How To Make A No Sew Patriotic Ribbon Flag

Have you seen those adorable DIY shabby chic Red White and Blue Ribbon Flags? I finally made my version and you can too! There is no sewing involved!

The beauty of a DIY Ribbon Flag is creating your own style. Personally I love the bright reds and knew I wanted my Ribbon Flag to be bright and vibrant.

I made no effort to replicate the exact number of stripes or stars of the actual American flag. A Patriotic Ribbon Flag is folk art and not intended to replicate the real thing but to pay respect while creating decor.

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DIY Patriotic Ribbon Flag Instructions

Supplies

• 4 different patterns of ribbon (3 are grosgrain)
• Red Striped fabric cut into strips
• White cotton fabric for background
• Dark Navy blue cotton fabric for Star Field
• Small silver stars (Hobby Lobby)
• Wood dowel 3/8″
• E6000 Glue
• White Cotton Pillow Piping
• Heat Bond

The first thing I did was to cut the wooden dowel to the width I wanted my flag to be. The cut was super easy using a hand saw.

How to Make the Star field for a Ribbon Flag

Next I cut a small piece of navy blue cotton fabric in a rectangular shape for the Star Field. I wanted the fabric to be doubled for thickness but I also wanted it in one piece so I cut one long piece and folded it in half. Then I used Heat Bond to attach the front to the back taking care to leave an opening to slide the wood dowel into as shown.

I used a bunch of scrap pieces of Heat Bond leftover from other craft projects which is why they are cut in odd shapes.

How To Add The Ribbon Onto The Dowel

E6000 works great for adding the ribbon onto the dowel. I began by adding the ribbon BEHIND the star field fabric. Glue the ribbon onto the back of the navy fabric.

This step can be tricky because if you are not careful the navy fabric will glue to the dowel and we do not want that. It should be hanging loose and slid all the way to the end of the wooden dowel. 

The remaining ribbon should be wrapped from front to back on the open end of the wood dowel repeating the pattern until the end. 

A small dab of glue is all you need. I positioned each ribbon very close to the next one creating somewhat of a pattern with my ribbon selections. The faded red stripe is actually a fabric I found at Hobby Lobby and cut into a few strips for my Ribbon Flag.

Adding the Stars to the Star Field

I considered multiple options for my Stars including pretty little ribbons shaped like stars which were frankly too expensive no matter how cute they were. Embroidery would  have been pretty too but in the end I fell in love with these stars I found at Hobby Lobby. They achieve the multi-dimensional look I was going for.

Apply the stars with glue. First I lined them up making every other row slightly offset. Then it was just a matter of gluing each one into place. 

The cotton piping serves as a finishing touch but also hides where the ribbons are all glued onto the dowel. I did not burn the ends because it is cotton, not nylon. 

Then I trimmed the ends of the ribbon at the bottom of the flag so they were fairly even but not perfect as I’m quite happy with the shabby look. 

Because I did not like the look with no background I decided to add a white background which really made the bright reds pop even better.

If  you like the look without a backing, skip this step. I like the look of the white cotton fabric, trimmed and glued on to make the red colors pop.

The very last step was to add a hanger. I decided to use the same cotton piping I used to hide the glue spot on the ribbons. A small piece and a little E600 will do the trick.  Allow ample drying time before hanging.

We have been enjoying the festive spirit our new Red White and Blue Ribbon Flag has added to our summer decor!

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