Nothing says "the decorations are up" quite like a string of bunting across the mantelpiece, the staircase or the kitchen window. Shop-bought Christmas bunting can be surprisingly pricey, but homemade bunting costs very little, uses simple straight seams and comes back out every December. It is also a lovely project to make with children, who can help choose the prints and lay out the flags.
Here is our easy method, a quick guide to how much fabric you need, and four festive prints we love for the job.
Festive fabrics for Christmas bunting
For bunting you want fabric that is light, crisp and easy to press, so the flags hang neatly and keep their points. Polycotton is ideal, and it is kind to your budget too. Mixing three or four prints that share a colour gives you a cheerful, coordinated string.
- Christmas Party Polycotton, Red: a jolly all-over print of Christmas trees, gingerbread men, snowmen, candy and Rudolph on a red background. 65% polyester and 35% cotton, 112cm wide and machine washable. Now £3.99 a metre (was £6.99).
- Christmas Rudolph Snow Polycotton: Rudolph, Christmas trees and snowflakes on a light, easy-to-sew polycotton. 112cm wide and £3.99 a metre (was £6.99).
- Candy Cane Pinspots Polycotton, Sky: candy canes and pin spots in pink on sky blue, for a sweeter, more playful look. 112cm wide, 100gsm and £3.99 a metre (was £6.99).
- Christmas Santa & Rudolf Cotton Poplin, Blue: a Rose & Hubble pure cotton poplin with a Santa and Rudolf scene. Soft, smooth and lovely as a feature flag. Now £6.99 a metre (was £9.99).
Colour tip: the Candy Cane Sky and the blue Santa & Rudolf poplin pair beautifully for a frosty, wintry string, while the red Christmas Party print brings classic warmth. Alternate a bright print with a busier one so each flag stands out.
What you will need
- Christmas fabric (see the guide below for how much)
- Bias binding or cotton tape, about 1 metre longer than your finished bunting so you have ties at each end
- Card for a template, a ruler and a pencil
- Fabric scissors (pinking shears are handy too), pins and matching thread
- An iron and a sewing machine (or a needle, thread and some patience)
How much fabric do you need?
For a flag that finishes about 20cm across the top and 25cm deep, make a triangle template with a 22cm top edge and a 26cm height. That includes a 1cm seam allowance.
Cut a strip of fabric 26cm deep across the full 112cm width, then cut your triangles alternately point up and point down. You will get about nine triangles from each strip. Each double-sided flag needs two triangles, so:
- Half a metre each of three prints gives you around 27 triangles, enough for about 13 flags.
- With a small gap between flags, 13 flags makes roughly 3 to 3.5 metres of bunting, which is plenty for a mantelpiece or a long window.
How to sew Christmas bunting, step by step
- Cut your triangles. Draw round the template on the wrong side of the fabric and cut out. Keep pairs together if you would like matching fronts and backs.
- Sew the flags. Place two triangles right sides together and stitch down both long sides with a 1cm seam, leaving the top edge open.
- Trim the point. Snip across the tip close to the stitching (without cutting through it) so the point turns out crisply.
- Turn and press. Turn each flag right side out, gently push out the point with a blunt pencil, and press flat. For a neat finish, topstitch about 5mm in from the sewn edges.
- Attach to the binding. Fold your bias binding in half lengthways and press. Leave about 50cm free at one end for a tie, then slot the top edge of each flag inside the fold, spacing them evenly. Pin, then stitch along the full length of the binding to close it and hold every flag in place.
No bias binding? Cut 6cm strips from one of your prints, join them end to end, then fold both long edges into the middle and fold again to make your own matching tape.
Easy variations to try
- Single-layer bunting: cut one triangle per flag with pinking shears to reduce fraying and stitch straight onto the tape. It is very quick, ideal for little helpers.
- Name bunting: add felt letters to spell out "NOEL", "JOY" or a family name.
- Mini tree bunting: halve the template size to make a tiny string for the Christmas tree.
Get your festive bunting started
A few metres of handmade bunting can make a whole room feel like Christmas, and it costs far less than you might think. Pick two or three prints from our Christmas Party, Rudolph Snow, Candy Cane Sky and Santa & Rudolf fabrics while they are reduced. All our fabrics are cut from the roll and sent in one continuous length. Happy sewing from all of us at Bullring Fabrics!
