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DIY Nautical Flag Banner

June 1, 2015 by Brynne 26 Comments

Hey you guys! Welcome to June’s edition of “Knock Out Knock Offs” – the fun summer series I’m participating in with a few blogging friends!

Knock Out Knock Offs 2015

Each month this summer, we’re sharing DIY projects inspired by some of our favorite home decor stores! Last month’s theme was Anthropologie – this month, the inspiration store was The Land of Nod. Now, Land of Nod carries kids furniture and decor, and we don’t have any kiddos over here just yet, but I’m always up for a challenge!

Last week I shared our “Nautical Naturalist” guest room – a kid-friendly room design that whimsically combines flora, fauna and oceanic-adventures. So when I spotted this nautical flag banner on the Land of Nod website, it immediately jumped out at me as the perfect way to finish up the guest room!

The Land of Nod version includes 9 flags for $32. My DIY nautical flag banner includes every letter of the alphabet, and I made it for under $15!

DIY Nautical Flag Banner | Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!

Making 26 different nautical flag designs seemed a little daunting at first, but this project was actually very simple to create. I decided to use felt to make my banner – it’s affordable, easy to work with, and there’s no sewing required!

*Today’s post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission. You can read my full disclosure here. I hope you all know by now that I do only share things I really truly love!

Supplies:

  • 3/4 yard white felt
  • 1/4 yard each royal blue, red, and yellow felt
  • 2 pieces of 9 x 12″ felt squares in black
  • Fabric glue
  • Jute twine (I still have tons leftover from May’s post when I bought 3,000 feet for just $25!)
  • Large wooden beads – optional, but I used one on each end of my banner to finish it off.

Tools:

  • Rotary cutting set – I found these really streamlined the process of cutting out all the felt shapes!
  • Low temperature glue gun + glue sticks

Step 1:

The flags in the Lane of Nod banner are 9 x 13″, but that seemed a little large for the use I had in mind. I made my flags 6 x 9″ each, so I started by cutting my white felt into 6″ strips, then down to 9″ tall.

rotary cutting felt 2

cut white felt into flags

Step 2:

I kept an image of the nautical alphabet open on my phone while I worked. The white background is 6 x 9″, but I planned each flag pattern to fit within a 6 x 8″ area to leave a border on top for stringing the flags later. Each design is composed of simple geometric shapes, so I had to do a little math to figure them out…

Lucky for you, I saved all my measurements and created a handy collection of printable nautical flag templates for you! (No sewing AND no math required – can a project get any better?!)

Inside, you’ll find cutting patterns as well as measurements for each flag design!

>> Get the printable PDF zip file right here <<

Free Download: Printable Nautical Flag Templates

Step 3:

Cut out each flag’s patterns from the colored felt and attach with glue to the white banners.

use fabric glue

Step 4:

Measure out about 3 feet of jute twine as the “tail” of one end of your banner. I wanted my flags to display alphabetically from right to left, so I started with “Z”.

Place each flag face down and fold the top white margin over the jute twine, securing it with your glue gun. Try not to get any glue on the twine – this way, the flag will be able to slide along the twine, so you can reposition each one.

hot glue flags around jute twine

Space each flag around 4″ apart on the twine, working your way backwards through the alphabet. When you finish, measure out at least 3 feet of twine for the second “tail.”

Step 5:

Hang your banner! I used thumbtacks, but I think I’m going to switch to little screws to make sure it stays up. Those 3 feet of slack on each end of the banner will help you arrange each flag on the banner – once you’ve decided how you’re going to hang it, you can slide each flag around until it looks perfect!

Once you’ve finished hanging and arranging the banner, you can slide a large wooden bead on each end of the twine, tie a knot beneath it, and trim the excess twine to a pleasing length.

DIY Nautical Flag Banner - Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!

I hung the banner wrapping around two walls of the room – over the double doors that lead into the room, around the corner, and above the headboard wall. It’s a tiny room, so it’s hard to get a good wide-angle shot, so these next few photos will give you a fun little look around…

DIY Nautical Flag Banner | Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!

DIY Nautical Flag Banner | Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!

DIY Nautical Flag Banner | Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!

DIY Nautical Flag Banner | Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!

I love that the flags echo the colors in the room – yellow, blue, and they even bring out the little bit of red in the butterfly art!

DIY Nautical Flag Banner | Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!

So what do you think? This would be such a fun (and educational) summer project to work on with kids, wouldn’t it? I think this banner would make a great party decoration as well!

Brynne


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Ready to check out the other Land of Nod-inspired DIY projects?

DIYs Inspired By Land of Nod | 6 bloggers, 1 inspiration store, #knockoutknockoffs

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Upcycled Treasures // The Gathered Home (you are here!) // Brave New Home

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DIY Nautical Flag Banner | Tutorial + FREE Printable Templates!



Filed Under: DIY Project Tagged With: Collaboration, Crafting, Guest Bedroom, Knock Out Knock Offs, Knockoff

Comments

  1. Julia@Cuckoo4Design says

    June 1, 2015 at 6:10 am

    Oh I love this. My son has his flag banner in his room. You are so good at making these step by step tutorials

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 1, 2015 at 12:15 pm

      Thank you Julia! Banners are so much fun to decorate with… I want to make more now!

      Reply
  2. michelle@decorandthedog says

    June 1, 2015 at 8:21 am

    This is adorable! I’m not sure I’d have the patience for this but we’ve already established you’re the more patient one in the relationship. 😉

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 1, 2015 at 12:18 pm

      Haha, thanks Michelle! I’ve never really considered patience to be one of my strong points – Bryan makes fun of me for complaining when Netflix takes too long to load! Maybe I have a very selective sort of patience… 😉

      Reply
  3. Trisha D. @Black and White Obsession says

    June 1, 2015 at 8:31 am

    Not only was yours less expensive, you were also able to make the chain as large as you wanted. Love how they drape around most of the room!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 1, 2015 at 12:19 pm

      That’s one of my favorite parts! Originally I was thinking of zigzagging it down one wall, but the border up top worked out so much better! Thanks girl!

      Reply
  4. Amy W says

    June 1, 2015 at 9:49 am

    I love nautical banners and yours turned out so colorful and fun! Great DIY.

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 1, 2015 at 12:19 pm

      Thanks Amy! Love this series and I LOVED your project!

      Reply
  5. Gretchen Holcombe says

    June 1, 2015 at 11:45 am

    Love this! And it just keeps going forever! Everything in this room is bigger than I expect 🙂

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 1, 2015 at 12:22 pm

      Thanks Gretchen! It’s actually a really teeny tiny room! I was scrunched up against walls and in corners for the photos – but the banner draws attention to the high ceilings and helps make the room feel more spacious in real life (and in pics, I guess)! It also helps that I can open the double doors and get pictures from the hallway outside the room too 🙂

      Reply
  6. Kim says

    June 1, 2015 at 2:41 pm

    This is amazing! I’ve actually swooned over these flags at Land of Nod – your version looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 1, 2015 at 4:26 pm

      Thanks so much Kim!

      Reply
  7. cassie @ primitive & proper says

    June 1, 2015 at 8:11 pm

    i love this so much! i always love these knock offs!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 2, 2015 at 6:22 am

      Thanks Cassie! I love participating in this challenge – it’s so much fun!

      Reply
  8. Ashley@Biggerthanthethreeofus says

    June 2, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    Love!! It looks so much like the original. Love that half painted wall as well! Pinning!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 2, 2015 at 7:17 pm

      Thanks so much, girl! I don’t know if you saw it in the post about this room makeover, but your guest room with the 2/3 walls was totally my inspiration!

      Reply
  9. Katie @ Upcycled Treasures says

    June 2, 2015 at 8:37 pm

    This turned out great and I love the color and character it adds to the room!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 3, 2015 at 11:10 am

      Thanks Katie! I don’t typically use many primary colors around the house, so it was fun to go all-out in this room!

      Reply
  10. Amber @ Wills Casa says

    June 2, 2015 at 11:25 pm

    Love this! Think of how cute it would be in a classroom too! Geography teachers be warned!!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 3, 2015 at 11:10 am

      Oh yes! I think it would be so fun to do a flags of the world version, too!

      Reply
  11. Hannah says

    June 3, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    I love this so much–what a great idea! I’m also a big fan of your curtains. Can I inquire where you got them? Thanks for sharing!

    xx Hannah // TheCheapishly.com

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 3, 2015 at 3:36 pm

      Thank you Hannah! The curtains are actually vintage (I think) Fieldcrest flat sheets that I picked up at the thrift store for $3 each!

      Reply
  12. Jenny @ Refresh Living says

    June 13, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    This banner is perfectly nautical! Thanks for the PDF template!!

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      June 14, 2015 at 9:43 am

      Thanks Jenny! I’m so glad you like it!

      Reply
  13. Tori says

    November 3, 2015 at 12:40 am

    I saw these on another site, she used the flags to spell out her son’s name. Do your flags spell anything significant? I have a son who has always been fascinated with the Titanic, I’m redoing his room with a slight nautical flair and want to make flags spelling out his name =)

    Reply
    • Brynne says

      November 3, 2015 at 7:44 am

      Hi Tori! I decided to do the entire alphabet, so it goes A-Z starting in the corner over the door. Spelling out a name would be such a great idea!

      Reply

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I believe the best kind of home is a gathered one, full of treasures with a story to tell. Join me in celebrating a lifestyle of finding and making beautiful things, right where you are. Read more...

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