|

How to Make A Vintage Look Fourth of July Banner (no sew!)

With all of the red, whites and blues coming out in honor of the coming Memorial Day, my thoughts are also turning to all of the patriotic holidays summertime brings us. I always tend to decorate with more of a vintage feel for the Fourth of July. This Vintage Fourth of July Banner seemed like just the thing to add some holiday decor to my mantel this year.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.  Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Begin with two different fabrics.  I used one that is blue with white stars and a bit of a vintage look to it. Cut a triangle in a pennant shape from cardboard to use as a pattern.  Fold over the fabric and put the top of the pattern pennant on the fold. It is easiest to cut around this pattern using a rotary cutter.  If you are using a rotary cutter, make sure you have a cutting mat beneath it.  

Open your folded pennant on an ironing board.  Cut fusible bonding web in pieces and place them down the edges of your pennant and place a piece about one inch below the fold.  Flip the top back over and press to fuse the fabric with an iron.  

You will now have a pocket at the top of your pennants to feed the rope for your banner through.  Repeat this alternating pennants of the two different fabrics on your rope.

Next, get an old book.  I used a standard size paperback and tore out several pages.  Soak the pages in some coffee for at least ten minutes.  Carefully take them out and lay them out to dry.  Make sure the surface you lay your pages out is non porous, as the coffee could stain as the surface you are drying it on.

When your page is dry you will fold it back and forth in an accordion pattern. 

When your pages are all folded into the accordion shapes, fold each piece in half as shown above and add glue to the edges as shown and press together.  

This will leave you with a fan shape like this one.  You will need four of these for each rosette you want to make. How many you need will depend upon how long you want your garland to be. I am using my garland on my mantel, but you could use it over a doorway, or on a hutch. There are so many places you could use this garland to add a little vintage look to your fourth of July decor.  

You will then apply glue to all of the sides to attach all of the pieces of your rosette together.  

Using a thin string or hemp cord and are large eyed needle, you will thread the string through your rosette so you can attach it to your banner.  

Thread your string down through your book pages on each side of your rosette.  If you are concerned your glue will not hold your rosette together, you can thread through twice, through each piece of your rosette.  Pull the string behind your rosette, you will use it to tie to the rope of your banner.  

Tie your rosettes between the fabric pennants and your banner will be ready to hang.  The second fabric I used was left from a past Fourth of July Wreath.  

I am so happy with how my banner turned out. The vintage look is just what I was going for!  You can see the tutorial for the driftwood sailboats here!


Decorate your mantel or fireplace with this great vintage looking Fourth of July banner or choose different fabric and use this for other holidays.  I liked this looks so much that I made a Vintage Wreath with the scrap fabric from my banner and more book page rosettes. Wouldn’t this same idea look pretty with Christmas fabric for a vintage Christmas look?

Similar Posts

54 Comments

  1. Chloe, this looks really good, not cheap like so many can. I somehow missed that sailboat post, but just now found it on a search (just this past week!). Maybe adding a backtrack link to it on this post would be convenient for readers….I just love this look. Thanks for sharing!

    1. I used instant coffee diluted and I then dipped the pages drying it in the oven for a few minutes,I love your craft ….thank you.

    1. Thank you Pam. I often struggle writing my tutorials, hoping they are clear. I will be doing this banner on FB Live for Hometalk this Friday at 3 PM ET, I always think those are great because people can ask questions as I go along.

    1. I bought 1/4 yard of the star fabric and didn’t use it all. I had the other fabric on hand, but I would suggest 1/4 yard of each to be safe! Send me a picture!

  2. Are you going to do a HomeTalk segment on this? Excellent tutorial and I love how you stained the book pages. You are way ahead of the game with the holidays and hopefully, you can take a small breather soon.

  3. great project for I will be making this for sure! AND I love the sailboats…somehow I missed that too, so will save the link for the cute sailboats ! Can’t wait!

    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment Alda! I am glad you like this, it is a nice little way to add some patriotic decor to your home for the holidays!

  4. Chloe, that is so creative. Still laughing about reading the full page and the “Schmuck party”
    As a side note, I went to Old Time Pottery today for something I usually buy there. All of the floral tables were empty. They can’t get in flowers. Are other stores having this problem ?

  5. I love the pages made into a fan or rosette. It looks so old fashioned. I don’t usually decorate for July 4. I’m try this. Can’t wait to check out the boats on your mantle too. You are so darn creative.

  6. Great tips and tricks to making banners and rosettes, Chloe! We will be featuring them this week at the Creative Crafts Linky Party starting this Wednesday. Thanks for joining in the FUN!

  7. Oh! My vintage loving heart absolutely loves this. It came out great and those sailboats are super cute. It all looks fabulous together. Happy Memorial Day weekend! XO- MaryJo

    1. Thanks so much Michelle, I don’t know why, but I always tend to go for a vintage look when it comes to the Fourth of July. It must bring out the history lover in me. I am a descendent of a man who fought in the Revolution, maybe I am paying homage to him!

  8. Chloe, this is super cute! I love how it looks quite vintage. Never thought to soak book pages in coffee! I am using an old book for the book pages runner for my Dinner in the Library, and the pages are old and yellow, however, very brittle and tear easily. It may have been better to age the pages your way. Ah, live and learn. Thanks for sharing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *