American Flag Windsock

Every summer, I cut off at least one pair of jeans for a fresh pair of denim shorts. This leaves me with a good amount of denim fabric to use for upcycled denim projects. Since denim and the American flag go together like peanut butter and jelly, turning one of those pant legs into an American flag windsock was an obvious choice for a summertime DIY project.

This is a simple project that requires only a little sewing either by hand or machine. It makes a great easy summer craft project for kids. They look great waving in the breeze and make great DIY gifts.

How to Make an American Flag Windsock

Whip up a batch of DIY windsocks to display for the summer holidays, mostly with things you likely already have in your stash. You’ll need just a few materials and a little to get started.

Materials & Tools

• denim fabric (one pant leg should do it)
• 12 red and white fabrics scraps cut to 1.5″ wide strips with varying lengths
• white fabric paint
• paintbrush
• cardboard (for placing behind the denim while painting)
• 1 6″ wooden embroidery hoop
• pliers
• tape
• needle and thread
• 4 key rings
• 1 spinner hanger
• nylon cord

With pliers, carefully remove the metal parts from the wooden embroidery hoop. Tape the hoop back together and set aside.

Make a tube from the denim to create the top of the windsock. The denim piece should be 19″ X 13″ to fit a 6″ hoop. Depending on the size of your jeans, you may need to create the tube by sewing together multiple pieces of denim. Place the hoop inside the tube to ensure it fits both the top and bottom of the tube before moving onto the next step.

Place a piece of cardboard into between the denim layers before painting. Paint stars onto the denim. I painted a variety of styles of stars and used two coats of fabric paint. Allow the paint to dry. You may need to do this in multiple sessions to get the stars on all sides of the tube.

For this DIY windsock, I wanted to keep the frayed bottom edge from the jeans exposed. I used the fabric strips to create the space for the hoop to sit.

With the denim tube inside out, pin the fabric strips around the bottom of the tube with wrong sides facing. Sew the fabric strips in place about 1″ from the bottom edge of the denim.

Turn the tube right side out. The fabric strips should hang just as they will on finished windsock. Place a hoop between the fabric strips and the denim, so the fabric strips hold the hoop in place. Clip the hoop to hold and sew the denim and fabric strips together, so the hoop stays in place.

On the top of the denim tube, insert the other hoop and fold the denim down over the hoop. Clip or pin to the hold the hoop in place and sew together just under the hoop.

Poke three holes in the denim tube just under the top hoop and insert three keyrings. Tie a length of cord onto each of the keyrings. (Not sure which knot to use? Here’s an excellent resource for tying knots.) Tie the three cords together and knot onto another keyring, and attach the keyring to the swivel hanger. The ends of the nylon cord should be burnt to stop it from fraying.

I left the fabric strips and lace hanging at random lengths. The outcome of this DIY American Flag windsock is better than I had imagined. There’s whimsy in seeing it blowing in the summer breeze.

This new American flag windsock pairs perfect with my Bandana and Lace American Flag that I made several years ago.

Where you inspired to make a DIY American Flag Windsock? Leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me with your #scratchandstitch inspired creations. @scratchandstitch