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DIY Patriotic Garland

As I was decorating this year’s patriotic mantel, the middle of the mantel looked empty and needed a pop of red, white, and blue.

To fill the space, I made a DIY Patriotic Garland using strips of fabric.

DIY patriotic garland tutorial

I’m sharing my DIY Patriotic Garland for this month’s Thrifty Style Team project hosted by Julie of Redhead Can Decorate.

Last month I also shared a patriotic project, an easy to make red, white, and blue vase.

DIY Patriotic Garland

The garland was just the pop of color that my mantel needed.

You can read all about the mostly inherited vintage pieces that I used to decorate the mantel in this post.

Living room and mantel decorated patriotically with vintage.

When I made this garland, stores weren’t open for shopping so I used fabrics found in my craft stash.

Patriotic rag garland made with blue quilting fabric, red wool, and white fleece

The white fleece and blue quilting fabric were inherited from my mother-in-law and the red wool fabric was saved from a dumpster.

Rag garland made with blue quilting fabric, red wool, and white fleece

After I cut the fabric strips, I parked myself in front of the TV with Outer Banks on Netflix and made this garland.

How to Make a Fabric Garland

The technique to make this garland is similar to making a rag wreath. To make a garland, all you have to do is tie strips of fabric to a piece of sturdy twine.

Rag garland made with red, white, and blue fabric strips, used on a mantel.

Step One Cut a section of heavy twine to the length that you want your garland to be.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

I cut my twine to fit between two milk glass vases on either side of my 1943 Coca-Cola poster.

I was in the planning stages of my mantel decorating when this picture was taken. The dried Baby’s Breath was later replaced with fresh.

Jute cord

Step Two Cut strips of red, white, and blue fabric using a rotary cutter and quilter’s ruler.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

The strip measurements are 5 1/2″ x 3/4″.

The amount of fabric needed will vary with the length of the garland made.

I used ~1/8 yard of each fabric and did not use all of the strips that I cut.

Step Three Tie the strips to the jute cord.

Start with a strip of red. If your fabric is thin, you may want to use two strips.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

Then add a strip of white. My red wool and white fleece fabrics are thick, so I only used one strip of each color.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

Next add a strip of blue fabric.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

Since the blue fabric is quilting fabric, it didn’t take as much space on the twine, so I added a second strip.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

Continue adding strip of red, white, and blue until the twine is covered.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

I cut too many strips but would rather have too many than not enough.

Steps to make a patriotic rag garland

Using the Fabric Garland

After all of the strips were tied into place, I gave the garland a shake to fluff up the strips and then placed it on my mantel.

The garland added just the pop of color that my mantel was missing.

Living room and mantel decorated patriotically with vintage.

Since I had all of the materials on hand, the cost to make this garland was free.

Garland made with strips of red, white, and blue fabric to decorate a mantel patriotically.

More Thrifty Projects to Enjoy

Now it’s time to enjoy the projects that the rest of the Thrifty Style Team is sharing today. Click on the links below to see each thrifty project.


9 Thrifty Summer Decorating Ideas

Patriotic Ideas

Every year I love decorating my home with red, white, and blue for patriotic holidays. These are some of my favorite patriotic posts.

32 Comments

    1. Thank you, Kelly! I had a lot of fun making it and I can use it for patriotic holiday decor for years to come.

      Paula

  1. How funny, we have been watching Outer Banks as well! Am also revisiting The Blacl List, adore James Spader. Love your garland. I saw stars and stripes at first, odd how the mind plays tricks.

    1. I love getting show suggestions, I’ll look for The Black List. Thanks for your kind comment. I had a lot of fun making this garland and I can enjoy using it for years to come.

      Paula

  2. You KNOW I am all about patriotic decorating, since my birthday is the 4th of July. Your sweet garland is the perfect addition for any type of decor.
    I love the various prints and textures.
    Thanks for sharing, Paula.

    1. I didn’t know that you were a 4th of July baby! What a great day to celebrate your birth and our wonderful country.

      Paula

  3. This is such a fun project – I love something to do while I am sitting down to watch a TV show at the end of the day! Your mantelpiece looks absolutely beautiful!

    1. Thank you, Carrie! I’m glad that I decorated early this year. It’s nice to have several weeks to enjoy seasonal decor before its time to switch it out again.

      Paula

  4. Your patriotic garland looks so lovely on your mantel Paula and the fabric was perfect. We’ve all had to get creative and use what we have this past few months.
    Thank you for sharing your DIY patriotic garland tutorial at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week. I’m delighted to be featuring it at tomorrows party and pinning too.
    Hugs,
    Kerryanne

  5. I love your garland, Paula. It does remind me of a rag wreath. I love projects like this where you can watch Netflix and craft at the same time. It looks lovely on your mantel and it was the finishing touch! Pinned 🙂

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