How to Make Patriotic DIY Flags

Add a touch of patriotism and creativity to your home decor this summer with red, white, and blue patriotic DIY flags.

The 4th of July holiday is the perfect excuse to shake up the decor in our homes with the vibrant, patriotic colors of red, white, and blue.

As someone who normally doesn’t normally decorate with a whole lot of color, summer is such a fun time to change things up, add Americana colors, and incorporate stars & stripes into our decor. It’s also the time of year I like to show my appreciation for our nation’s heritage.

Patriotic DIY flags are a small, charming way to incorporate pride & patriotism into your home for summer, 4th of July, or for any patriotic holiday.

The inspiration for these DIY flags came from these felt flags I saw, here. I thought they were absolutely adorable but for $10 a flag, I knew I could DIY my own flags for a fraction of the cost…and so can you!

With just a little creativity and a few supplies you will have the most charming and eye-catching patriotic DIY flags that will add an ideal touch of Americana to your home this summer.

How to Make Patriotic DIY Flags

Get ready to unleash your imagination & crafting skills, and let your patriotism fly with these DIY flags.

I made each flag for less than a $1…seriously, where can you find adorable decor for less than a dollar?!

The amount of supplies you will need for this craft will depend on how many flags you decide to make. Either way, you will mostly likely end up with leftover supplies which you can use for other crafts or I’m thinking of making a patriotic felt banner.

Supplies for Patriotic DIY Flags

• Red Felt Sheets: You’ll be able to cut out 2 flags from each felt sheet, with leftover felt to cut out star shapes.
• Antique White Felt Sheets
• Blue Felt Sheets: Use any color blue you prefer. This was the only shade of blue available when I went to purchase the felt for this craft. I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the color once I started assembling the flag!
• Scissors: Make sure to use very sharp scissors when cutting out the flag & star shapes. Dull scissors will pull & stretch the felt. I like to use Fiskars scissors when working with felt or fabric.
• Pennant Banner Template: You can freehand the shape of the flag, however my OCD mind cannot handle that! I found this free pennant banner template online, and used that to create my flag shapes.
• Star Shapes: I used star shaped cookie cutters (1 large star & 1 small star cookie cutters) to create the star shapes, but again you could draw the star shapes yourself.
• Pen or Pencil for Tracing
• Thread: I choose 2 colors of thread for these DIY flags. This white tin embroidery floss and this ultra VY LT embroidery floss.
• Embroidery Hand Needle
• Bamboo Skewers or Wooden Dowels: I used bamboo skewers for this, because we have a ton of them in our house (For some reason, who knows why!). If you decide to use bamboo skewers you will want to cut off the point end with a pliers, or you could use the pointy end at the top of the flag.
• Fabric Glue or Hot Glue
• Decorative Ribbons, Buttons, or Sequins (optional)

Creating the Patriotic DIY Flags

Step 1

Gather all of your supplies on a large working space.

Print the pennant banner template on heavy cardstock, and cut out.

Step 2

Trace the banner template & the star shapes on felt sheets with a pen or pencil. Don’t worry if the pencil or pen shows on the shape, use that side as the backside. Each felt sheet should yield 2 flag shapes, with plenty of leftover felt for star shapes.

Cut out flag & star shapes with sharp scissors.

Step 3

On your cut out flag shapes, arrange the star or stars in a pattern you like.

I made each flag different by either using different colors or arranging the stars in a different way. This is the part where you can have fun and use your imagination on how you want your DIY flag to look!

Step 4

This next step, is up to you. You can either sew the star shapes onto the flag (which is what I did) or you can make these patriotic DIY flags even easier by using fabric or hot glue to affix the stars to the flag.

Hot glue was my first approach. However, I found that the flags lacked texture & character without the little stitches. So, I switched gears, dug down deep, and managed to remember how to sew a blanket stitch.

how to blanket stitch

I am not an expert on sewing (in fact the opposite) by any stretch of the imagination, but here is how I did it. If you know how to sew please ignore my basic, rambling instructions below!

• Cut a length of thread about 2′ long. Then, separate the thread into 2 pieces with 3 individual strands of thread in each piece.
• Pull one end of the thread through the eye of the needle, and knot the other end making sure the knot is big enough so it doesn’t pull through the felt.
• Hold the flag with the star positioned where you want to sew it in one hand, and with the other hand, thread the needle through the back of the felt flag and through the star shape (about 1/8″ inside of the star).
• Pull the thread all the way through to the front of the flag so the thread is taught. Take the needle and poke it through the outside of the star (about 1/8″) creating a little straight line stitch, and pull the thread all the way through to the back of the flag.
• Continue doing this all the way around the star.
• Once you have stitched all the way around the star, your last stitch should be on the backside of the flag. Make a tight knot with the remaining thread close to the flag, and cut remaining thread.
• Voila! Your star is stitched to your patriotic DIY flag!

Step 5

Once all of your stars are affixed to your flags, you can attach the flag to a skewer by using glue.

On the backside of the flag, place the skewer where the flag meets the extra flap of felt. Add a line of glue to the skewer and fold the flap onto the flag side. Press and hold to get a good, firm hold.

Trim any access felt, and your flags are ready for flying!

Patriotic DIY Flag Notes

• Use any color felt you like. That’s what so fun about DIY crafts is that you can customize them anyway you want!
• You don’t need templates or cookie cutters to create your flag or star shapes. Draw the shapes yourself or have the kiddos draw star shapes for the flags. How special would that be?!
• Don’t want to sew? Fabric or hot glue can be used to attach the stars to the flags.
• Embellish the DIY flags with sequins, buttons, ribbon, or anything else you want to make these flags uniquely yours.
• Make a banner instead. Instead of attaching the flags to skewers, attach them to a string or ribbon for a completely different look.
• Most importantly, have fun creating something charming, whimsical & patriotic!

View my google web story, “How to Make 4th of July Patriotic Felt Flags“.

Display & Enjoy Your Patriotic DIY Flags

With the craft complete, it’s time to decide where to display & enjoy the patriotic DIY flags you made.

I placed a group of 3 flags in a flower frog on our open kitchen shelf. I love the pop of color and Americana vibe these add to our kitchen for summer.

You could also style these in a vintage ironstone pitcher, on a mantle, placed inside faux or real potted plants, in mason jars or coke bottles, or in a vignette on a coffee table.

Patriotic DIY flags could be used in summer party decor, as party favors, or in a 4th of July centerpiece.

More Patriotic Ideas

Looking for more patriotic 4th of July ideas? You may enjoy these other posts on the blog:

• 10 Summer Home Decor Ideas
• Patriotic Summer Door Basket
• Mini Cheesecake Trifles With Berries
• Simple Summer Patriotic Decor
• Memorial Day & 4th of July Ideas

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xoxo, heidi

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