DIY: Star Bunting

​Inspired by my Pinterest feed, I really wanted to share my latest DIY creation with you all. This is a lovely gift idea or an easy DIY for a child’s nursery/bedroom. However, I will shamelessly admit that I love having one hanging above my bed too! The opportunities are endless to customise this by shape, colour or even to add letters to spell out a name!

Check out the step-by-step tutorial below for the full rundown!

I love strolling the local markets and op-shops for beautiful fabrics. So much so that now I have an entire container of fabrics with absolutely no purpose! I knew something had to change! Ever since my high-school Fashion Design class, my sewing machine has been kept out in the craft room and starved of any attention other than the quick hemming of Dad’s pants so I knew whatever I made had to be simple.

I found an image of one of these star buntings on my Pinterest feed without a tutorial attached. Deciding to wing it and see how things went, this is what I ended up with. Over the past 24 hours, I’ve made 3 - one for me and two for some lovely little girls who I babysit - and I’d happily make more. This is a super simple, frustration-free DIY which will be finished within an hour.

If you’re a new grandmother or are expecting a little one, I think this would be a lovely addition to a nursery and you can change the colour of the fabric to suit. Nevertheless, I think young children would enjoy this at any age!

Here is the full tutorial:

Materials:
- 5" star template 
- 1m fabric (one type or multiple types)
- twine or ribbon
- sewing machine
- sharp fabric scissors
- matching thread (or contrasting as I did)
- a hand sewing needle
- pins
- 30cm ruler

Step 1 - Pick your Fabrics
After cutting a beautiful shimmery (but thin) fabric into stars, I realised that this wouldn’t be suitable. This DIY requires sturdier fabric which will hold its shape well. I ended up using a medium weight wool fabric and a thicker curtain weight fabric. Also, because these stars have raw edges, preferably choose fabrics which don’t fray excessively on the cut edges. A little fraying can always be snipped away but anything excessive may just become an eye-sore!

Step 2 - Print and Prepare your Star Template
Check in the ‘Materials’ list for the attached PDF template which I used for this tutorial. This is for 5” stars however large templates can be located on the same website which this link sends you too. I printed out a few copies and cut them out.

Step 3 - Cut your Stars
Laying your fabric out on the floor (or table) make sure to fold your fabric in half so with each star you cut you are getting both sides of the star. Pin the star template onto your fabric and cut out 7 stars. There is no need to leave extra fabric around the star template, just cut right alongside the paper. Cutting 7 stars will be enough for a medium length bunting, however feel free to cut more stars for a longer bunting.

Step 4 - Pin and Sew the Stars
Once the cutting process is complete, pin your stars prior to sewing them. Then prepare your sewing machine with a straight stitch. For my bunting, I wanted to use a contrast colour thread, I also used a different colour thread in my bobbin so that I could reverse the bunting for alternative thread colour. Sew each star leaving half a cm of fabric on the edge of each star. Repeat for all 7 stars.

Step 5 - Pin and Place the Stars
Getting your desired twine or ribbon, measure out 40cm from the end of the twine. Then pin a star onto the twine. Remember, if you aren’t planning on reversing your bunting, be sure to pin the twine onto the side of the star which you don’t want to be showing. Once you’ve pinned your first star, measure 30cm between each star. Secure each star to the twine leaving 40 cm at the end. Cut off the excess twine or ribbon from the end.

Step 6 - Hand Stitch the Twine/Ribbon in Place
Prepare a hand sewing needle with your thread. Then simply hand stitch the twine onto the stars where you have pinned them to secure. Repeat along the bunting until all stars are securely attached to the bunting. Your star bunting is complete!

Let us know if you like simple DIY’s like this or have anything you would like to see more of from us in the future!

Also, if you make this creation, share a photo with us by using our hashtag #livelivelynz

From our home to yours,