How to Sew a Garden Flag

Celebrate a holiday, season or event by sewing a festive and colorful flag to display in your garden. Design your own large or small fabric flag to hang from a pole, tree or fence. Children and adults can join in this project to create flags for themselves or to give as gifts. Choose a theme and appliqué images cut from small fabric pieces that reflect your creativity. These flags can also make a statement or announcements.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 yard muslin fabric
• Assorted small fabric pieces
• White glue
• Measuring tape
• Marker
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Paper towel
• Iron
• Scotchguard spray
• Pole or dowel

Instructions

1. Choose a theme for the garden flag and the images you wish to sew onto it. For example, if you want to sew a Halloween flag, mark and use scissors to cut fabric images such as one or more pumpkins in different sizes, bats, a black cat and individual letters that read "Happy Halloween."

2. Mark muslin fabric using measuring tape and a marker into a 22-by-35-inch rectangle. Cut it out with scissors.

3. With a hot iron, press the edge in 1/2 inch along one of the 35-inch lengths of the muslin. Press again another 1/2 inch with the hot iron to create a neat finish along the edge. Repeat the process along the other 35-inch length and along one side of the 22-inch side.

4. Straight stitch along the three sides with the pressed edges on the sewing machine. Press the three sides with the iron.

5. Fold the other 22-inch side of the muslin in 1/2 inch and press with a hot iron. Fold that end again 3 inches and press with the iron.

6. Straight stitch close to the folded 3-inch edge to create a tube to slip through a pole or dowel.

7. Lay the muslin flat on a worktable and arrange the cut themed images and letters as desired. Apply dabs of white glue to the back of the fabric images to secure them to the muslin and press.

8. Lay paper towels over the muslin flag with the fabric images and press it with a hot iron (no steam).

9. Use the sewing machine to secure the fabric images to the flag with a narrow zig-zag stitch.

10. Spray the flag with Scotchguard to protect it. Hang in the garden as desired for display on a dowel or pole.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a craft box handy to collect small fabric pieces that can be used to decorate garden flags with specific themes.

• Garden flags can be made in different sizes as desired.

• If children are participating in this project, refrain from having them use the iron.

References

• Make a Mini Garden Flag
• Burke's Backyard: Garden Flags
• Flag Making Tips From Karlin of Quakertown