One of my main aims with the Future for Fabrics project is to find uses for every section of a recycled textile. The majority of textiles I recycle are turned into fabric strips for rag rugs, however, this leaves a lot of awkwardly sized offcuts from clothing and scraps such as hems and cuffs.
Looking at all my colourful offcuts, I thought how wonderful they would look if I turned them into bunting! I also thought this might be an opportunity to use some of the hems I had been keeping…
I started by making a triangle template from some cardboard to the size I wanted the bunting triangles.
Then, I pinned the template onto each piece of fabric and cut round it with a pair of serrated scissors. I chose these scissors as I wanted to keep this project as simple as possible and these provided a decorative edging that reduces fabric fraying and gives a rustic feel.
I then cut out a whole host of triangles in different materials and colours.
Taking two triangles at a time, I placed them right sides facing out and pinned them together. I then hopped on my sewing machine and sewed down the two longest lengths using a running stitch. These are now ready for attaching together into bunting!
The next challenge was the top string. I was looking at the hems I had cut off from various pieces of clothing and thought they could make a really beautiful, colourful band to attach the bunting along.
I sifted through my stash and pulled out pieces that were roughly the same width. I found that work shirt cutoffs worked best followed by T-shirt hems and spaghetti top straps. I then sewed the ends of these together to form one long piece to the length I wanted the bunting.
The final stage was to evenly pin the triangles along the string then sew them in place using a zigzag stitch on my sewing machine.
And just like that, the bunting is complete!
This project particularly excited me as it utilised the hems, work shirt edges and other offcuts which, until now, I hadn’t found a use for! It is a very rough and honest set of bunting full of character and colour and I can’t wait to hang it up.
I would love to hear any ideas for craft project that you have for using up random scraps of fabric!
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The Craft Cycle 
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