Easy Fabric Strip Garland

I made these for the Prudent Advice Launch Party, and they were so easy and quick. I love the way they turned out. They were also a great excuse to put my new Simplicity Rotary Cutting and Embossing Machine to good use. It's so awesome and fun!

This garland would make a great addition to any party and put all your fabric scraps to awesome use. It would also be cute in a nursery as a fresh take on the pennant garland.

Get the full Easy Fabric Strip Garland DIY after the jump...

And remember, leave a comment on this or any post this week and you could win that cute little decoupage kit up there on the left!

Easy Fabric Strip Garland

1. Star by creating strips from fabric scraps. You can just cut or tear them, but it's so much fun to use a rotary cutting machine to make fun edges. My Simplicity Deluxe Rotary Cutting & Embossing Machine is one of those tools that's like a toy for grown ups, it's just so fun to use.

It comes with interchangeable blades that cut fun edges, in this case a wave. The blade isn't sharp - it uses pressure to cut the fabric:

So i set the width i want the strip to be on the bottom, then just feed the fabric through by pushing the foot pedal (much like a sewing machine):

Because it's not sharp, even S could help me:

Then look at my awesome edge!

You can also use embosser attachments instead of blades to make impressions on paper - umm, rad.

2.  Anyway, so I did that to a bunch of strips, some with straight edges, and for fun effect I just ripped some strips as well.  I did a bunch of fabrics that matched the color scheme of my book (though in the end I eliminated the leopard, it wasn't working for me).


3.  Originally I was going to make a tablecloth, but I decided I liked the idea of a garland better.  So I made some gray bias tape (get our How to Make Bias Tape Tutorial here):


4.  Then I used some fusible tape (imagine this is on the inside of bias tape - this pic is from my stab at making a tablecloth that i abandoned).  So iron one side of the fusible tape to the inside of your bias tape, then remove the paper.

Now it is sticky, so you can stick all your fabric strips to it.  Once you have them where you want them, iron the edge so the strips fuse to the tape:

Then fold the bias tape over the top.  You could add another strip of fusible tape to hold it in place before you sew, or you could pin.

Then just straight stitch across the edge of the bias tape to hold it all together.  Sorry I don't have a pic but I am sure you can picture it.

Take to party, hang!


Tell me you don't want a Simplicity Rotary Cutting and Embossing Machine??   There's still one more day left to enter the giveaway!