noelle o designs

creativity + sewing + upcycling inspiration

craft, design, fabric, holiday, projects, sewing, tiny, tutorials

tutorial: God bless America banner


Make good use of an abundant fabric stash or make a stop at the fabric store for a few fat quarters– here’s a quick and easy, last minute project to jazz up your party or your space this 4th of July.

I picked fabric from my stash, skipping the trip to the store (this time) and here’s what I came up with in red, white and blues or ‘America’ themed fabrics.

Cut the fabric into strips, I used a wavy rotary cutter but a straight edge would work just fine. I alternated two different sizes of rectangles (that will be folded over) 9″ by 3″ and 8″ by 2″.

Fold the flags in half and run an iron across the fold to make a crease. I used twill tape, but you could use rick rack, ribbon, twine or bias tape to string the flags all together. Arrange the flags about an inch apart, alternating colors and large and small flags, fold in half over string and pin into place.

Sew the two sides of each flag together and in place on the string by sewing around all four sides of each flag, then the next flag and the next until all the flags have been sewn into place.

Here is the finished banner, and a simpler one (above) with one size flag spaced 3 inches apart.

I thought I’d shared these two small, patriotic quilts I inherited from my mother-in-law. I think they must have been displayed outside for years before they fell into my hands because the colors, especially the blues are faded– but that’s what I like best about them.

Have a fantastic 4th of July!
This year, as I think back on my recent journey to Cambodia, I feel even a deeper gratitude and appreciation to live a country in which I am free- a land of opportunity and plenty. I hope I can use these advantages to make this world a better place, to help others who don’t have the privileges of freedom, education, enough to eat every day or even clean water to drink.
Let us all make decisions out of love and not fear.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.