Bunting for Ukraine

I took a break from garment making after my last few projects in favour of some home decor of a sort. I had some blue and yellow cotton left over from my recent spurt of mask making, and my husband suggested that I could make bunting to hang on our porch for the summer. I was immediately taken with this idea and measured it out to see if it would work. 

It did! I had just enough to make two small strings of 7 bunting flags each, just the right size to hang in our small porch windows. I also had two packages of wide double fold bias binding in blue -- I always pick up bias binding when I see it at the thrift store, and I was lucky to find enough of just the right colour to easily attach my bunting flags to. 

I estimated the size of the bunting by looking online for examples. I went with a finished size of 7" across the top and a length down the centre of 7.5". This was easy to sketch out, giving myself a 1/2" seam allowance at the top edge and 1/4" on the sides. I sewed two triangles to each other, being sure to take one horizontal stitch at the point as I was turning up to the other side, which usually makes getting a clean point a bit easier. 

I then pinked the edges and turned the bunting inside out, pushing out the point carefully. Once I pressed them the shape was quite nicely triangular. Then I just pinned them 2" apart, between the folds of the bias binding and topstitched along the whole length. Just had to be a little careful that the edges weren't slipping as I sewed, but it wasn't hard at all. 

I am really happy with this bright bunting that is just the right size for the space. I think it's important to not "get tired" of what is happening in Ukraine, and to keep focus and attention on the situation. So having my bunting up will show my support for Ukraine, and keep it from disappearing from public consciousness, I hope. 

Scrappy Desk Bunting!

What do you do with all your teeny tiny scraps? Not the ones big enough to make pocket bags or bias binding from, but the itty bitty ones that generally go into the textile recycling bag?

I don't like to waste anything at all, and thought that there must be a use for these bits, aside from doll house furnishings or the classic confetti fabric. I also like to go thrifting a lot and one of the things I often find is old packages of bias binding. These merged into the idea for some Scrappy Desk Bunting! Cheer up your office with your sewing scraps :)

I have been thinking about this little project for a while, and finally gave it a go using a pile of my tiny scraps from this year's sewing so far. 

I used a length of narrow bias binding and freely cut triangles of an appropriate size -- about 1/2" wide on the top of the triangle. I cut pieces of mostly cottons with pinking shears to reduce any fraying.

I laid them out along my length of bias binding to test the colour balance, then stacked up the bunting bits in that order to prep for sewing.

A bright mix

A more muted colour palette

The process is actually quite easy. I turned the ends of my binding under inside the fold, and then started stitching in a matching colour. The only issue is that it's hard to get started neatly -- be sure to hold your thread tails firmly behind your first stitch so that the stitching 'catches' and your binding doesn't get all knotted down into the feed dogs.

Leave yourself about 1.5 inches of stitched together bias on each end to allow room for pins to hold it up. Then start tucking in your triangles two at a time - make sure they're tucked right up to the top of the fold and stitch along the bias tape, closer to the open edge. This works better if you sew a bit more slowly than usual. If you notice that you've missed the edge of one once you are done, just unpick above that triangle and resew. It's very forgiving! This does work most smoothly if you ensure that the top edge of your mini triangles are even - there's not much room for variation inside that teeny fold.

Then just keep sewing! I found that the optimal length of a mini bunting equals 25 triangles, with a little breathing space between each one, plus that extra length at each end to facilitate hanging them up.

These can be any colour you like -- multicolour scraps with bright bias binding (my obvious preference) or all one colour, or even all one fabric.

You might want to make a holiday themed Mini Bunting with bits of red and green, or silver and gold. It all depends on your supplies -- what little scraps do you have lying around? And which colour of binding is handy? If you make your own bias binding, you'll have a double scrapbuster of a project. 

This is a fun way to use up tiny scraps, and it's a pretty quick project too. I made three in quick succession. I can envision a variety of colours to add seasonal cheer to one's desk all year long! Tucked inside a birthday or celebration card, this would add that little something extra to someone's day. So many ways to sew up our tiny scraps and keep them in use :)