This is part of a week-long series for National Sewing Month. Don’t forget to enter the Grand Prize Giveaway!
Autumn Bunting
Anna Wilson | Tea and a Sewing Machine
You Will Need:
- 3 fat quarters of plain cotton fabric (I used Kona Solids in Stone, Eggshell and School Bus)
- Scraps of other cotton fabric in autumnal colours (I used Orange Leaf Spray from Makower Island Batiks, Windblown Mustard and Branches Mustard from Valley by Moda, Dots Orange from Lost and Found Halloween by Riley Blake and Bow Tie Plaid Burgundy from Michael Miller’s Christmas at Brambleberry Ridge)
- Brown felt
- Fusible interfacing
- Bias binding
- Pencil, paper and ruler or the templates (download here)
- Usual sewing supplies
Making the Templates
If you don’t want to make your own, you can download the templates I used here.
If you are making your own, this is what to do:
- Draw a line 20 cm long. Find the middle.
- Draw another line from the centre of the first line and at right angles to it.
- Join the end of this line to the ends of the first line to make a triangle. This is the template for the bunting.
- Inside the triangle, draw a simple tree shape. Remember that you will lose a cm off the triangle all the way round, so don’t make the tree too big. For inspiration, you could search for retro trees on Pinterest.
- Onto the tree, draw some branches.
- Take a second piece of paper and trace the tree, then the trunk and branches. Cut them out.
- Cut out the triangle. You might like to glue it to a piece of cardboard to make it easier to draw round.
If you don’t want to do any of this, you can download the templates here.
Cutting Out
- From each of the fat quarters, cut 8 triangles.
2. Cut 12 triangles from fusible interfacing.
3. Fuse interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric you are using for the trees, then cut out 12 trees.
4. Cut 12 trunk and branch sections from brown felt.
Making Up the Bunting:
1. Take 4 triangles from each colour. Fuse a triangle of interfacing to the wrong side of each one.
2. Arrange the triangles in the order that you want them. Then place a tree on each triangle, considering which trees look best next to each other. You might want to mix up stripes and spots, patterns and plain.
3. Check that each tree is in the centre of each triangle and pin in place.
4. Sew around the main part of each tree. Don’t worry about the trunk at this stage.
5. Place a trunk and branches piece on each tree and pin. Sew in place by sewing up the middle of the trunk and along the middle of each branch.
6. Take the other plain cotton triangles and pin them to the triangles with the trees on, wrong sides together.
7. Sew along the sides, leaving the tops free. Trim the seams and turn out. Trim any bits of side seam that are protruding out of the top.
8. To attach the bias binding, it is easiest to leave it on the roll and unwind it as you go. Unwind some of it and fold it in half length ways. Press with your finger. Sew along the edge of the bias binding for 10 – 15 cm.
9. Take the first of your flags and slip in in between the folds of the bias binding. Continue sewing until the top of the flag is enclosed within the bias binding.
10. Slip the next flag in between the folds of the bias binding and sew in the same way. Keep going until you have attached all the flags to the bias binding. Unroll more bias binding as you need to and fold it in half as you go.
11. Once all the flags are attached, keep sewing the bias binding for another 10 – 15 cm. Cut the bias binding.
You can follow Anna’s blog, Tea and a Sewing Machine, right here!
How to Enter Our Grand Prize Giveaway
To celebrate National Sewing Month, we’re giving away a GRAND PRIZE: this BERNINA 215 Simply Red valued at $999! Enter to win on AllFreeSewing.com.
Gain extra entries for our grand prize by commenting on our daily National Sewing Month blog posts here on Seams & Scissors. Comment your answer to our question below for an extra entry!
Contest Rules:
- Commenting on this page will enter you to win the prize. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.
- The winner will be selected at random from the comments on this page and entries on AllFreeSewing.com.
- You have until September 30th, 2016 at 11:59 CST to leave your comment on this post. Comments after that will not be counted.
- Contest is open to anyone 18+ in the US and Canada. Void in Puerto Rico, the Province of Quebec and where prohibited.
- The winner will be contacted by the e-mail address provided in their account.
How to Enter Our Grand Prize Giveaway
To celebrate National Sewing Month, we’re giving away a GRAND PRIZE: this BERNINA 215 Simply Red valued at $999! Enter to win on AllFreeSewing.com.
Gain extra entries for our grand prize by commenting on our daily National Sewing Month blog posts here on Seams & Scissors. Comment your answer to our question below for an extra entry!
Contest Rules:
- Commenting on this page will enter you to win the prize. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.
- The winner will be selected at random from the comments on this page and entries on AllFreeSewing.com.
- You have until September 30th, 2016 at 11:59 CST to leave your comment on this post. Comments after that will not be counted.
- Contest is open to anyone 18+ in the US and Canada. Void in Puerto Rico, the Province of Quebec and where prohibited.
- The winner will be contacted by the e-mail address provided in their account.
Today’s Question: How does autumn inspire you?
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Living in the Midwest, it’s the changing colors of the leaves that inspire me. To see those trees in the fields and along the bluffs of the Mississippi River is just breath-taking. Seeing them makes one realize how many different shades of yellow, orange, and red there really are!
Although I now live in Florida, I love autumn, it brings calm and relaxes me from the very hot summer , it is looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and the holidays,Hannukah and Christmas which bring joy and get us to want to be together and celebrate. I am turning to warm colors, oranges and their family of hues that are soothings and keep us happy. and the red and green of joy.
It is my favorite season of the year. I love the cooler weather and overcast skies. It makes us slow down, contemplate life, and consider redemption in many senses.
Quilts, Fleece jackets, Fleece hats, all those things to keep you warm.
Autumn inspires me to use more oranges and yellows in my quilting.
Autumn inspires me to start Christmas sewing.
Long skirts, tights, sweaters, hoodies, scarfs, boots, costumes, accessories, snuggling under homemade quilts sipping hot apple cider.
The cooler weather inspires me to do more inside and out. I pull out projects put away in the heat of summer and prepare for winter “hibernation”
I love Fall! Makes me want to start baking and sewing again. And clean for some reason! I’ve actually been making bunting to sell at vintage market’s in October. Love them.
This tree bunting is so cute!!!
Autumn inspires me with the crisp cool air. The change is nice.
autumn inspires me to do a reorganization of my closets and drawers to put away summer and pull out fall items and to give away or repurpose items that I haven’t used in the last 6 months It also inspires me to make pumpkin spice hot chocolate and popcorn while I make Christmas crafts.
The colors of the turning leave and the bright blue sky of Autumn inspire me to use these colors in at least one quilt each year. Thanks!
I love all of the pumpkin-themed items that are available in autumn, and I find all of the ideas for cute and creative Halloween crafts to be very inspirational!
I love the vibrant colors of autumn, and the fresh cool air. Jadahlgr at Yahoo dot Com
The autumn colors, the fall plants and leaves, the crispness of the fall air and the football and cross country sports inspires me to sew for my grandchildren to wear to their and school activities
Autumn just makes me get in the mood to start making holiday stuff. Something about Fall that makes it fun anticipating the holidays and family traditions.
I love the change of the leaves in the fall. From golds to orange to deep reds they are all so beautiful. They inspire me to make a fall quilt for the living room along with places mats for the kitchen. It puts you in a festive mood and starts the holiday season off!!
Autumn inspires me to open the window and enjoy the fresh air while I sew. The cooler air just gives me more energy and a clearer head.
Autumn is the time of year that I get serious about sewing. All of the Christmas gifts I need to make, and changing the decor from summer to colder months. It’s also nice that the days get a little chilly, because that is the time I like to plan out what my next projects will be.