Upcyle old fabric pieces to make these pretty patriotic scrap fabric flags to decorate for the 4th of July or all summer long.

Scrap fabric flags made from denim and drop cloth

Make mini flags in muted neutral blue and white tones from fabric leftovers – old shirts, jeans or denim fabric, and drop cloth.

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Don’t have time to make this right now? Save the idea for later! Pin this project to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready.

What you’ll need to make these handmade flags:

This craft uses the smallest amount of fabric, so it’s a perfect way to use up some of that extra fabric in your craft stash! Heck, I even used an old cloth face mask that I knew I would never need again. Here are the fabrics I used: pieces of old jeans and a dress shirt, a plaid face mask, and some old drop cloth fabric.

Feel free to get creative – mix and match different fabrics and patterns. You can use prints – stripes, plaids, buffalo check check, polka dots, stars – are all good options. If you only have solid color fabric, feel free to use paint or embroidery to make a pattern you like.

Don’t be scared to layer fabric or lace as well to add dimension. I made sure to fray the ends of my fabric as well to give this craft an aged and worn look.

OPTIONAL: In the video, I also upcycled an old molasses jar. I just removed the label, added some twine with hot glue, and painted on three stars with white acrylic craft paint. Feel free to display your mini fabric flags in an old jar, a mason jar, or in a plant or some fresh cut flowers.

DIY patriotic scrap fabric flags in neutral blue tones

Related crafts to make with fabric scraps: If you have leftover fabric that’s too pretty to waste, turn it into DIY fabric tape to embellish planners, note cards, scrapbooks and more. If you have leftover solid fabric, try painting it to make these no-sew fabric bookmarks.

No-Sew Fabric Flag Option

I hand-stitched my flags, but you don’t have to. Double-sided fabric tape is a fantastic option as well.

A tip for evenly-spaced stitches

When I sewed my flags, I used masking tape to hold the fabric layers in place. If you want help making even stitches, give this hack try:

Just use a ruler to mark little pen marks on the masking tape. Then use these marks to guide your stitch spacing.

I’m not very experienced with sewing, so this really helped.

I also made a few other patriotic upcycle crafts along with these mini flags:

You can see all three crafts in this quick YouTube video:

Mini scrap fabric flags and a watercolor USA map wall sign

Make this DIY watercolor USA map sign – from upcyled sheet music pages.

patriotic book stack and a mini flag made from old jeans

Cover a some hardcover books with brown paper and print off the free printable 1776 wreath image to make this patriotic book stack.

Scrap Fabric Flags

Yield: 1 flag

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Upcyle old fabric pieces to make these pretty patriotic scrap fabric flags to decorate for the 4th of July or all summer long.

Materials

Scrap fabric - old shirts, denim, drop cloth, etc.
Skinny wood dowel, 12-inches in length
1/2-inch wood bead
Needle and thread
Masking tape
OPTIONAL: double-sided fabric tape

Tools

Fabric scissors and ruler OR rotary cutter and cutting mat
Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

Instructions

Watch the video tutorial before you begin, and let that be your visual guide for this project.
Cut a piece of fabric approximately 4-inches by 6-inches. Cut another piece of fabric approximately 2-inches by 3.5-inches. Fray the edges a bit on both pieces of fabric.
Lay the smaller piece of fabric on top of the larger, in the upper-left corner. It may be helpful to use making tape to hold the pieces in place temporarily.
Use needle and thread to stitch around the edge of the smaller fabric piece OR use double-sided fabric tape to secure the two pieces of fabric together.
If you want the flag to be double-sided, cute another small rectangle of fabric and tape it to the back of the flag.
Fold the left edge of the fabric over the dowel. Hold the fabric tightly, and stitch down the seam.
Hot glue a wood bead to the top of the wood dowel.
Rip a thin piece of fabric (ripping gives you frayed edges) to make a ribbon. Tie the fabric ribbon around the dowl at the base of the flag.
Repeat this process to make as many flags as you like.

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Scrap Fabric Flags – Made from Denim and Drop Cloth