Make Your Own Wedding Bunting

Colourful and pretty, bunting is all the fashion at the moment for all sorts of occasions. It is remarkably easy to make your own wedding bunting, in the perfect colour or style that you love. It has so many more uses than decoration as well – how about a bunting seating plan, a bunting guest book or quirky props for your romantic wedding photos.

How to make bunting

Paper bunting

Paper bunting is probably quicker than making fabric bunting, and lends itself to decorative ideas which require writing on the pennants, for example if you are using the bunting as a wedding seating plan, naming guest’s chairs at the reception or as a bunting guest book.

All you will need is:

• A selection of paper in your chosen colours. Many craft shops sell ‘scrapbooking’ paper which would give you a great selection to choose from
• Double sided sticky tape
• Ribbon – ideally the ribbon should be wider than your double sided sticky tape
• A guillotine or scissors and pencil

Use a template to make sure that all of your paper pennants are the same size. Arrange your paper triangles in the order in which you want them to appear on the bunting. Stick double sided tape along the top front edge of each pennant and use it to fix each pennant to the ribbon (the ribbon should go along the front of each pennant, hiding the double sided tape).

There you have it, quick and easy home made bunting!

Alternative methods:

• Use a hole punch to punch two holes along the top of each pennant and thread ribbon through
• Pin your paper pennants to some wide patterned ribbon or binding tape, and sew them on
• Use different sorts of paper or material – how about lacy white doilies, or colourful oilcloth (oilcloth is what wipeable tablecloths are made from)
• Why stop at triangles? Bunting made from paper hearts, flowers or any shape that takes your fancy would add a splash of colour and fun to your wedding décor

Fabric bunting

Whichever method you use, you will need a selection of coordinating fabrics – remnants are great. Look for material that is coloured on both sides if you are not hanging your bunting against a wall, or you will have to sew two triangles together to make a double sided triangle. You will also need a triangular template cut from card to ensure your pennants are all the same size.

Method 1 – No sewing needed…
Pin your card template to the fabric and use pinking shears to cut out as many triangular pennants as you need. Cutting the edges with pinking shears will stop the material fraying as much. Use an eyelet setting tool to make two eyelets in the top of each pennant. Thread ribbon through the eyelets and hey presto, you have made your own fabric bunting!

Method 2 – A little bit of sewing…
For the methods involving sewing, you will also need:

• Lengths of bias binding. You can get a variety of colours if you do not want white
• Thread
• Sewing machine (and someone who can use it!)

Cut out your pennants using pinking shears, as above. Sort the flags into the order you want them hanging in, and lay your binding tape flat on a table. Place your pennants evenly along the tape, about half way up. Fold over the tape to trap the pennant and pin. Using a straight stitch on your sewing machine, sew the flags to the binding tape, remembering to leave some tape at each end for hanging.

Method 3 – Lots of sewing…
For bunting that will last, you probably should consider making it from hemmed material triangles. Over time, paper bunting will tear and crease and un-hemmed material triangles may fray at the edges. Hemming your bunting triangles may take a bit longer but if you are handy with a sewing machine it should not be too much trouble.

Additionally, if want to hang your bunting so that both sides are on show and you have chosen one-sided material, you will need to sew two fabric triangles together to make a single double sided pennant.

Here are instructions for making hemmed fabric bunting.

Ideas for using your bunting

Of course, your bunting will look stunning hung around your reception hall or marquee. But why stop there?

Wedding seating plans

Have a look at our Pinterest board, where there are lots of fantastic examples of couples using bunting for their seating plans. I particularly like the bunting strung back and forth across a vintage picture frame, with table names and guests written on each pennant.

Paper bunting is ideal for a wedding seating plan, as you can easily write or print your table names and guests on the pennants before you cut them out.

Guest books

Make some bunting flags from pretty paper in assorted light colours, and place them on a table with an assortment of pens. Instead of circulating a guest book, ask the guests to write their wedding messages on a pennant. Collect them up and make your very own, unique wedding bunting that will bring back happy memories every time you see it!

Decoration

Have a look on our Pinterest board for some great ideas for using bunting to decorate everything from chairs and tables to marquees and wedding cakes! Bunting is also great as props for wedding photos – make some paper bunting spelling out L-O-V-E for the bride and groom to hold, or hang ‘Just married’ bunting above the happy couple.

Credits

Bunting images by County Marquees (the Bride made that bunting herself) and Wedding Paraphernalia were sourced via Flickr and used with permission under a Creative Commons License.