bit like this at the wedding!

Yay!  One more thing to check off the to-do list before the wedding in August.

The fun thing about all these banners, too, is they'll be great decor for another party in the future, or for a kid's room sometime (in the way future!).  What else could I use them for??

(If you did any other DIYs for your wedding or for a friend or loved one, I'd love for you to share them in the Adventures in Dressmaking DIY Weddings Flickr group!!)

P.S.  Here's how they looked at the wedding!

Photos by Studio 623 Photography