It’s simply not a street party without bunting, and with the Coronation of King Charles III fast approaching, you can expect rows upon rows of mini union jacks zig-zagging between buildings around the country.
Sure, you can grab some from the shops with your coronation haul, but if you love a bit of arts and crafts, there’s something special about making your own.
It you want to get royally creative, we’ve got a step-by-step on how to do it for yourself for the party of the decade.
Metro.co.uk spoke to Jan Constantine, founder of an artisan textile design house, who endowed us with all the knowledge we need.
Happy sewing!
What you will need:
- Colourful woven fabric for individual triangles – old cotton shirts, sheets or PJs are ideal. Of course, you can also buy Union Jack print.
- Approximately 2.5 metres of 4cm wide coloured ribbon
- Sharp scissors, pins and sewing machine (or needle and thread if making by hand)
- Newspaper or other paper for pattern
The how to:
Get your paper to create a stencil for the bunting.
Jan says: ‘Make a simple triangular paper pattern. Cut out an oblong 27cm x 32cm (width x length). Fold in half and draw a diagonal line from the top edge to the central fold at the bottom.
‘Cut away the sides to create the triangle measuring 27cm x 36cm x 36cm.’
Once you’ve got your template, then you want to take the old t-shirts you are planning to use for the bunting or any fabric of your choice and get cutting!
Coronation of King Charles III latest
The historic Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will take place in Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
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For all the latest royal updates, visit Metro.co.uk’s dedicated coronation page.
Jan says: ‘Using the pattern with the shorter edge as the top, place onto the straight grain of the fabric.
‘Cut out six individual triangles by pinning on and drawing around the pattern with a pencil.’
If your t shirts or fabric you’re using are red white and blue, then you may not want to add any other embellishments to your bunting, but if you do then Jan has some useful tips for that too.
To embellish your triangles, Jan says: ‘To sew a message such as “HURRAH”, increase the size of your favourite font to fit inside the triangles and print them to make a pattern and cut around it.
‘To make a Union Jack (if you haven’t got Union Jack fabric), use layers of ribbon stitched (or stuck with craft glue) ontothe triangles. A simple crown shape works well if cut out in felt fabric and stitched or stuck in place.’
Once your individual bunting triangles are decorated to your satisfaction then it’s time to put it all together!
Jan says: ‘Fold the ribbon in half along the length – an iron is useful for this.
‘Starting in the centre of the ribbon, sandwich the triangles into the fold using pins, leaving a small gap of 1cm between each triangle.
‘Stitch all triangles into place along the length of the ribbon, leaving approximately 40cm of ribbon at each end for hanging up the bunting.
‘Happy Sewing!’
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