Jul 1, 20153 min read

Rag Flag Fourth of July DIY

{Blog writer below, Abbey, is a part of our Sioux Falls crew for the summer and has the best style ever (she’s been on the Sioux Falls shop ELOFSON street team!)! If you try this Rag Flag out for the 4th and tag @ungluedmarket on Instagram with a photo of your finished product – and yourself – we’ll get you a $5 gift card just for getting all creative with us!}

If you’re looking for a way to show your pride for our beloved country, while maintaining a rustic style, we have the perfect DIY for you! With just a few materials and a couple hours, you will have a beautiful, patriotic piece to hang in your home this Independence Day. We used inspiration from this blog and came up with some extra step-by-steps to share with you to make it happen!

Making the Rag Flag was super easy and I loved seeing it come together at the end. Although the purpose of the flag was for Independence Day, I think I’ll keep it around quite a bit longer, as I love the look of it.

My favorite part about this craft is how simple it is to make it your own–you have all the freedom (no pun intended) to choose what will make up your flag. For mine, I decided to stick with darker reds, lace, burlap, and denim. I picked up all of my materials (with the exception of the dowel) from a local thrift store, so, after it was all said and done, the cost of the project was in the ballpark of $20.

You can choose to either make this a no-sew craft, or, if you have the ability and necessary equipment, you can do a bit of sewing, as I did. However, I will provide the instructions to both methods below.

Materials needed

For the union: swatch of denim or any blue fabric at least 10″ x 12”

For the stripes: have fun with this! I recommend lace, burlap, ribbon, yarn, and any sort of fabric in variations of red and white. {My “stripes” varied in width from ½” to 1”}

To hang: twine or yarn

Wooden dowel, cut to 24” in length

Scissors

Tape Measure

Either a hot glue gun or a sewing machine, whatever fits your fancy (and your skillset)

White acrylic craft paint

Paint brush

Steps

1. Obtain materials from craft stores and/or local thrift stores.

*Money saving tip: craft stores generally ALWAYS have a 40-50% off one regular priced item coupon that you can find online–it’s always worth it to check!

2. Cut materials to appropriate sizes:

Cut the dowel to 24” in length. {I shot for a size of about 2′ x 3’ for my flag, so I cut my materials accordingly (see diagram) – if your cuts are not exact, that’s okay! You can trim afterwards.}
For the union (denim swatch), 10″ x 12”.
For the stripes not connected to the union, 36” long.
If you’re using yarn, I recommend braiding thin yarn 9 pieces at a time, and thicker yarn 6 pieces at a time to add thickness and texture.
For the stripes beneath the union, 24” long
Cut one 22” piece of lace, fabric, or denim to cover the wooden dowel at the end. {Make sure it is at least 1” wide.}

3. Begin planning of your flag:

Lay out your materials on a tabletop or the floor and begin arranging your materials to your liking.
Make sure that the stripes are close enough together so that once it is finished, it is as full as you would like.

4. Put the flag together by either sewing or using a hot glue gun.

Sewing:

Sew the materials to the piece of material you cut to 24” earlier, leaving enough space to adhere the 22” piece to the dowel itself.
Sew the shorter stripes to the bottom of the denim piece.
To attach to the dowel, you can either sew the 22” piece into a loop for the dowel to fit through, or hot glue the piece to the dowel itself.
Trim away extra fabric.

Hot glue:

Glue each stripe to the dowel itself, including the denim piece.
Glue the shorter stripes to the bottom of the denim piece.
Trim away extra fabric.
Glue 22” material cut earlier to the dowel on the side that would be considered the front of the flag.

5. Trim stripes:

Trim the stripes across the bottom to a length you prefer.
Don’t worry about making them all even or exactly 36”–I love the look in the variation.

6. Add interest to the union (optional):

Use the white paint to complete the union of the flag by adding stars, polka-dots, hearts, etc.
Use twine or yarn and tie to the ends of the dowel–this will be used to hang the flag.