tutorial This project was inspired by THIS picture that I caught on Pinterest. I really loved the idea, and as I mentioned before, I have been squirreling away vintage sheets for some time, and thought this was just the project to start chopping them up for. I didn’t find any directions for how to make the bunting exactly, so this is what I came up with.
The first order of business, was coming up with a pattern, so each scallop would be uniform. I pulled out a 6 inch plate. Obviously the size could fluctuate depending on what size bunting you want. A really big one would be great to decorate your porch, and a mini one would be sweet on a doll house. The possibilities are really endless!
After cutting the circle from paper I folded it in half. The line shows the halfway mark. Then I folded it about three fourths of an inch from that center fold. I wanted my scallops to be slightly bigger than half a circle, and some of that will go into the bias tape used for the string that holds the scallops together.
I used that paper pattern to then cut two of every fabric (sheet in this case) I wanted to include. Most of my vintage sheets have a background of white, and I wanted more color so I included a few other fabrics from my stash. I can picture this project in several other color ways as well, red, white, and blue for July, red and green for Christmas, or any fabric that matches your decor. The possibilities are really endless!You could also use felt and just pink (that's when you use those zigzag scissors or what they call pinking shears) the edges instead of sewing, or burlap would work for all you burlap lovers out there.
When all my pieces were cut, I simple sewed right sides together, sewing only the curved edge, and leaving the straight edge to turn. This raw edge will be covered by the bias tape. After turning each scallop, I ironed them all flat.
I used this fab tutorial to make bias tape out of what quilters call a fat quarter. A fat quarter is a fourth of a yard, but not 9 inches like they would give you at the fabric store if you asked for a fourth of a yard. A fat quarter is a half of a half. In other words it is a piece of fabric measuring 18 inches by 22 inches. I was able to make over 7 yards of 1 and an 1/8 inch bias from my piece using her directions. I made mine narrower because I wanted my finished string narrower. I only used about a half of my bias strip for both the shorter bunting on the window, and the longer bunting draped on the mantle. That means I have a few yards left for another project!
All that was left to do after both the scallops and the bias were finished, was just to sew the two together. Just sandwich each scallop between the fold of the bias leaving about 3/4 between each, and sew together. You are done, and you have a very happy bunting to enjoy for years to come!
The bias was by far the most tedious part of this project. Marking, sewing and cutting it was a breeze. Ironing it in half, and then each half into the center, not so much. You could certainly use store bought double wide bias (it comes in a little pack near the notions), and that would make it much easier, but I wanted to use a printed fabric (in this case a vintage sheet), and I also wanted to try this technique. I also have a gift for making any project I make as complicated as I possibly can. It's a gift, what can I say? I will make bias again, but after I get one of these bias maker thingamajigs. I think the printed bias really adds a special touch.
