Monday, October 30, 2017

DIY Halloween Bunting

I know that I refer to my blog as a "food and lifestyle blog," but let's face it, it's mainly about food -- food, and table settings, and my pithy commentary. But today, it's going to be that lifestyle blog that I hoped it would be, because I just have to share with you this Halloween bunting that I made.

To you it's probably nothing special; to me it is remarkable. I'll tell you why. I do not sew. I want to sew, I mean I really, really want to sew, but ever since junior high Home Ec, when I was assigned a sewing machine that would continuously run amok, causing me to end up with the nickname of "the ripper," I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

It's not that I don't have a sewing machine, I have two. One is a Singer from the 1940s that belonged to my great aunt who, only partially sighted and into her 90s, sewed her own clothes. (You've read about her before in
this post.) I also have my mother's Singer sewing machine from the 1970s, and this is the one that I decided to unveil.

I have a fascination with fabric. I buy a lot of it, and tend to use it in various food displays, or make it into napkins that are hand sewn, or table runners, table toppers, anything that I can cut, pin, and sew by hand. But I really wanted a Halloween bunting for my mantle.
I searched the web for various patterns, thinking that I would indeed sew mine by hand, and then realized the futility of that. So, I got out my mother's machine and, taking it out of the case, was shocked and thankful to see that it still had thread! I used this pattern (I love this one because it requires only one seam per flag), and gingerly started to sew. In no time I had sewn each of the flags, trimmed them, turned them, and attached them to some binding (the latter by hand because, by this point, my nerves were shot).
I love the look. This probably doesn't seem like much to you, but it represents a giant step for me. And, I can't tell you how proud of myself that I am.
P.S. If you happened to notice the ragged cut lines, rest assured that I will be no longer using fingernail scissors to cut fabric. I bought myself a shiny new pair of Gingher's!

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3 comments:

Alycia Nichols said...

Fingernail scissors??!?!??! Say what??!?!??! C'mon, Pattie! You're killin' me here!!! I can't sew a lick, either, but fingernail scissors...that's where I draw the line! :-) :-) :-) Sounds like you and I had very similar home ec experiences when it came to sewing. Aced it in the cooking area, flubbed badly in sewing. At least you can sew by hand. I don't even have that figured out yet! My husband is still the one who sews buttons on around here! Your bunting turned out great!!! Happy Halloween!

sandy said...

i think it looks great! fantastic idea and so beautiful on the fireplace mantle.

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

You did an outstanding job on your bunting. It looks really good.

Go to a sewing center and they do give classes or take a night school class. Wish I lived closer would help you out. Hang in there you will get the hang of it. Scissors are most important. Never use them on anything else other than fabric.

Great job.
Mary