Make a festive patriotic bandana wreath to hang on your front door for the Fourth of July! This wreath is quick and easy to make with red, white, and blue bandanas tied to a wreath form.
Why we love this project
Bandana wreaths are fun and simple to make using colorful bandanas and a wreath form. You can this patriotic bandana wreath on your front door for holidays like July 4th, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Flag Day so you’ll be getting use of it for more than a month each year.
I started off making this bandana wreath, which I kept on my door all summer long, and I just knew it was time to make a red, white, and blue variation of this project.
Helpful Project Information:
- Age Level: 10 and up
- Mess Factor: Small
- Level of Difficulty: Easy
- Time to Complete: Less than 30 minutes
- Cost Estimate: Less than $10.00
How to Make a Patriotic Bandana Wreath
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this project. Please scroll down to simply print out the instructions!
- Cut each of the red, white, and blue bandanas in half.
- Take one of the bandana halves and gather it together lengthwise, then fold it in half so that you have a loop at one end.
- Place the open ends of the bandana underneath the wreath form. The open ends will be in the center of the wreath form and the loop will be on the outside.
- Pass the open ends of the bandana over the wreath form and insert into the loop end then pull tight.
- Repeat this process with all the bandanas (or as many as you like), tightening and squishing them all together until it suits you.
- Use a hot glue gun to secure the knots so that they do not loosen.
- Fluff out the ends of each bandana.
- Line your work surface with plastic trash bags or a tablecloth.
- Form each bandana end so that it is open and “poofed” out.
- Tear each piece of paper in half and crumple it into a ball. Place a crumpled ball into the end of each bandana to help hold its shape while the stiffener dries.
- Use a paintbrush (or directly spray) to apply the fabric stiffener to the ends of each bandana. Saturate each piece, but it shouldn’t be dripping off.
- Allow to dry for 24 hours or whatever is recommended on your stiffener bottle, then remove the crumpled paper and hang your wreath!
Expert Crafting Tips
- Using fabric stiffener isn’t entirely necessary, however, we highly suggest it if you plan on keeping this wreath outdoors. Even keeping it indoors did not prevent the bandanas from drooping, as they are of course fabric after all. You want to apply the fabric stiffener to each bandana until they’re saturated, but not dripping wet. Allow it to dry and this will solve all the droopy bandana problems including keeping it safe from rain.
- Aleene’s Fabric Stiffener and Plaid Stiffy Fabric Stiffener are two great options that we’d recommend.
- There are many adorable patriotic bandanas wreaths that line their bandanas in color sections, keeping the blue bandanas to one side mimicking the flag design, and applying stars to them. Feel free to line your bandanas in whichever way you’d like!
Make a craft day out of it and have your friends and family over to all make their own patriotic bandana wreath!
More Patriotic Crafts
- Star Suncatchers
- Patriotic Pinwheels
- Patriotic Painted Rocks
- How To Make Patriotic Slime
- 4th of July Coffee Filter Flowers
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Patriotic Bandana Wreath
Supplies
- 10-15 bandanas depending on the size of your wreath form. We used 12 bandanas. 4 blue, 4 white, 3 red, and 1 buffalo check bandana
- 12 inch wire wreath form
- Water-resistant fabric stiffener
- Large paintbrush if you have the paintable fabric stiffener. Not needed if you have a spray on stiffener
- 15 sheets of paper
- 2 large trash bags or dollar store plastic tablecloth
Craft tools
Instructions
- Cut each bandana in half.
- Take one of the bandana halves and gather it together lengthwise, then fold it in half so that you have a loop at one end.
- Place the open ends of the bandana underneath the wreath form. The open ends will be in the center of the wreath form and the loop will be on the outside.
- Pass the open ends of the bandana over the wreath form and insert into the loop end then pull tight.
- Repeat this process with all the bandanas (or as many as you like), tightening and squishing them all together until it suits you.
- Use hot glue to secure the knots so that they do not loosen.
- Fluff out the ends of each bandana.
- Line your work surface with plastic trash bags or a tablecloth.
- Form each bandana end so that it is open and "poofed" out.
- Tear each piece of paper in half and crumple it into a ball. Place a crumpled ball into the end of each bandana to help hold its shape while the stiffener dries.
- Use a paintbrush (or directly spray) to apply the fabric stiffener to the ends of each bandana. Saturate each piece, but it shouldn't be dripping off.
- Allow to dry for 24 hours or whatever is recommended on your stiffener bottle, then remove the crumpled paper and hang your wreath!
Video
Expert Tips & FAQs
- Using fabric stiffener isn’t entirely necessary, however, we highly suggest it if you plan on keeping this wreath outdoors. Even keeping it indoors did not prevent the bandanas from drooping, as they are of course fabric after all. You want to apply the fabric stiffener to each bandana until they’re saturated, but not dripping wet. Allow it to dry and this will solve all the droopy bandana problems including keeping it safe from rain.
This post originally appeared here on June 18, 2021.
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Cathy Shearer says
Love it!
Robyn Pooldaily says
My kids and I made this today and we did have a really fun time! Thanks for sharing it, Amanda!
Jane Gray says
Do you have to use a wire wreath form? Can you use a styrofoam wreath form?
Amanda Formaro says
I think you could use styrofoam