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A few years ago I hosted a Wedding Open House at the end of summer for some dear friends. It was thrown together a bit at the last minute so I needed some simple decor that would make a statement. A White Paper Bunting was the perfect solution. Let me teach you how to make one!

Decorate for a Wedding with a White Paper Bunting

I decided to decorate with some Downton Abbey inspired paper flags. Did you see the wedding episode (Season 6, Episode) where Carson and Mrs. Hughes were married? At their reception they had white flags decking the hall. Isn't this just the picture perfect wedding hall!

Downton Abbey Wedding of Carson and Mrs. Hughes

photo from PBS.org

I thought this hall was so pretty and fun, I wanted to try and recreate it a little in my own house. Here are some pictures of how we used them inside. Excuse the ladder ;)

Hang a Paper Bunting from the Ceiling to add a touch of Whimsy

The Perfect Decor for Outdoor Parties and Weddings

I also used them to decorate the back porch at my daughter's 16th Birthday party...

....and at my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary picnic. These paper flags are a great way to decorate for an outdoor party.

I've made so many of these and have experimented with a few different ways to try to figure out the fastest way to crank them out. Today I thought I'd post a little tutorial to show you my method. With Covid upon us you may find yourself needing an inexpensive way to make and outdoor gathering look festive too.

Easy Paper Bunting Tutorial

Supplies

printer paper
white yarn
a glue gun with extra glue sticks

1. Measure your space

Start by figuring out how long each section of flags you want and cut your yarn length accordingly. Add a little extra length if you will be tying your flags around something an an extra foot or so for the swag. Each flag is about 7 inches across the top and you can get 2 flags from each paper.

2. Cut the flags

You can get 2 flags out of every sheet of paper. Make a marking at 3 3/4 inches on one long side and at 7 1/4 inches on the opposite side. Connect the 2 marks using a straight edge and draw a line. Then draw a line from each mark to the opposite corner. Cut out 2-3 pages at a time with scissors and use a flag you already made for a template. To make the cutting go faster you can use a large paper cutter OR do what I do and use an old rotary cutter with a mat to cut multiple papers at once. Paper will dull your blade so I save an old rotary blade that isn't sharp enough for fabric to use on paper. I find that I can cut 4-5 pages at a time this way and before too long I have all the flags I need.

3. Glue the flags to the yarn

Apply a line of hot glue along the short edge of a flag and push the yarn down onto hit. Hold it in place with the eraser side of a pencil until it cools. It is easier if you have an extra set of hands for this step. Place the flags right next to each other or a couple of inches apart, which ever you think looks best.

This method is the fastest I've found. I also find it interesting that I never had a flag fly off in the wind. The hot glue-paper-yarn combination seems to very durable as long as you are getting the yarn pushed down before the glue cools. When you are done with each length you can accordion fold them and slide them into a gallon Ziploc bag so they travel to your destination easily.

4. Hang it up

To hang ours outside I used a staple gun and tied the string to itself after I stapled one end. For a ceiling inside I used a sewing pin to shove through the yarn and into the drywall. A sewing pin leaves such a small hole that you'll never find it again.

Finished!

These flags are so happy and fresh looking. We loved having them in our house so much that we left them up for a couple of months to enjoy. I think it would be fun to do this with snowflakes at Christmas time too. Hope you found this helpful. If you use this idea we'd love to see your event. You can tag us @bluesusanmakes or use #paperweddingflags so we can see what you made.

Happy Making!

Easy Paper Bunting Tutorial: Outdoor Wedding Decor