Once mostly used to bedeck
streets and invariably triangular, the humble bunting has
come a long way in recent years. Now you can make it for any
occasion or none at all and it can look like absolutely anything…
Like a string of sausages, hot air balloons, sheep jumping
over gates or retro records. Better still, these small shapes
can be made out of anything so this is a fun way of using
up leftovers. Most of the other materials can be found in
many homes, especially crafty ones. I like the way this author
starts with some very basic but useful things, such as starting
and finishing threads, making a pompom and tips of turning
small fiddly shapes. The projects usually take two pages and
feature a large photo of the finished item, plus some helpful
photos of various stages. It tells you what materials you
need (of course) and also what tools you need – would
that all how-to books did this – so you know instantly
what you can make right away. As the instructions are mostly
written I would not recommend this to somebody who had never
made anything before, but not too much sewing know-how is
required. As this book is written by a man you can expect
some less usual subjects for the bunting, and I like the way
most of it does not just consist of one shape repeated but
items on a theme. The cooked breakfast is not just sausages,
but bacon, fried eggs and teabags too, and Seaside has bucket,
sandcastle, spade and shells. There are triangular ones too,
for those more traditional moments, adorned with feathers,
buttons and more for a change. If you want to make bunting
but are keen for something a wee bit different, this is a
good place to find it.
If you cannot find a good range of patchwork materials
locally try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers.
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