Do you want to make your own DIY outdoor bunting, which is easy and cheap to make, involves absolutely no sewing AND is waterproof?
No problem! We’ve got you covered with this rainbow bunting tutorial!
First things first though. Does this tutorial use oilcloth like all the other ones you’ve probably seen? NOPE! Here’s why…
Why We Didn’t Use Oilcloth…
You might be wondering why we’ve chosen NOT to use oilcloth. After all, most DIY outdoor bunting tutorials use it.
Using oilcloth would certainly make things quicker, but it’s also quite expensive to buy. Especially if you want to use multiple colours like we did for our rainbow bunting.
So we started finding out how to make materials we had lying around the house waterproof that we could use for some colourful bunting.
And we think we’ve found an ideal solution that doesn’t involve any sewing and is cheap to make.
But would you be surprised if we told you the base layers of this rainbow bunting are just sheets of coloured card with some washi tape around the edges? Thought so, keep reading!
Is Washi Tape Waterproof?
Washi tape isn’t waterproof on its own so our tutorial below shows you how you can add clear nail varnish to the top of any washi tape you use to make it waterproof. Cool, huh?
No Sew Outdoor Bunting Tutorial
What You Need:
- Coloured card
- Plastic wallets
- Sellotape
- Washi tape
- Clear nail varnish
- Hole punch
- Ribbon
How To Make Your Own Outdoor Bunting
1. Start by cutting your bunting flags out of coloured cardstock.
We went for all colours of the rainbow but the colours are totally up to you. You could also use white or cream card and decorate it yourself with drawings, stencils, washi tape or whatever else you fancy, as we’re going to make them waterproof anyway.
Heads up: we’d advise against leaving your bunting out in all weathers (it is homemade after all!) But with our tutorial, you won’t need to worry about a little bit of rain ruining your pretty bunting during your event… just don’t expect it to hold up through endless torrential downpour!
2. Put your first bunting flag inside your plastic wallet and cut around it.
Hold your plastic wallet very firmly as it tends to move around a bit. But don’t worry if you have uneven or messy edges as we’re going to tidy them up with some washi tape afterwards. Sellotape the edges to hold your card firmly inside the plastic wallet.
We managed to get three bunting flags out of every plastic wallet we used but you may be able to get more if your wallets are A4 sized or larger.
3. Repeat this step until all of your bunting flags are taped up inside your plastic wallets.
4. Add washi tape to all of the sides of your bunting and fold it over so you’re covering both sides with washi tape.
We chose glitter washi tape in each of our rainbow colours but you could also do contrasting colours if you prefer. As always, it’s totally up to you.
5. Now we need to make your washi tape waterproof!
Washi tape on its own isn’t waterproof but we can make it so with something you’ve probably already got in your house – clear nail varnish. Simply cover all of your washi tape edges with your clear nail varnish and leave to dry.
6. Punch two holes into the top of each bunting flag (make sure they’re evenly spaced).
And thread your ribbon through the holes on each flag. If your ribbon is thick enough then your bunting flags should stay in place, but if not, you can always tie knots in your ribbon to keep the flags in place.
7. Add the finishing touches.
Add some final knots or bows to each end of your ribbon to help you to hang them and add some clear nail varnish to the ends of your ribbon to stop them from fraying.
And you’re done!
Now all you’ve got to do is hang your bunting and have a garden party or two in the sunshine!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our DIY outdoor bunting tutorial! If you make this or something inspired by this blog post, then we’d love to see it, so please tag us on Instagram @houseofmahalo.
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