Looking for a simple and inexpensive way to bring some fun color into your party decorations? Try this Torn Fabric Garland. Hang it over a door, in an archway, over a buffet, etc!
What you need:
- Sheets or Fabric in the colors of your choice
- Twine
- Scissors
1. Once you have chosen the color theme for your party… it’s time to go shopping. You can certainly head to your local fabric store and buy yardage, but here’s my secret tip for saving money on this project…. head to your local thrift store and purchase sheets! They are usually pretty easy to come by unless you are looking for an especially unique color. You get a ton of fabric for very little money. And sheets are very easy to work with for this particular project. I actually keep a box of the sheets I’ve found in my craft room, so I can whip up one of these garlands anytime I need a Go-To decoration!
2. When cutting your twine, first determine the length of your garland. Then add length to each end for tying. If you are making an especially long garland (6 feet or more), I’d suggest adding at least 2 feet of twine to each end. This ensures you have enough twine to really secure the garland. You can always trim later. I like to re-use my garlands…. so I make the twine extra long, and don’t trim it…. since I never know what I may have to tie it to next. Another option to consider is using a double strand of twine. I once made a garland that was 10 feet long. I knew the finished project was going to be very heavy, so I doubled up. You don’t want to complete all of this work just to have the twine break!
3. To create the strips of fabric…. start at one edge of your sheet or fabric. Using your scissors, make a cut into the fabric 2-3 inches long. This is the fun part…… using the cut as a starting point, tear the fabric! Your fabric will naturally tear along the grain line. Keep tearing until you reach the other edge. Continue to make cuts along the bottom edge and tearing to make the strips. I recommend you use strips that are 1-2″ wide. For my garlands, I always just eyeball where I make my cuts and tears. I think these garlands are more beautiful when they’re not perfect, so my strips are never uniform in width!
4. Once you have a pile of long fabric strips, determine how long you want your garland to hang. Cut the strips double that length. Again, I think a lack of perfection works well in this case, so I vary the length of my strips. In the example I have pictured, the finished length of the garland varies between 11 and 15″. The number of strips you need will vary based on the total length of the twine as well as how close together you tie the strips. For the garland pictured, I used about 15 strips for every foot of twine.
5. To secure the fabric strips to your twine, fold the fabric strip in half and place the folded loop behind the twine.
6. Fold the loose ends up over the twine and thru the folded loop.
7. Pull the loose ends completely thru the folded loop.
8. Pull the loose ends toward you and down to tighten and secure. It helps to hold the knot in place as you pull and tighten.
9. Continue to secure each strip of fabric until the twine is covered. I like to take about half of the strips in each color, and tie them to the twine, spacing them across the entire length. I then fill in the gaps with the remaining strips. This ensures I have a nice mix of color across the entire garland, without having to pre-plan the layout. If you prefer to have the colors repeat in the same order, you can start at one end and work your way across.
I also like to combine these garlands with banners. Here’s an example of one I used with a Happy birthday Banner.
Happy Crafting!!
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