Hang out the homemade bunting

The last thing anyone wants to do on a sunny, sticky weekend is to elbow their way around B&Q, trying desperately to stock up on stuff to spruce up the garden. But how do you brighten the place up for (fingers crossed, touch wood and all that jazz) next weekend's big summer barbecue if you can't take the heat of the superstore? The sweet little tin can lanterns that Sally Cameron Griffiths showed us how to make this time last year are a brilliant place to start, and, of course, there's the Guardian's own gardening blog for all kinds of green-fingered ideas. But once you've managed all that, then perhaps you can have a go at a quintessential British garden decoration: a classic string of bunting. Easy-peasy to make and hang up, it's an excellent way to brighten up even the most dreary of back yards. But do remember - it's a bank holiday next weekend. Perhaps we should hold off cracking out the barbecue and the sewing box for a few more days. No one wants to jinx anything … What you need Card Pencil/tailors' chalk Ruler Scissors (for cutting card) Pinking scissors or scissors suitable for cutting fabric Fabric Pins Needle and thread/sewing machine 2m ribbon (wider than 2cm to make it easiest) Iron Step one: Make a template To make sure all the triangles are the same size, cut a template from card to draw around. I reckon long triangles are better than short stubby ones. Step two: Draw the triangles Draw around the template on to your fabric using a pencil or piece of tailors' chalk. Remember to rotate the template each time you draw another triangle so you can get as many pieces as you can from your fabric. Step three: Cut out the pieces Use pinking scissors to cut around the triangles - this gives them a zigzag edge and stops the fabric from fraying. If you don't fancy investing in any new tools, use normal scissors to cut out and: a) Put up with the fraying (really, this isn't ideal). b) Use felt - which doesn't fray - or strong upholstery material c) Overlock around the edges with a sewing machine Step four: Attach the triangles Take a long piece of ribbon and fold it in half, lengthways, so it is just as long but half as wide. Iron to keep the fold in place (this makes the next bit easier). Pin the fabric triangles on to the ribbon at equal distances from each other. Step four: Sewing up With the triangles pinned in place, sew all the way along the ribbon, at least 1cm from the edge, making that sure when you stitch, the needle goes through the triangle and both sides of the ribbon. A sewing machine makes this easy, but if you don't have one, hand-sew using a backstitch. Alternatively … • Make double-sided bunting. The easiest way to do this is to buy double-sided fabric. If that's too pricey or difficult to track down, use fusible webbing to stick two pieces of fabric together before step two, then cut triangles out with pinking shears. Another way - which is more time-consuming - is to cut out triangles with normal scissors, pin two together with the right sides facing, sew together along two sides 1cm from the edge, turn inside out, then iron flat, all before proceeding to step four. • Mix it up and use contrasting fabric triangles: not everything has to match, y'know. • Make triangles from coloured paper instead of fabric, and attach them to a long length of ribbon using a stapler: it's not waterproof, but it never rains on a bank holiday, right? This is a good project for older children. • Perri writes about making stuff at makeanddowithperri.wordpress.com