Let It Wave: Craft a Garden-Inspired Flag

Declare your love of gardening and fly your own flag.

By: Melissa Caughey

Related To:

The Artisan Flag

The artisan flag hangs on the garden gate welcoming visitors.

I decided to make a garden flag to hang on the side garden gate. Garden flags are a wonderful way to accent your garden. They add movement, a sense of whimsy, and are a fabulous way to decorate outdoors.

I could not decide on the final design, so I made two styles that I can alternate as I please.

The design for both flag begins with the center circle pieces. The circles are actually a play on reverse silhouettes that feature a garden trowel or a succulent. The center circles required no sewing at all. In fact, if you chose to make the cheerful flag, sewing is completely optional. I'll show you how.

Supplies:

Fabric/burlap
Felt
Pinking shears
Sewing scissors
Fabric glue—washable/waterproof variety
Measuring tape
Sewing machine/thread
Pins
Cording

Check out the gallery below to learn how to craft a flag to add to the garden.

Garden Flag How-To

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The Artisan Flag

The center succulent medallion requires no sewing at all.

The Cheerful Flag

This trowel medallion requires no sewing as well. In fact, this entire flag can be made without any sewing thanks to waterproof fabric glue.

Start With a Circle

Both flags begin the same way. Cut out an eight and a half-inch round circle.

Shear It

To prevent fraying of the material. Trim around the edges of the circle with pinking shears.

Cut the Felt

To make the felt succulent, cut out a variety of leaf shape sizes: large, medium and small. Cut one small four-petal rosette for the center. To make the garden trowel, cut out three pieces: the handle, the metal piece between the handle and the trowel.

Add Some Glue

Arrange the felt and then glue it into place on the fabric circle. To make the succulent, start at the bottom with the larger pieces and build up. Top it off with the rosette. Next make the flag. Cut out a piece of fabric measuring 14 inches by 20 inches. Using the pinking shears, trim around all four flag edges to prevent fraying.

Create a Pocket

On the 20-inch side, fold over a 2-inch section of fabric and sew the pocket for the string or pole. If you chose to glue the pole pocket instead of sewing, be sure to glue it and then pin it into place. Let it dry overnight and remove the pins. The final flag size will be approximately 14 inches by 18 inches. If you are making The Cheerful Flag, glue the medallion on the center of the flag and set it aside to dry. Continue reading if you are creating The Artisan Flag.

Add Burlap

Cut a burlap square that measures 12 and a half inches. Pin it to the center of the flag body and sew it (OK, this one has a little bit of sewing!) into place leaving a half-inch border.

Fray the Burlap

Gently remove the outer strands of burlap to intentionally fray the fabric.

Add the Succulent

To the center of the burlap, glue on the succulent circle. Let it dry for 24 hours prior to placing it outside. Add some cording through the pocket to hang the flag.

Get Inspired

Let your creativity shine. Now you can either make one of these or design your very own!

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