Year of Bunting Challenge 4: Bunting With Flowers

May 4, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Year of Bunting Challenge 4: Bunting With Flowers

I have a hard time deciding which is my favourite season, do you?

I like the autumn. Crispy leaves, golden light and woodsmoke.

Winter’s nice when you get a clear crisp day. When it’s horrible out, you can light the fire, make a cup of tea and snuggle up with your favourite humans and non humans.

When it’s summer you don’t have to bundle up in coats and you can go out and do stuff (not that you can’t in winter, but it’s more fun when you’re not cold!).

Spring’s lovely though. After the dead of winter, buds and green shoots are a reminder that hope springs eternal. By this time of year when there’s blossom on the trees, the days are longer and the weather is warmer, it’s enough to make your heart glad.

So May’s Year of Bunting challenge is to make flower themed bunting. You have until midnight BST on the 31st May. When you’ve made your bunting, either post a picture on Instagram using the hashtag #yearofbunting, or on the Tea and Sewing Machine Facebook page.

If you don’t do social media, you can email a picture instead at teaandasewingmachine@gmail.com.

There will a prize!

By the way, if you’re doing the previous challenge, that’s still going on. The last day is Sunday 12th May, so the two challenges are overlapping this month.

How you make your bunting is up to you. Here are some suggestions.

Flower Themed Bunting

Appliqued flowers. I made this a while ago with appliqued trees.

12 tips for making bunting 12 things to sew in the autumn bunting is best year of bunting challenge 4 bunting with flowers

Retro flowers are fairly easy as are made using simple shapes. I did this with this laptop sleeve and also with this dress I made. Machine embroidery could be added to the applique if you wanted to jazz it up a bit.

Flower quilt blocks. I was going to say that quilt blocks are usually square and you’d have to turn them into triangles, but you could keep them square if you wanted to! I’m not the bunting police :). If I was, I might fine people for not having any bunting, but not because the flags weren’t triangles!

Crocheted bunting with flowers at the centre. You could adapt a pattern for granny squares. There are plenty of flower themed ones on the internet, and I have several on my crochet Pinterest board. As with the quilt blocks, you could turn them into triangles or you could keep them as squares, it’s up to you!

Tulle or net flowers attached to the flags. You could make flowers like this, from net, tulle or even cotton or polycotton, then attach them to the bunting.

Flower embroidery. By machine or by hand!

Flowery fabric. I made this last year and hung it off the front of my house.

easiest bunting tutorial ever year of bunting challenge 4 bunting with flowers

Another option would be to choose something with a bold print and cut the triangles so that the flowers were at the centre of the flags.

You could even choose a bold floral print and embellish the flowers in some way, perhaps with embroidery or with shiny things. Nobody will be judged for using a glue gun!

You have until midnight BST on the 31st May to make your flower themed bunting. When you’ve made your bunting, either post a picture on Instagram using the hashtag #yearofbunting, or on the Tea and Sewing Machine Facebook page.

If you don’t do social media, you can email a picture instead at teaandasewingmachine@gmail.com.

There will a prize!

By the way, if you’re doing the previous challenge, that’s still going on. The last day is Sunday 12th May, so the two challenges are overlapping this month.

Please join in, it will be fun!

Free Crocheted Bunting Pattern

April 25, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Free Crocheted Bunting Pattern

Making crocheted bunting is a fun way to use up odds and ends of yarn from other projects.

This pattern shows how to make traditional bunting triangles, worked in the round. The triangles are quite small, although obviously that depends on the weight of the yarn and the size of hook you use!

If you want to make your flags bigger, you could go round again a couple of times. There are instructions for doing this in the pattern.

I used 2 colours to make mine because I wanted the centres to look like flowers and to stand out from the rest of the flag. You might choose to use more colours, or just one.

year of bunting free crocheted bunting pattern

5 flags from this pattern makes a little bit of bunting, perfect for hanging off a bookcase, a smallish dresser or a fireplace. If you want to make more, for some weird reason odd numbers look best!

Hopefully you know already that I’ve declared 2019 to be the Year of Bunting! You can read about why here, and if you’d like to join in, there’s a list of challenges here.

If you’re planning to join in with Challenge 3, feel free to use this pattern!

Instructions

Please be aware that as I am English, I have used English crocheting terms.

In colour A (white):

4 ch, then join with ss.
3 ch, *then yarn over hook, insert hook into ring, yarn over hook. Pull back through ring, yarn over hook again and pull through 2 of the loops on the hook.* Repeat the starred section once, then yarn over hook and pull through remaining stitches. This makes the first cluster.

Clusters 2-5:
*3 ch, then yarn over hook, then insert hook into ring. Yarn over hook again, then pull through the ring. Yarn over hook once more and pull through 2 loops on the hook.* Do this 3 times, then yarn over the hook and pull through the rest of the loops.

Repeat this 4 more times, then 3 ch. Join to the first cluster with ss. Fasten off.

In colour B (blue):

Round 1
Work dc into a ch sp to join. 2 ch (counts as 1 tr), then 2 tr onto the same space.
3 tr into next ch sp, 1 ch, then 3 tr into same ch sp.

*3 tr into next ch sp. Into the next ch sp, 3 tr, 1 ch, 3tr.* Repeat starred section once. Join with ss.

Round 2
*3 tr into next ch sp. Into next ch sp, 3 tr, 1 ch, 3 tr. 3 tr into next ch sp.* Repeat twice. Join with ss.

To add extra rounds for bigger flags, work 3 tr, 1 ch, 3 tr into the points of the triangle, and 3 tr into the other ch sp.

When you’ve finished your flags, thread some ribbon through the chain spaces along one edge of each triangle.

Year Of Bunting Challenge 3: Knitted or Crocheted Bunting

April 18, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Year Of Bunting Challenge 3: Knitted or Crocheted Bunting

Welcome to the Year of Bunting Challenge 3!

Challenge 2 was to make some bunting embroidery and several people took part.

Hazel made a cross stitched book mark.

Julie made a needle case (she has a craft blog too which you can find here).

Christine made an embroidery hoop hanging with bunting and tassels.

Challenge 3

Challenge 3 is to make some knitted or crocheted bunting.

Since we’re already half way through April, this challenge will run until midnight BST on Sunday 12th May.

If you’d like to enter, all you have to do is knit or crochet some bunting, then either post it on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #yearofbunting, or post it on the Tea and a Sewing Machine Facebook page.

If you don’t do social media, you can email me a picture instead at teaandasewingmachine@gmail.com.

Tips and Ideas

If you’re stuck for ideas, here are some that might help.

You could use up odds and ends to make stripy bunting.

If there’s a stitch you particularly enjoy, you could make triangles featuring that stitch.

For crocheted bunting, you could make the flags either by crocheting rows, like knitting, or by crocheting in the round.

Crocheting in the round is a good way to make bunting if you want to start with a flower in the middle.

Another option is to make the flags, then add your design. You could embroider it or add knitted or crocheted details.

Some Tips

If you find that the edges of your knitted triangles are not as neat as you would like, try not knitting the first stitch of each row. Instead, slip the stitch onto the the needle, then knit the next one. If you are decreasing stitches, slip the first stitch onto the needle, then knit the 2nd and 3rd stitches together.

To crochet triangles in the round, start off with something that can be divided by 3.

Work out where the corners would need to be. Into those gaps, you’ll need to crocheted 2 groups of stitches. Into the other spaces, crochet one group.

For my crocheted bunting, I made a flower with 6 petals. Into the first space between the petals, I crocheted 1 group of trebles, then into the next space I crocheted 2 groups of trebles.

When that round was completed, I had 3 lots of 2 groups, and 3 lots of one. The groups of 2 made the points of the triangles.

So when I went round again, I crocheted 2 groups into the spaces at the points, and one group into each of the other spaces.

If you’d like some more inspiration, then please take a look at my bunting board on Pinterest.

I’m hoping you’ll join in!

Year of Bunting Challenges

April 11, 2019 · 2 Comments

Year of Bunting Challenges

So far we’ve had 2 Year of Bunting Challenges.

The first was to decorate some furniture with bunting, and the second was to make some embroidered bunting.

You can see what the winners made for the first challenge here. I haven’t written up the second one yet, but there was a lovely cross stitch design on a bookmark, an embroidered needle case and an embroidery hoop thing with tassels and bunting.

It’s lovely that people are joining in, but I know that having a timescale on something, although it is necessary for a challenge, isn’t always an aid to creativity! Some of us need plenty of thinking time as well as plenty of making time.

So here is a list of the rest of the Year of Bunting challenges. If you would like to download a PDF version, you can do so here.

There’ll be one a month until November. I haven’t decided whether to do one in December, but I might leave it as everybody’s so busy before Christmas. It will also give us a bit of extra time if we need it for any of the other challenges.

I’ll still introduce each challenge. They will start at the beginning of the month and run until the end of that month.

Having the list in advance means that you can decide which ones you’d like to do! If you want to start them early, that’s fine!

The winners will be notified by email and I’ll let everybody else know too. To make things a bit easier at my end of things, I’m going to assume that you’re happy for me to use your photograph and your first name if you win. If you don’t want me to do this, please let me know! You can email me at teaandasewingmachine@gmail.com.

I’m hoping lots of you will join in! If you have any questions, please ask me :).

Bunting Tote Bag Tutorial

March 29, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Bunting Tote Bag Tutorial

This is a post I actually wrote 3 years ago when a new law was introduced in the UK that required shops to charge for plastic bags.

I’m recycling it because it fits in nicely with the Year of Bunting!

For making the bunting tote bag, I’d recommend using a strong fabric, like a heavy weight cotton. The canvas I used was left over from some curtains I’d made, and the appliqued bunting from scraps of cotton from dresses and other things.

If you don’t have any canvas, you might have an old tablecloth or some curtains you could use.

If you’d rather use a lighter cotton or polycotton fabric, you could line it to make it stronger, or just decide to use it to carry bread and flowers instead of potatoes and gallons of milk!

The bunting tote bag has boxed corners, which means that depending on what you put it, it should stand up.

How to Make a Bunting Tote Bag

1. Cut a rectangle of fabric. Good dimensions would be the same width as a Lidl bag (or other bag for life) and twice as long, plus seam allowance. Mine measured at 48 cm x 120 cm.

If you are using fabric with a directional print, cut 2 rectangles and sew them together.

2. If you do not have an overwhelming urge to cover everything in bunting, you can skip this bit and go straight to Step 3.

To make the bunting, cut a rectangle 9 cm x 10 cm. Fold in half lengthways. Cut diagonally from the folded corner to the corner opposite. Use this triangle to cut 5 triangles. Position them onto the fabric, allowing for seams. Pin in place, then applique them to the fabric. Sew a piece on of ribbon so that it covers the tops of the triangles.

3. With the right sides together, pin the side seams then sew them up. Trim the seams. Finish the seams with zigzags, or an overcasting stitch if you don’t have an overlocker. This could be the difference between getting all of your shopping home and the bag breaking and veg and milk and stuff ending up all over the road!

4. To make the boxed corners, press firmly on the fold at the bottom. Squash one of the corners flat so that the seam is aligned with the fold at the bottom. Measure up 6 cm from the corner. Pin. Sew across the corner. Cut the corner off. For more detailed instructions for making boxed corners, visit this tutorial here.

5. Hem the top of the bag.

6. To make the handles, cut 2 pieces of fabric 40 cm long and 10 cm wide. Fold in half lengthways. Then fold the outer edges into the middle. Fold in half and pin. Sew. I like to sew along both edges so that it looks symmetrical. Repeat for the other handle.

7. Sew the handles to the bag. You will need to sew them on in a few places to ensure that they stay on when the bag is full of shopping.

Now all you have to do is remember to take it with you when you go shopping!

Tips

Heavy weight fabric will be strongest, but other fabrics can be made stronger by adding a lining.

Ripstop will make good bags that are both strong and waterproof.

You could make bunting tote bags in different sizes.

Decorate them as you like to jazz them up.

If you will be carrying your shopping a long way, add some wadding to the handles and quilt them to make them more comfortable.

They make great last minute Christmas gifts and are a good way of using up fabric that you don’t know what to do with!

Year of Bunting Challenge 4: Bunting With Flowers

Year of Bunting Challenge 4: Bunting With Flowers

Flower Themed Bunting

Free Crocheted Bunting Pattern