June is almost over, which means the Fourth of July will be here in no time! This is the time of year when I start planning and preparation for the huge outdoor event my family always holds on Independence Day weekend. (Be sure to check out my previous post full of tips for hosting an outdoor party.) Whether you’ll be celebrating the holiday with a large or small event, you might like to try out my newest idea for July 4th party decorations. I made these fun and easy pennants out of red, white, and blue felt. This is a great project for the kids to help with, too!

Gather the supplies

The supplies are pretty easy. Of course you’ll need a bunch of felt sheets in red, white, and blue. You’ll also need some scissors for cutting the felt. I like to also have a rotary cutter and mat nearby, which really helps with the straight cuts. To string the pennants and to attach the felt decorations, you’ll need a hot glue gun. If your kids are helping and you don’t want them using a hot glue gun, get some kid-friendly felt glue instead. (Don’t try regular white school glue — it won’t work). Finally, you’ll need some ribbon to string the pennants together. I used 1/4″ wide satin ribbon in red, but you can use anything similar that you’ve got on hand.

Cut the triangles

If you never liked high school geometry, you might find the prospect of cutting triangles without a pattern to be daunting. However, I’ve got an easy way to do it! Start by making a long, straight cut across the rectangular felt sheet, from corner to corner. (Here’s where that rotary cutter really comes in handy!)

Now arrange one half so that the point is facing down, and cut the top part off so that you have a nice even triangle. Do the same for the other half. Now out of one felt square, you’ve made two large triangles for your pennants with minimal waste. You also have some scraps left for decorating the pennants.

Cut a whole bunch of these triangles in red, white, and blue felt. Be sure to save the scraps so you can decorate with them.

Decorate the pennants

Time for the fun part! Using the leftover scraps, cut stripes, stars, circles, or whatever shapes you like. Use the hot glue gun or felt glue to stick the shapes to your pennants.

String the pennants

Once all your pennants are decorated and the glue has set/dried, you can string them on the ribbon. Start by running a bead of hot glue on the top edge of the pennant, on the back, and stick the ribbon to it. Continue to glue pennants onto the ribbon, leaving a few inches between each one.

Now come back and add another bead of glue right next to the ribbon, and then fold the edge of the pennant over, pressing it in place until it sets. This will give your pennants a nice finished edge, and reduce the chance of them falling off.

You’ll see a little bit of the folded-over flap sticking out, so use your scissors to snip off the tip of the felt, to give it a more finished edge. (Careful not to cut the ribbon!) Glue and trim all your pennants, and it’s ready to hang!

The finished result

Here are my pennants, hanging from the deck in my back yard. I can’t wait for everyone to see these on the 4th!