How to Make a Band Front Flag

Band front is a term often used synonymously with color guard and contains flag twirlers, baton twirlers and those who carry faux rifles. Depending on the fundraising success of the color guard and its budgetary limitations, some band front parents offer to save money by creating the band front flags. After designing the layout, colors and style of the new flags, use common sewing techniques to construct enough flags for the entire band front.

Things You'll Need

  • Poster board
  • Masking tape
  • Black marker
  • Scissors
  • Craft knife or soldering iron
  • Plywood
  • Straight pins
  • Clear thread
  • Sewing machine
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Instructions

    • 1

      Draw your flag pattern onto a piece of paper using a ruler and pencil to have a visual representation of what the flag will look like. Tape pieces of poster board together in the exact size and shape of the constructed flag including seam and hem allowances for each section. Transfer the design from the smaller paper to the poster board.

    • 2

      Number each section on the poster board. Cut the poster board into the numbered sections that correlate with the different colors of fabric, if applicable.

    • 3

      Lay the first color of fabric onto a piece of plywood, place a numbered poster board piece over the fabric and cut it out using a soldering iron or a craft knife. The plywood keeps your work surface from burning. Repeat with each of the other numbered poster board pieces and other colors of fabric.

    • 4

      Place the numbered poster board pieces on top of each fabric cutout to avoid mixing them up. After all sections of the fabric for the flag are cut, use the original paper design to place the fabric pieces into the correct order.

    • 5

      Overlap the fabric pieces by 1/4-inch and pin together using straight pins, approximately 2 to 3 inches apart. Sew the fabric pieces together using a zig-zag stitch and clear thread.

    • 6

      Remove the pins as you are sewing to keep the fabric from bunching. When all sections are sewn together, fold over each of the three outer edges by 1/2-inch and sew, using a zig-zag stitch, to make a hem. Do not sew the side of the flag that is to be attached to the pole.

    • 7

      Fold the pole edge of the flag over onto itself leaving a 1-inch diameter loop. Measure your flag pole first. Pin the loop to the flag, folding under the raw edge of the fabric, and sew using a zig-zag stitch.