Make a blue jean Independence Day banner

Dress up your dining room, patio or a summer vignette in your home with a decorative blue jean banner for the Fourth of July. If you don't have a die cut machine, don't let the fact that I used my Cricut Expression stop you from making this banner. I have added substitute options for this tool. This thrifty and quick project uses items you already have with alternatives for things you don't.

Things You Will Need:
3 sheets white card stock
Cricut Expression
Country Life Cricut cartridge
Ruler
Scissors
Adult blue jeans
Stick glue
Sewing machine
Jubilee Cricut cartridge
Decorative red paper
Ribbon or trim, 60 inches
Straight pins
Craft glue
25 red, white and blue buttons

Step 1
Cut five pennant flags from white card stock that will layer over your jean denim. I cut 8-inch flags on the Cricut Expression using the Country Life cartridge. You could also cut 8-inch tall triangles with a 5-inch flat base using scissors or pinking shears.

Step 2
Cut off one leg from a pair of adult blue jeans. Cut open the leg at the flat-fell seam. Lay the blue jean fabric on your work surface with the right side facing up.

Step 3
Apply stick glue to the back of a paper pennant flag. Place the flag on the denim at least 1 inch from the edge. Attach the remaining pennant flags in the same way. Allow an inch of space between each flag. Cut out the denim flag a 1/2 inch from the edge of the paper flag. Top stitch the paper pennant flags to the denim flags 1/4 inch from the edge of the paper.

Step 4
Cut a 4-inch heart using Cricut's Jubilee cartridge and 3-inch "I", "U", "S" and "A" letters using the Country Life cartridge. Don't limit the heart and font shapes to these cartridges. Different styles are available on a variety of cartridges. I used a decorative red paper for these shapes. Alternatively, if you don't have a Cricut, choose a font on your computer, enlarge to the desired size and flip to a mirror image outline. Insert your paper in the printer so that the backside of the paper will be printed on. Print your letters. Cut out the letters using scissors.

Step 5
Apply stick glue to the back of a letter and center it on a pennant flag. Note: The bottom of each pennant is the point. Repeat with the remaining letters and the heart. Top stitch down the center of each line on each letter shape and around the edge of the heart 1/4 inch from the edge.

Step 6
Cut a 60-inch length of ribbon or trim for the banner hanger. Lay it out straight on your work surface. Because of the length, I find it easier to do this on the floor. Measure in 12 inches from the left-hand end of the hanger. Place the top edge of the "I" flag under the hanger trim and pin. Skip 1 inch, place and pin the heart flag under the trim. Continue in this pattern for the "U", "S" and "A" flags. Trim the excess trim on the right-hand end to 12 inches. Sew the flags to the hanger.

Step 7
Place the banner on your work surface. Apply a dot of craft glue to the top two corners of each blue jean flag and a dot on each of the three corners on each paper flag. Place a red, white or blue button on top of each dot of glue. I dug through my button box for my buttons. Buttons could also be substituted with beads, charms, wood shapes or nail heads.