DIY Burlap Wedding Bunting

Today I am sharing how to make an easy peasy DIY burlap wedding bunting. For this project I decided to make it say “Mr. & Mrs.” but you can customize your banner to say whatever you like. You could even make one with your wedding date, which could then be used on a save the date card.

How to Make Burlap Wedding Bunting

These steps may seem a bit confusing so hopefully, the photo collage (below the steps}-) will help this all make sense.

Step 1:

Draw or print a triangle shape out on cardstock paper. You could also print on regular copy paper and transfer it over to cardboard. This will be the template you use to cut out your burlap shapes and the thicker paper keeps the template from sliding around when you trace it onto the burlap. On my template I measured out 6 inches across, then from the 3-inch mark I went down 7 inches and made a dot. Then I connected the dot to the edges of the top line. Does that make sense? I hope so. If I was doing this project again I would just print out a triangle shape.

Step 2:

Iron out your burlap to get any creases out. You could do this as step 1 if you wanted to.

Step 3:

Cut out as many triangle shapes you need for your bunting. For this project, I cut out 6 for “Mr. & Mrs.”.

Step 4:

Brush over your burlap triangles with Mod Podge. This prevents the burlap from fraying and also stiffens the fabric. You could also brush the Mod Podge on the burlap FIRST, let it dry and then cut out your shapes. Since the Mod Podge stiffens the fabric this may make it easier to cut out your shapes.

Side note: I laid the burlap down onto wax paper to keep my work area clean and to avoid getting Mod Podge on anything. FYI: I’m a messy crafter.

Step 5:

After the Mod Podge dries {it dries clear}, print out the letters/font you want to use, making sure they are the right size for the burlap triangles. Then tape the sheet of paper to a window AND tape the first burlap triangle over the printed sheet of paper. You should be able to see the printed out letter through the burlap which will help you trace it onto the burlap. You could always use stencils or your nifty silhouette machine, which I don’t have, boooo. Of course, if you have nice handwriting you could simply write it straight on the burlap. I, unfortunately, have terrible handwriting.

Step 6:

Trace over the letters on each burlap triangle using a piece of chalk. I decided to use chalk because it was easy to use, not permanent and yet showed up really well on the burlap.

Step 7:

Remove the burlap from the window and paint over your letters. I went over each letter with some white paint and a small detailed brush, but you could also use a paint marker or a sharpie. I originally used red paint for the “&”. but didn’t like it {turned out to be a very dark red} so I painted over it with a minty color.

Worth Mentioning:  I later realized that the white letters don’t show up so well outdoors unless they are against a solid surface like a piece of wood, yet they are very easy to read indoors. My tip to you would be to use a darker color unless you know there will be a backdrop.

Step 8:

After your paint is dry you can sew your ribbon to the triangles, but I’m lazy so I just used the hot glue gun and it was all good to go.

You’re done, yay!

Okay so as much as I liked the lacy looking ribbon I originally used,  a week before our wedding I decided to switch out the ribbon to match our wedding chair signs. Here is the original Mr. & Mrs. Banner Photo:

And here it is during set up of the wedding reception:

and displayed on our sweetheart table:

This was such an easy project and I love how it looked during our wedding reception. Here is another burlap wedding bunting banner I made using the same technique, only with twine rather than ribbon:

Will you be using burlap wedding bunting banners for wedding decorations or photo props?