How To Make a Fabric Banner - Easy Sewing & No-Sew Tutorials

A fabric banner adds a touch of color and cheerfulness to your home. You can use fabric bunting to decorate for the holidays or to celebrate a special day like a birthday. 

This post is brought to you in partnership with Fabric Wholesale Direct. While I may have been compensated, as always, all opinions are my own.

Fabric banners (also called bunting) have become a very popular decor item lately because they can be made in any color you like, it brightens up your room while adding texture and design, and the size is customizable too. Making your own bunting is an easy sewing project, especially for beginners, and costs next to nothing to make especially if you already have fabric on hand. They also make a great gift for a newborn baby, holiday present, or birthday gift for a friend. 

Today I am going to share two easy-to-follow tutorials - #1 A fabric banner sewing tutorial and #2 A no-sew fabric banner option. 

Fabric Bunting Sewing Tutorial

The sewing option I'm sharing makes a scalloped shape bunting.  It is up to you to choose the colors you want for your bunting but I was in love with this colorful cotton polka dot fabric from The Fabric Warehouse. All of the fabric I am using today including the fabric I used to make the bias tape came from the Fabric Warehouse. 

The scallops measure 4" across and 3" long when attached to the bias tape. Feel free to adjust yours to fit your needs. The free pattern pieces I used are at the end of this post. 

Supplies Needed:

• 4 cotton fabric fat quarter in your favorite colors or prints
• sewing machine
• sewing notions
• bias binding (3-4 feet long)
• scalloped bunting pattern template (below)
• iron 

Step-by-step instructions:

01. Fold your fabric right sides facing then trace your oval pattern piece onto the double layer of fabric. Insert a pin into the middle to prevent the fabric from shifting. Repeat this step for each color of fabric you plan to use. Each oval will make two scalloped bunting flags. 

02. Sew along the traced line on the fabric then cut it out leaving 1/4" seam allowance all around the oval. Fold the oval in half and finger press the center to create a fold line. Cut the oval in half along the fold line then carefully turn each half right side out and press flat with an iron. Continue repeating this step until all of your scalloped banners are completed.

03. Lay the bias binding on a flat surface and open it up to show the center fold line. Measure 12" from the end of the bias binding and begin inserting the raw straight edge of one bunting flag into the open bias binding matching up the bias' fold line with the raw edge of the bunting flag. Fold the bias tape closed and pin the scalloped flag in place. Continue inserting the bunting fabric into the bias tape at regularly spaced intervals stopping 12" before the end of the bias tape.

04. Start sewing a 1/4" seam from one end of the bias fabric stitching it closed and sewing towards the first bunting flag. Continue sewing all of the bunting flags and bias binding all the way to the other end.  

If you can sew a straight line you can easily accomplish this project in less than half an hour! I was so pleased with the results of my scalloped bunting and I know you will be too! 

No-Sew Fabric Bunting Tutorial

If you don't have a sewing machine and hand sewing just isn't your thing, no problem because you can still make a great-looking fabric banner without any fancy sewing tools. Of course, you will still need fabric and a good pair of scissors but no need for a needle and thread.

Gather up the same supplies as listed above but instead of a sewing machine and sewing notions just grab: 

• a bottle of fabric glue 
• pinking shears (optional - but helpful) 
• pattern piece 

If you have never used fabric glue - boy are you in for a treat! I love this stuff! I've used it to fix my daughter's ballet shoes when the pads started to fall out and I've used fabric glue to make a simple table runner by tucking under the raw fabric edges and gluing them down so I didn't have to sew it. 

For this no-sew banner, I chose to make pennant-style flags instead of the scallop shapes I made in the first tutorial. The flags measure 5" across and 6" long.

Step-by-step tutorial:

01. Cut out a Fold over your fabric right sides facing each other. Line up the pattern with the straight edge of the triangle along the fold. Cut out the pattern with pinking shears to prevent fraying. This will create a double-layer flag. Repeat this step with the rest of the fabric colors.

02. Lay the bias binding on a flat surface stretching it straight. Measure 12-16" from the end then begin placing your flags, folded edge first inside the folded bias tape making sure the folded edge of the flag touches the inside folded center of the bias tape. Pin the flag to the bias tape so it doesn't shift around. Repeat this step spacing the flags about 1" to 2" apart. Leave 12" - 16" of bias tape without any flags at the other end of the tape. 

03. Starting on from one end of the bias tape slightly open the folded fabric tape and run a thin line of fabric glue along the edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. Press the fabric closed with your finger. Continue running a bead of fabric glue along the entire length of the bias tape gluing the front side of each flag to one side of the bias tape. 

04.  Once the glue is dry flip the bias tape over and spread a bead of glue under the bias tape and over each flag so that each side of the flags is glued to the bias tape. Allow the glue to dry completely.

This was such a fun project and I am thrilled with the end results! I used two different kinds of fabric and each worked well. The scalloped fabric and bias tape was cotton and the pennant fabric was a poly-cotton blend. 

Here are some ideas on how to use your DIY bunting:

• Add letters like a name to the flags and attach them around a toddler's high chair for their 1st birthday.

• Hang across a window like a valence

• String a bunting outside across a porch or along the top of a gazebo.

• For a special occasion like a wedding, graduation party, or retirement you could hang it behind a picture display and even clip pictures to the bottom points of the pennants.

• Hang different colored banners across your mantel for holidays or seasons. 

I'm sure there are many more ways to display a fabric banner. How or where would you hang your fabric banner? Have you made one yet? What colors are your flags and where do you plan to hang your bunting?