DIY Ribbon Flag Tutorial

Many years ago I found this beautiful non-traditional flag on Pinterest:

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With Fourth of July coming up, I decided to try my hand at making my own ribbon flag and I figured I'd put together a tutorial so that you could make one too!

First of all, you will need a TON of ribbon and lace.  

I used every single red ribbon I owned and could have used some more, frankly.

Choose a wide and sturdy ribbon as the base of your flag.  Mark the center point.

Stitch red and white ribbons/lace to the base ribbon until you get to the pin.

After one row I realized that I was going to need to do several rows in order to get the density I was after.

Some of my ribbons weren't long enough, so I stitched them to each other.

Once the ribbon and lace are dense enough for your taste, remove the pin and fold the ribbon in half...

...and stitch it down.

Now use a zig zag stitch to seal the top and open side of the base ribbon.

To create the stars, I used a Thermofax screen.

You could also use a stamp or a stencil.

Trim the star fabric to the size you'd like.

Now it's time to add the finishing touches to the base ribbon.

Stitch down extra layers of ribbon and lace along with the star panel.

At this point, I decided to add a rod pocket to the back of the base ribbon to make hanging the flag easy.  Just slip a dowel into the pocket.

I put a split in the rod pocket so that the flag can easily hang on a nail.  If you don't want to add a rod pocket, you can simply nail the flag directly to the wall.

I thought I was done with my flag, but when I sent this photo to my Mother she told me that the stars were on the wrong side.  Ooops!  Apparently, when it's hanging down, the stars go on the left.

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So, I had to rip out the stitching as best as I could and move the star panel to the other side.  I destroyed the star panel in removing it, so I actually had to make a second one.  Also, because of the rod pocket I couldn't stitch the star panel and decorative bits into place, so I glued them down with Fabri-Tac.  I think you could actually use Fabri-Tac for the whole project and make this a total no-sew project.

So, here it is with the stars on the correct side:

There you have it!  A fabulous non-traditional flag just in time for Fourth of July!

Thanks for stopping by!