Transform stuff you already have and go all out Americana in this DIY American Flag-inspired Outfit that’s perfect for a 4th of July picnic or barbecue!

Having learned all about the American flag in Kindergarten, Miss K has been full of ideas about designing and creating an American flag-inspired outfit for herself this 4th of July. So we got to work on it the first Sunday of her summer vacation.

DIY 4th of July American Flag-inspired Outfit

We decided to alter a hairband, a t-shirt, a skirt and a pair of flip-flops. We started by rummaging Miss K’s wardrobe to find an old hairband, a white t-shirt, and flip-flops. Next, we went through my craft stash and got hold of some ribbon, buttons, ric rac trim in red, blue and white. Since we could not find a skirt to alter we made a trip to Dollar Tree to check if we could see anything of interest, we found a blue scarf with red and white fireworks on it which I thought we could do something with.

Once miss K and I had come to an agreement about what we wanted, the outfit was very straightforward to put together! Here’s a step by step look at how each part of the outfit came to be.

DIY American Flag-inspired Hairband for 4th Of July

Supplies used to make the hairband:

• A white, red or blue hairband (we used an old white one)
• Red and blue ribbon
• Red and Blue buttons
• Hot Glue Gun

Instructions:

1. We need to make red and blue looped ribbon flowers to embellish the hairband. To make the flowers cut 4 equal length strips of the ribbon.

2. Apply hot glue to the center of the strip and fold over both the ends of the ribbon to make 2 loopy petals. Make sure that when you fold over the 2 ends of the ribbon do not overlap as this will lead to a very bulky flower center. Make 4 such pieces.

3. Hot glue the 4 ribbon pieces in the center at an angle of 45 degrees from each other. Add a button on top to finish the flower. We also added some sheer ribbon under the bigger red flowers.

4. Adhere the flowers on the hairband with hot glue and your 4th of July Hairband is ready! Make a few extra flowers to use on the skirt and flip-flop.

DIY American Flag-inspired T-shirt  for 4th Of July

Supplies used to make the t-shirt:

• A plain white t-shirt
• Blue Ribbon
• Red ric rac trim
• White star-shaped buttons

Instructions:

1. Cut strips of the red ric rac trim to form the red stripes of the American flag, and strips of the blue ribbon to form the blue part of the flag.

2. Place them on the t-shirt at the appropriate position and sew in place. I used a simple running stitch.

3. For the stars, stick or stitch the white buttons in place.

DIY American Flag-inspired Skirt  for 4th Of July

Supplies used to make the skirt:

• Dollar Tree 4th of July Scarf
• Elastic waistband
• Sewing Machine
• Ribbon Flowers

Instructions:

1. Choose a scarf with a width that’s just the length you require. I was lucky to find one that was perfect to make a skirt for Miss K! Fold over and stitch one of the long edges of the scarf to create an opening for the elastic waistband.

2. Thread the elastic through the opening and stitch both the short edges of the scarf together to make the skirt.

3. Embellish the skirt with ribbon flowers. The material of the scarf was a little transparent but looked great with a pair of leggings underneath.

DIY American Flag-inspired Flip Flops for 4th Of July

Supplies used to alter the flip-flops:

• Flip flops
• Acrylic Paint
• Painters tape or washi tape
• Brush
• Pom Pom trim
• Ribbon flowers
• Hot Glue
• Old toothbrush

Instructions:

1. Use masking tape or washi tape to mask out the bottom half of the flip-flop. Paint the top half blue.

2. Once the paint is dry, mask the top half and paint the bottom half white.

3. When the white paint is dry, use masking tape to make stripes and paint the unmasked portion red to make red and white stripes.

4. Dip an old toothbrush in white acrylic paint and flicker white paint over the blue part to make stars.

5. Paint the flip flop’s straps red and stick red pom pom trim with hot glue. Finally, attach ribbon flowers to finish the flip-flop.

Your American flag-inspired 4th of July outfit is all ready!

Painting the flip-flops was the most fun for Miss K, both the design and the execution were almost entirely done by her, except the hot glue part. I am so proud of her! As she’s growing older crafting with her is turning out to be more fun and challenging at the same time!