Quasi-Tutorial: Sew a Hanging Fabric Kite — 3 Ways [Pt 2]

Other side of my hanging kite...

Week two of "Make it in May" is part two of my quasi tutorial for making a hanging fabric kite.

Let me take a moment to acknowledge that this idea is certainly not original. I've seen other people's versions and I'm sure they've left enough of an impression on me to influence this project. To be sure, I'm not taking credit for making a decorative kite out of fabric.

That said, I haven't seen one made in exactly this way, using either the strip method I posted about last week or the scrappy method that I'm going to show you here.

Perhaps I can take a bit of credit for coming up with a unique take on the fabric kite. ;-)

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Regardless of how big your kite project is, any sewer can make one using this method. Quite literally, you are going to cover your kite template with fabric scraps.

You will need some fusible fleece and some 1/2" double folded (i.e., 2" unfolded) bias or regular straight binding to finish.

Method #2: Hanging Kite Using Fabric Scraps

Because I'm making a double-sided item, I used the back of the other side of the kite as a cutting template for the fusible fleece (fusible side up).

Method #2...

Then I laid down a bunch of coordinating fabric scraps until the entire surface was covered. This was just a preliminary step to ensure that I had enough fabric; I was still going to fiddle with the final arrangement.

Scraps pinned down...

I ironed some of the more crinkly pieces and then started pinning them onto the fusible fleece. There is some overlap, but for the most part I tried to puzzle piece them. My aim was to have the darker gray pieces to one side. (My fabric scraps were Robert Kaufman, Tim Holtz and "no name" sheet and pillow case remnants.)

Once satisfied with the placement of the scraps, I fused them onto the fleece and then contemplated how to quilt the surface.

A form of echo quilting...

I chose to do an echo quilting technique around each half of the surface. (While I was doing it, though, I again wondered how people can enjoy quilting and quilting and quilting large surfaces. Sadly, it's not my thing.)

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So quilt it or not, it's up to you. But even though I'm not a fan of the process, there's no doubt that quilting the surface makes it look a lot nicer... and it adds even more textural interest beyond the scrappy-ness of the piecing.

Worthwhile quilting job...

If intended as a wall hanging, the edges can now be bound and finished off. Otherwise, pin it back to back with the other piece and baste the edges together.

Baste both pieces together...

Keep the seam allowance as small as possible when basting.

Clip binding to "back" side of kite...

Clip the binding — right side down — to the edge of whichever side you deem is the "back" side of the kite. Start at the tip of the kite and work your way around (leave enough binding to finish off with a tail).

The inset picture above shows how to turn the corners.

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Sew the binding with just under 1/2" seam allowance; i.e., just short of the first fold. Then flip it around to the other side and clip again. Finish sewing the binding from the "right" side.

Turn binding to the right side and finish sewing...

As you can see in the above picture, my 13" square of fabric left me with just enough bias binding to make it all the way around. (The 1" wide strip of fabric that remained was then folded in half and sewed up; some artful tucking and stitching later, it was secured as the tail.)

Kite with a tail...

However you choose to add a tail and finish off the binding will be fine; it's a simple matter of making it work. I'm not going to describe any particular process for it.

Tie fabric scraps to the tail to complete the look...

If you made the other half of the kite as detailed last week, you can take some of the fabric scraps you sliced off the edges of the quadrants and tie them to the kite tail. (If not individually big enough to tie, you can sew them together first.)

Got wire? Give your kite tail the illusion of movement...

A long time ago, I harvested the wire out of some wired ribbon (which I then used to make some zipper pulls). I inserted some into the kite tail to give it the ability to bend. (Yes, I thought that was clever of me too.)

One final photo to share... this is how I hung it up in the window.

A solution to the "how to hang" problem...

The little clip is from a bag of Hawaiian coffee (a small binder clip will do the job just as well) and the gold cord is left over from my personal project portfolio. I clipped it along the top — about six inches away from the peak — so that it hangs at an angle. Because after all, a kite rarely flies straight up and down.

A bit of an update... I've had this in my window since late March, with the vibrant stripey side facing out. However, this scrappy side has grown on me, so I might consider alternating the display at some point. I also had a thought that making smaller versions and hanging them from a ceiling might result in a fun display.

What do you think?

'Til next...