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I am not remotely crafty. In fact I can barely sew on a button. Since I’m a member of the Women’s Institute and a fan of crafty blogs like A Beautiful Mess, it feels like I need to do better! I love the look of homemade quilts and even clothes, but I know I don’t have the skills. So one of my goals for this year is to complete a few crafty projects here and there which I’ll share on my blog.
The first thing that I tackled was something simple. Most of the cushions in our lounge are cute and patterned but I have two completely plain ones that are made of a thick cream fabric. They were both from Primark and cost about £2 each so a perfect blank canvas for customisation!
Taking a look at the little bits of fabric that I had, I decided to go with a red white and blue theme (how patriotic!). As you can see, I am a big fan of gingham! You can get great value squares of fabric for projects like this from eBay.
First, I washed and ironed my cushion cover (you wouldn’t need to do this if it was new). Then I cut out a template piece of bunting. I used pencil to draw a triangle that looked roughly right and then used it as the template to cut around it for my other fabric. They won’t all look exactly the same, and thats a good thing – it will make your bunting look homemade and cute!
Next, check the spacing and position of your bunting triangles on your fabric. Once you’re happy with the arrangement, put all the triangles except the first one in a safe place (where they won’t go out of order!) and get to work! I did a string of bunting across the top of the cushion but it would also look great in lots of other arrangements - take a look here for some great ideas!
Start sewing on your first bunting triangle. I used running stitch (I think) to sew on most of the triangles. I worked out as I went along that the best way to do it is to sew up and down the triangles in a VVVVVVV formation, and then sew along the whole top of the triangles in a line.
What do you think?
I have another of these white cushion covers and I’m going to sew a large red gingham heart on the second one, plus a K + L and maybe some smaller floral hearts. I’m thinking making my own (real life) bunting could also be a good project to try!
Are you crafty? What kind of things have you made?
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Well, for having a time sewing on a button, you look like you’re doing pretty good! Good work. I am not a sewer. I used to not be a cooker either. Lord, how did I live? LOL! I ate crap and wore the same clothes. A bunting is the same thing as a pillow?
Hey Jennifer! One thing at a time – I would definitely rate the ability to cook as more important than the ability to sew!
No, bunting is this stuff, its a decoration usually made of fabric triangles – http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bunting&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=v8Y8T4qpKNGzhAf8mfDsBQ&biw=1152&bih=678&sei=yMY8T9qDO8uGhQes04jBBQ
Ohhhh! There used to be a song we would sing when we were little about “going a-bunting.” I never knew what it meant, but we sang it anyway.
And then I thought maybe bunting was the English slang word for a pillow. (Shaking my head at myself here. Such a moron! LOL!)
Well, shoot. You learn something new every day! It looks so pretty!
Haha, learning is fun! And bunting is super cute, maybe you can introduce it over there!
Heck yeah! Maybe I can bring it in over here. Actually, I’m sure it is. I just live in ….the closet!
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oooooo Kerry sewing, well done!
Thanks! It hasn’t fallen apart yet!