A few months ago when I published pictures of our book corner I had a number of readers ask how I made the book cover bunting hanging in the space. So here it is…
I scanned the covers of our favourite picture books and used an iron on t-shirt transfer paper compatible with my printer.
I set the images up two to a page in Photoshop and printed them on to the transfer paper. Choosing the ‘t-shirt transfer’ print option will reverse the image for you so that once it is ironed on it faces the correct way. I re-purposed some thick cotton curtain fabric (not rubber backed) to print the images onto. I chose the thick fabric and didn’t print them too large as I did not want the fabric to curl once it was hung. Alternatively, I am sure you could iron on some stiffener onto the reverse side to stop it curling.
Be sure to follow the instructions for ironing the transfer paper carefully to ensure that you have a clean transfer. Basically, lots of pressing down with a very hot iron is required!
I trimmed the fabric to size using pinking shears. Then it was simply a matter of folding over (in half) and ironing a length of bias binding. Tuck and pin the top edge of the book cover pieces into the fold of the bias binding, spacing them evenly, and run a zig zag stitch the whole way along. If you don’t have a sewing machine, then I am sure that this process for creating your length of bunting would work just as well.
I love that you can choose whichever books your child loves for this project. I can imagine hanging beautiful classics like Guess How Much I Love You (S. McBratney) in a baby’s nursery would be gorgeous.
What books would you choose for a book cover bunting for your child?
Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
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