Favorite no-sew bunting with vintage fabrics

Melissa Camara Wilkins -

Written by contributor Melissa Camara Wilkins.

I’m always a little bit hesitant about crafting with vintage linens. It’s not that I don’t want them on display, it’s just that I’m nervous about cutting into them. (What if they unravel? What if Something Goes Wrong?!)

It’s kind of a silly fear, I realize. I’m working on it. In the meantime, here’s my favorite no-sew, no-cut bunting technique for vintage linens!

I used doilies, but vintage napkins or handkerchiefs would work just as well.

Doilies can be old-fashioned or even fussy, it’s true. But paired with a solid, bright colored background, the vibe is much more contemporary.

What to do:


1. Fold your clean linens in half, and iron them flat. For doilies, this makes a semicircle. For napkins or handkerchiefs, fold corner to corner to make triangles.


2. Hang a length of ribbon up to be the base for your bunting. I chose an orange ribbon to contrast with both the doilies and the walls.


3. Lay your linens over your ribbon, arranging in whatever order you like. I put my bigger doilies toward the middle so they wouldn’t slide down over my smaller ones, but that hasn’t actually been a problem; everything stays put just where I placed it.

No cutting, no sewing, and those linens are on display in no time!

Tips & tricks:

  • If you don’t crochet (hello, that would be me) and don’t have a stash of antique linens (me again), doilies can be found at thrift stores, or at etsy sellers like this one.
  • A ribbon worked well to hold up my larger doilies (the largest one up there is about 14” across). If I wanted to make this kind of bunting out of only smaller doilies, I would try using a length of pearl cotton instead.
  • Thinner, cotton doilies work best here. Thicker doilies made with acrylic yarns won’t want to hold that crease down the middle.
  • Some doilies are more rounded, others more pointy. Sticking with one shape or the other will lend your bunting a more cohesive look.
  • Since only half the doily will show, don’t worry about small stains or imperfections—just put those on the back.

Need more bunting ideas? I keep a Pinterest board of other garlands and buntings right here, and I have a tutorial for a no-sew Valentine’s Day garland on my blog this week, too.

What do you think? Would you try a no-sew bunting for fabrics? Are you braver than I am when it comes to cutting into vintage fabrics? And do you have other doily décor suggestions?