Friday, February 1, 2013

Day 2 of washi winter: Bunting


Hello again everyone!
Today to continue my washi tape tutorials, I'll be showing you how to make one of my favorite decorative items. Bunting!! I love this stuff, you can put it just about anywhere and it adds a perfect touch of color.


 Mine is 76cm (I put the tape about every half an inch and used 26 triangles) but feel free to modify it. I suggest figuring out how long you want it to be before starting, keeping in mind that the thread should be slight longer than the length of whatever you're hanging it on, as it hangs down in the middle. Also, I used four colors for mine, but you can use however many you want.

Here's what you'll need:
- a piece of thick paper in a color different from your tape
-scissors
-a pencil
- 76cm of thread in the color of your choice 
-20cm of 4 kinds of washi tape (in colors that go well together)

The first thing to do is to make your template. On the thick paper (this is essential so that it doesn't rip and is easy to trace) use a ruler to measure a 1.7 by 3.8cm rectangle and then trace it. I suggest to draw it in the corner so that you only have to draw two lines. Then, make dots in the in the middle of the lines you drew and the edges of the paper. Next just connect the dots and make a diamond shape, then cut it out.


You can fold it over to see what it will look like when the bunting is done. If you don't like the shape, just cut off little bits until you get the shape you want, just not too much or the next step won't work properly.


Next, you'll need to get out your washi tape. Measure the washi tape and cut it. Stick it lightly onto a clipboard or other flat surface.


Angle your diamond so that the sides are lined up with the edges of the tape. Next, trace the other with a pencil, lightly. For my bunting, I needed about 7 of each color but once again, you may need to alter it. For a 30 inch bunting, trace 26 diamonds in whatever colors you're using.


When you're done, cut out the pieces. You can stick them on the edge of a table until you're ready to use them.


Now it's time to cut your thread. Take whatever thread you're using and cut it to 76cm (or the size you want), it should be more than the whatever you're hanging it on as it should hang down a bit in the middle. As they say, mesure twice, cut once. 

This is where your bunting starts to take shape. What you want to do is to line up the thread with two corners on the sides like this


Then fold it over by connecting the top and bottom corners.

Continue doing this, spacing out the triangles by about a 1cm apart until you get to the end of the thread. Et voila! Your bunting is finished! All there is to do now is hang it up and admire your work.

Xoxo
Luvely stitches