Make an easy flag garland for baby’s room

I’m gonna file this under preschooler, because Julian and I had a good time making this adorable paper flag banner for his room when he was about 3, but I’ll also tag it with prenatal, because I made a similar flag banner for Scarlett’s room before she was born. I made the one for Scarlett out of fabric, though.

The picture here is of the results you get if you use the kit sold by the Paper Source.

The ingredients for the kit are so basic, you can really just do it on your own. Then end result is a colorful string of flags that can be tacked up on a wall for a quick, festive decoration.

What you need:

1) enough scrapbooking paper, wrapping paper, or magazine pages from which to cut 15 flags.

2) enough string or ribbon to accommodate 15 hanging flags.

3) glue

Cut this shape out of your selected paper.

Bend over the top portion so that the sides line up with the sides of the bottom triangle. And please excuse my Photoshopping.

Apply glue to the touching parts of the paper.

Place the flap over your string and press together so that your flag is glued in place. If you are using thick paper, you may need to put your drying flags under a stack of books so that the flap stays folded over until secure. Repeat.

Fabric garland

I’m sure there are versions that look more fancy and finished, so I’ll describe this fabric banner as quick and dirty. The material is heavier than cotton meant for quilting. I guess it’s upholstery-weight fabric.

I cut triangles with pinking shears, half from one pattern, half from a different pattern in the same color palette.  Then I sewed one long stitch across the top. Ideally you’d have a long piece of complimentary-colored ribbon and use that to both secure the triangles and to tie to some nails in the wall.  But this method resulted in a banner that has held up for more than five years, and I think it took me about ten minutes to make. It helped me turn my gender neutral nursery into a baby girl’s room. (The crib used to be where that play kitchen now stands.)

This post is part of our Makin’ It series. Want to make something else? Check out the whole list of DIY projects for parents.