If you get up at five a.m. during the balloon fiesta in
Bristol you are in for a treat. Hundreds of multi-
coloured balloons floating up into the sky all around
you during the early morning light or at dusk.
This balloon bunting attempts to capture the magic of
this moment.

This pattern with striped and slip stitch balloons lets you create as many balloons as you want. These are joined with a crochet chain to make bunting.

The instructions are both written and charted.

Finished dimensions:
Each balloon measures 7.5 cm wide x 11 cm high. I have made 20 balloons and joined them with about 25 cm or 12 inches between each balloon. You could make the bunting shorter or longer as you wish.

Gauge:
24 sts x 48 rows measure 10 x 10 cm (4 x 4 inches) in garter stitch using 3.5 mm (US 4) needles. Gauge is not crucial for this project.

Tools:
3.5 mm (US 4) knitting needles, tapestry needle, 3.5 mm (US E-4) crochet hook.

Materials:
Yarn used: Rico Creative Cotton (50g/115 m equivalent 126 yards)
1 ball each of 018 Brown and Gold for the balloon baskets.
For the balloons I have used a variety of cotton DK yarns of the same weight as each balloon only requires a small amount. I have used 6 different colours and in addition pale blue to join the balloons together.

Difficulty: Beginner.

Skills required: Garter stitch (knit every row), kfb, k2tog, ssk, knitting stripes, slipping stitches.