Decorating a Cake: How To Make Washi Tape Bunting

Although I’ve like making things all my life, when it comes to being creative in the kitchen, I’m definitely a work in progress!

When my mum taught me how to sew, knit and crochet, she also taught me how to bake.

My mum made amazing birthday cakes. There was the blue one when I was 4, in the shape of a 4 with jelly diamonds, and the Mr Happy cake when I was 5. Also the rabbit cake she made for my sister, with grass made from coconut that she dyed green.

I like baking, mostly because I like eating, especially cake! But when it comes to decorating, my efforts are closer to Nailed It than The Great British Bake Off.

One way to make a cake pretty without losing your mind or it taking ages or making a huge amount of mess is with washi tape bunting.

Washi tape bunting doesn’t take long to do, it’s easy and your cake will look pretty enough for any kind of celebration (or even if you just want a pretty cake!).

You Will Need

Washi tape. One design will do, but you could use more if you wanted to. I used 2 this time.
Bakers’ twine or embroidery thread
Skewers
Scissors

Instructions

Cut a length of bakers’ twine, allowing enough to tie the ends to the skewers. About the same length as the diameter of your cake is a good guide. If you cut it a bit longer, you can always trim the ends if you have too much.

Decide how many flags you’ll need. If you’re using more than one design of washi tape, you’ll also need to decide on what order they’ll be in. It’s worth bearing in mind that odd numbers of things usually look best.

Cut pieces of washi tape about 5 cm long. They don’t need to be perfect because you’ll be trimming them down, but it makes things easier if they are of a similar size.

One of the good things about washi tape is that although it’s sticky enough to stick to things, it’s also easy to pull off! I cut all my pieces of washi tape and stuck them to the table.

Find the middle point on your piece of bakers’ twine. Take the bit of washi tape that you want in the centre of your washi tape bunting and fold it over the twine.

Do the same with the pieces of washi tape either side of the centre. It will hang better if you leave a little bit of a gap between the flags.

When you’ve stuck all of your washi tape to your bakers’ twine, trim them so that they are all the same size.

Now cut the flags into triangles, or you could leave them as they are if you prefer.

Tie the ends of the twine to the skewers and it’s ready to decorate your cake!

Washi tape bunting can also be used to decorate a handmade card, and I have a post about this here!