How To: Make Super Simple, No Frills Celebration Pennant Bunting

Over the last few years, handmade pennant bunting has become a popular project in the handmade and DIY decor scene. And for good reason: it’s fun, festive, and infinitely customizable.

But, to be honest, a lot of it is, well, girly, and quite ornate. Constructed from multiple patterns of fabric, often with loads of pink, a lot of the fabric bunting tutorials out there are awesome, provided you’re hosting a party for your daughter.

So, in prep to throw my sweetheart a kickin’ birthday party, I wanted to come up with a quick and easy bunting that looked handmade, but remained clean, easy to make, and gender neutral. 

Here’s how to do it:  

Materials and Tools:

• Bunting template 
• Cardstock or fabric
• Scissors or craft knife
• Markers or fabric markers/paint
• thread
• Double-sided tape or needle and thread

1. First, decide whether you want to make your bunting from paper or fabric. Paper is much easier, and can be whipped up in less than twenty minutes, but fabric will last longer and you’ll be able to reuse it more times. I opted for paper, since I had LOTS to prepare for the party, but plan on making a few fabric options in the future.

Download the template from our downloads page, and print it out. If you’re making yours from paper, just print off as many as you need onto cardstock.

2. Cut out the shapes with scissors or a craft knife. If using fabric, use the template to make a pattern, then trace and cut onto fabric, one for each side. Sew to seal the raw edges.

3. Then, decorate! I went for a simple hand drawn asterisk pattern inspired by the work of our friend, Scotty Albrecht. I used markers to create a two-color asterisk on each side, then flipped it over and traced the same shape on the back, since the light will shine through the paper and I wanted the sides to match.

4. Then, repeat, and add hang them on the string or yarn. Just fold over the little tabs, and secure with double sided tape, or by sewing shut if using fabric.

Easy! It looks crazy celebratory at my house, and I think it’s simple enough that I can just leave it up all summer!