DIY: Fourth of July Wall Hanging

Do you ever see something and think, “Oh, that’s cute, but I could make it better!”

We were out on a walk the other day trying to fill time between dinner and bed and I saw a cute Fourth of July decoration on a neighbor’s door.  I really like the idea of putting something other than a wreath on the door, and I liked what they had going on, but it was a little too shabby chic for my taste.

Supplies:

• Red, white and blue fabric cut into strips (length and width of strips is up to you!  I made mine about 1″ thick and about 18″ long)
• Ribbon, pom poms, rickrack, etc in coordinating colors (optional)
• Dowel (I cut mine to about 18″ long)
• Twine (or similar to hang decoration from)

1. Cut all the fabric and trim pieces into strips.  I had enough red fabric leftover from another project, which was embarrassingly exciting.  Don’t you love when you can use something you already have on hand to justify your hoarding tendencies?!  I also got some rickrack, pom poms and ribbon to add some texture.  I cut everything into roughly 36″ long, 1″ thick strips.   Then I doubled them over so they were about 18″.
2. Taking a strip by the folded portion (I started with the blue pieces), lay it on the dowel.  Feed the tails of the fabric strip through the loop and pull until it’s tat.  You may need to do a little adjusting to make sure nothing got tucked under when you were pulling. 
   
3. Keep adding strips.  I did five blue strips, which seemed like enough to me, but you could add more or less depending on the look you want.  I initially was trying to avoid the frayed shabby chic look, but  it was really hard to keep the fabric from fraying as I fed it though the loop.  I actually don’t mind it since it’s so subtle.
4. Add the red and white pieces.  Randomly alternate between fabrics to get a more textured look.  This could also be done with only fabric if you prefer.  You can add as many as you like.  I just went until I filled up the dowel.
5. I tied a piece of twine to either end of the dowel so that the piece could be hung to give it that extra Americana feel.
6. You can trim the bottoms of the strips if you want a uniform look.  I was ok with some longer or shorter, so I left them as is.

 

And that’s it!  It’s a quick craft that could definitely be done from set up to clean up in a nap time, which is perfect because that’s about all I ever have time for anymore!

What are your plans for the holiday?  I can’t believe it’s already here!!