Introduction: Red White & Blue Bandanna Bunting

About: Creating simple hacks to make party planning simpler, fun and less stressful so there is more time to enjoy the party!

This red, white & blue bandanna bunting is super easy and inexpensive to create for 4th of July. Just six bandannas will create approximately 26-1/2 ft of bunting. The bandannas are tied together so you can easily create different length bunting depending on your needs. However you use these bandanna bunting, on a fence, balcony, rail, door, golf cart or wherever, it is sure to make a big impact at your 4th of July celebration!

If you want to make this even simpler, steps 2, 3 & 4 can be omitted. You can cut the bandannas in half without adding a seam, ironing or starching. This will result with a less finished top edge and less crisp flags, but that might work better with your theme.

Bandannas come in lots of colors so this could be made for any holiday or occasion.

Supplies:

  • (2) red bandannas
  • (2) white bandannas
  • (2) blue bandannas
  • can of spray starch
  • Liquid Stitch OR iron-on hemming tape OR needle & thread
  • string

Tools:

  • pinking sheers
  • iron
  • ironing board
  • newspaper or scrap paper to work on

Step 1: Fold & Cut Bandannas in Half

Fold each bandanna in half diagonally, so it is folded into a triangle.

Use pinking sheers to cut each bandanna on the fold line. Resulting in two equal triangle-shaped bandannas.

Repeat for the other five bandannas.

Step 2: Spray Starch Each Piece

Spay each triangle piece with starch and allow the starch to penetrate before proceeding to the next step, about 2 mins.

If you don't allow the starch to penetrate before ironing, it will flake off.

Step 3: Iron a Hem

Fold over about an one inch* on the longest side of the triangle. Use your iron to create a crisp folded edge and iron out any other wrinkles or fold lines in the bandanna. Repeat on each piece.

*I used about 1 inch for the hem but I just eyeballed it. No need to be exact, but you can do a smaller hem if you want.

Step 4: Seal the Hem

This step you can choose how to proceed, there are couples different ways to do it.

I used Liquid Stitch, to seal the hem shut. You could also use an iron-on-hem or stitch it up by hand or sewing machine. Whatever way you choose will work, the point of the hem is just to create a clean edge on top.

I like Liquid Stitch because it is easy and dries clear. No need to worry about every centimeter having the Liquid Stitch on it, if your bottle doesn't flow smoothly. I didn't take the Liquid Stitch all the way to the corners of the bandanna because the ends will be tied together, holding it in place.

Step 5: Tie Bandannas Together

Tie the corners of the bandannas together, in a red, white, and blue pattern. So tie the right corner of the red to the left corner of the white and right corner of the white to left corner of the blue and so on.

Depending on where you are hanging your bunting, you can tie them all up in one one string or in small groups. I hung them up on my fence, so hanging them in groups of three, between each post worked the best for me.

Step 6: Add String to Hang

The ends of the bandannas don't leave much extra room for hanging, so tie a piece of string to each end for hanging.

Choose a string that will blend in with the color of what the bunting is hanging on. So I just used white string to hang on my white fence. Find something close in color, you want this hanging string to be as invisible as possible.