Yesterday I mentioned that I’d been using old book pages to make bunting, and said that I’d post more details later this week. Well, no time like the present!
I saw some bunting made with book pages quite recently, and although it was pretty I thought it a little plain (it used pages which were all text) and dreadfully expensive (£22 for 1.2m of bunting is ridiculous in my opinion!)… so I thought I’d see if I could do any better.
It was actually really easy to make, even for someone like me who’s not particularly quick or confident with a sewing machine. The pages are backed with felt and the edges are cut with pinking shears, so there’s no need for hemming them. The flags are all joined together with bias tape. See, that is easy, and doesn’t take too much time either (I’m still a bit slow but I daresay my speed will improve the more I use the machine!).
I believe that handcrafted items should be worth an amount which reflects their, well, handcrafted nature… but I also believe that you shouldn’t charge a disproportionate amount for an item which is purely decorative. Felt doesn’t cost that much, nor does bias tape (in my case I had quite a lot of both already stashed in the house), and as for book pages? Well, for me they’re a by-product of the vintage books I repurpose but even if you have to buy a book in especially then they’re not that expensive. So I do think that the other bunting I saw was way too expensive.
I’ve decided to price my bunting at £10 (plus postage), which I think is far more reasonable. I’ve also decided to use pages with illustrations as I happen to have quite a lot of these at the moment and I think they’re far more appealing than pages of bog standard text. I think it’s safe to say that my bunting is a success already because I made six sets on Monday, and five have already been sold (with two more custom orders). Yay!
I’ve made a few more sets of bunting today and you can find those in my Etsy shop if you click here. If you’d like to request a custom order of bunting then please contact me and we can discuss it.
This bunting is so sweet! Perfect for a nursery or a baby shower.