How Much Papel Picado To Order?
There are many beautiful ways to hang papel picado. Choose your preferred display style below, then use our simple guide to calculate how many metres or feet you need to order.
Papel Picado Hanging Styles
We share the calculations to get the exact look of any of these papel picado hanging styles for your venue. To have the easiest hanging experience possible, we make the exact Individual GARLAND LENGTH and GARLAND QUANTITY to fit your venue perfectly. To calculate how much papel picado you need to order, you multiply the garland length by the garland quantity.
Every garland comes with 30cm (1ft) extra string at each end - on top of your requested individual garland length - for tying up.
- HUNG STRAIGHT ACROSS
- HUNG STRAIGHT ACROSS - FILLING THE CEILING
- DRAPING DOWN IN THE MIDDLE
- DRAPING DOWN ON BOTH SIDES
- DRAPING DOWN FROM CENTRAL ELEMENT
- CIRCULAR RINGS
- CRISS CROSS
- AROUND THE SPACE
Actual order size for our London City Hall client: 669 metres (2,194ft), 7.70m (25ft) long garlands, hung with 0.50m (1.6ft) between each garland.
1. HUNG STRAIGHT ACROSS
Our clients decided on this contemporary elegant style hung across the width of their venue, in consecutive parallel rows, facing the entrance, with 1.5 metre (5ft) gaps between each garland.
a) GARLAND LENGTH: this is the exact width of your venue.
b) GARLAND QUANTITY:
For metres: divide the venue length in metres by 1.5
For feet: divide venue length by 5.
c) TOTAL TO ORDER = GARLAND LENGTH X GARLAND QUANTITY
- E.g. for a venue 12 metres wide x 30 metres long:
Garland Length: 12 metres
Garland Quantity: 30/1.5 = 20 garlands
Total length to order: 12m x 20 = 240 metres - E.g. for a venue 40ft wide x 100ft long:
Garland Length: 40ft
Garland Quantity: 20 garlands
Total length to order: 40ft x 20 = 800ft
Actual order size for this client: 126.5 metres (415ft), 23 garlands, each 5.5 metres (18ft) long.
2. HUNG STRAIGHT ACROSS - FILLING THE CEILING
Same as HUNG STRAIGHT ACROSS but with smaller gaps between the garlands. Great for large venues, especially those with vacuous, unattractive or very high ceilings that you would like to hide. The quantity calculated below, makes an incredibly visual impact, and will be a great topic of conversation for your guests.
a) GARLAND LENGTH: this is the exact width of your venue.
b) GARLAND QUANTITY:
For metres: multiply the venue length by 2.
For feet: divide venue length by 1.5, then minus 6.
c) TOTAL TO ORDER = GARLAND LENGTH X GARLAND QUANTITY
- E.g. for a venue 12 metres wide x 30 metres long:
Garland Length: 12 metres
Garland Quantity: 30 x 2 = 60 garlands
Total length to order: 12m x 60 = 720 metres - E.g. for a venue 40ft wide x 100ft long: Garland Length: 40ft
Garland Quantity: 100/1.5 - 6 = 60 garlands
Total length to order: 40ft x 60 = 2,400ft
Actual order size for this client: 480 metres (1,574ft), 40 garlands, each 12 metres (39ft) long.
3. DRAPING DOWN IN THE MIDDLE
This style looks wonderful hung across the width of the venue, in consecutive parallel rows, facing the entrance, with 1 metre (3ft) gaps between each garland.
a) GARLAND LENGTH: this is the width of your venue + 10%-20% (multiply width either by x 1.10 or by 1.20). 10% gives a suble drape, 20% gives a deeper more obvious drape, and suits high ceilings.
b) GARLAND QUANTITY:
For metres: divide the venue length in metres by 1.
For feet: divide venue length by 3, then minus 3.
c) TOTAL TO ORDER = GARLAND LENGTH X GARLAND QUANTITY
- E.g. for a venue 12 metres wide x 30 metres long, with a subtle 10% drape:
Garland Length: 12 x 1.10 = 13.2 metres
Garland Quantity: 30 garlands
Total length to order: 13.2m x 30 = 396 metres
- E.g. for a venue 40ft wide x 100ft long, with a deeper 20% drape:
Garland Length: 40 x 1.20 = 48ft
Garland Quantity: 30 garlands
Total length to order: 48ft x 30 = 1,440ft
Actual order size for this client: 100 metres (328ft), 10 garlands, each 5 metres (16.4ft) long.
4. DRAPING DOWN ON BOTH SIDES
Great for barns, hung in consecutive parallel rows, facing the entrance, with 1 metre (3ft) gaps between each garland.
a) GARLAND LENGTH: this is the width of your venue +20% (multiply width by 1.20).
b) GARLAND QUANTITY:
For metres: divide the venue length in metres by 1.
For feet: divide venue length by 3, then minus 3.
c) TOTAL TO ORDER = GARLAND LENGTH X GARLAND QUANTITY
- E.g. for a venue 12 metres wide x 30 metres long
Garland Length: 12 x 1.20 = 14.4 metres, but split in two, one for each side of the barn, 7.20 metres long each.
Garland Quantity: 30 garlands, but split in two, so 60 garlands.
Total length to order: 7.20m x 60 = 432 metres - E.g. for a venue 40ft wide x 100ft long, with a deeper 20% drape:
Garland Length: 40 x 1.20 = 48ft
Garland Quantity: 30 garlands
Total length to order: 48ft x 30 = 1,440ft
Actual order size for this client: 148 metres (485ft), 25 garlands, each 5.91 metres (19.3ft) long.
5. ARCHING OUT FROM CENTRAL ELEMENT
An amazingly eye-catching event decor option for any venue with a chandelier in the centre of the space.
The best way to hang the garlands is to hang wire around the 4 walls, all at the same height, and attach the garlands to the wire. Aprylle can give you more detailed info if needed.
For high ceilings, you may need to add 60%+ onto the radius of the room (half the width).
Contact Aprylle via the instant chat button or by email with your venue dimensions, and a photo of the venue, and she will calculate the total quantity that you need.
Actual order size for our client David Stark Design: 2,164 metres (7,099ft), 100 garlands, each 21.64m (71ft) long.
6. FILL THE CEILING - CIRCULAR RINGS
This hanging style will leave your guests in total awe! It is a certified show-stopping decor choice that will have people talking about your events for weeks to come!
We make every individual garland with the exact same order of colours, so when you hang them up in a circular formation, all the colours match in amazing concentric circles.
Contact Aprylle via the instant chat button or by email with your venue width, length and height, and a photo of the venue, and she will calculate the total quantity that you need.
The best way to hang the garlands is to hang stainless steel tension wire cable around the 4 outer walls, all at the same height, and attach the garlands to the wire. Aprylle will advise and assist you in aquiring this incredible decor for your event.
Actual order size for our client: 1,200 metres (3,937ft), 120 x 10m (33ft) long garlands, hung with 0.30m (1ft) between each garland.
7. CRISS CROSS
A great hanging style to create an impact, indoors with a smaller order size overall.
Measure the distances between all the marquee poles or columns, then add all these together to get your total. We can make your garlands to various different garlands lengths if necessary, just list them when you place your order. For example: 250 metres total order. 10 x 5m garlands, 20 x 10m garlands.
Actual order size for our London Soho House client: 280 metres (918ft), 56 x 5m (16.4ft) long garlands.
8. AROUND THE PERIMITER
1) Measure all the lengths of the different walls, room widths/lengths where you would like the papel picado hang. Add all these lengths together to get your total length.
2) For a slight draping effect, add an extra 10% on to the total length (you can do this by multiplying the total length by 1.1). For a big draping effect (high ceilings), add an extra 20% on to the total length (you can do this by multiplying the total length by 1.20).
You can easily make garlands shorter by cutting them down to the length you need, or longer by tying the ends together.
Actual order size for our client: 80 metres (262ft), 5 x 16m (52.5ft) long garlands.
Which Way Should Bunting Face?
Before hanging your papel picado up it is important to first decide in which direction it is going to face in your venue. As the papel picado flags often have words, you should hang them facing in the right direction, so that people can read them. You want the flags to face as many people as possible, and to face the direction where the photographer will be taking photos.
We make the garlands to the exact lengths that you need, so you just need to measure up, place your order, and our artists will hand make your unique event decorations!
Bunting For Smaller Budgets?
If once you have calculated the total quantity that you need, you feel it is over your budget, you can just hang less garlands/rows.
For example, if hanging your garlands in parallel rows, instead of dividing the length of the venue by 1, divide it by 1.25 (to hang them every 1.25m) or by 1.5 (to hang then every 1.5m) or by 2 (to hang then every 2m), until you get to a figure you are comfortable paying, then you will have found the right amount of bunting for your budget.
Even though papel picado looks incredible in abundance, it also looks amazing when you have less too!
Need Help Deciding How Much To Order?
If you're still not sure how much papel picado to order; please contact us, and give us include the dimensions of your venue, and also a photo if possible. Aprylle our papel picado expect will reply straight away with a length quote.
Find out more information about papel picado in our papel picado guide and also here how to hang papel picado.
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