DIY Spring Fabric Rag Garland

These simple fabric rag garlands make any holiday or occasion fun and festive! You’ll find the free, easy-to-follow instructions below, plus a few craft ideas you can make with the leftover garland fabric.

INSPIRATION

I’ve made a few of these fabric rag garlands already, and I knew I needed to make one for spring with all the beautiful, bright colors this season offers. I love that the fabric choices available are pretty much endless, making this garland a perfect choice for not only spring, but any holiday or occasion. They are adorable in children’s rooms with matching decor colors, and they are a great way to brighten up a teacher’s classroom. And what about baby or bridal showers, birthday parties, and every holiday out there… oh, the possibilities! Be warned though – these garlands are addicting and you may find yourself wanting to make more than just one! Check out the photos below to see up close pics of a few other fabric rag garlands I have made. I used flannel strips on the Christmas garland to add a warm and cozy touch to my holiday decor.

SKILL LEVEL

EASY

PROJECT MATERIALS

FABRIC

1/2 yard each – 6 different fabric choices (5 or 7 choices work well too)

Find a great supply of fabrics at joanns.com

FABRIC NOTES

I almost always choose my fabric by going straight to whatever’s on sale and choosing by colors and generic prints rather than the really cute holiday or occasion prints because once the fabric is cut the print will be a little lost, especially larger print. I’d prefer to save a little expense and go for the sale fabric – it all comes out great!
For the Spring garland I chose 6 different fabrics per garland, but I have gone with 5 or even 7 choices before. You can choose as many or as few fabric choices as you like. Again, it all looks great!
For me I like the length of my strips cut at 18″ long, which will then be folded in half when stringing. 1/2 yard of fabric measures approximately 18″ x 44″ which is perfect for the length I want.

**With a 1/2 yard of fabric each, you will have a bit of fabric left, but I don’t mind because I can then make shorter length garlands in different sizes to display around the house and porch. Or, use the extra fabric for another project all together.

I chose to make these very quick and totally cute bunnies with my Spring Rag Garland fabric leftovers! I bought Dollar Tree toilet paper rolls, bunny ear headbands and bunny tails that came with a clip on the back. I tucked the fabric down into the toilet paper tube, cut the ears off the headband and stuck them in the tube, removed the clip from the bunny tail then clued it on and added bows.

With my leftover Vintage Halloween Rag Garland fabric I made these adorable pumpkins. I used Dollar Tree toilet paper rolls, tucked the fabric down into the toilet paper tube, added 2 cinnamon sticks, a cut-out felt leaf and ribbon for each pumpkin.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

Jute Twine
Pen or Pencil
Ruler
Scissors

Find jute twine at joanns.com

PROJECT MEASUREMENTS

Hanging string (jute twine) measures 80″L – or 5′ of fabric strip space with 10 extra inches on each side for hanging.

Each strip measures 1 3/8″W x 18″L
NOTE: I use the width of my ruler to determine the width of each fabric strip, which is 1 3/8″W. HOWEVER, some rulers measure 1 6/8″W so whatever the width of your ruler is will work just find for the width of your strips.

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

NOTE: I like to iron each fabric piece first before I start cutting to avoid creases and wrinkles showing on my finished piece.

CUTTING FABRIC

5 fabric choices – cut 18 strips per fabric choice x 5 = 90 strips total
6 fabric choices – cut 15 strips per fabric choice x 6 = 90 strips total
7 fabric choices – cut 13 strips per fabric choice x 7 = 91 strips total

** PICTURES BELOW REPRESENT MY VINTAGE HALLOWEEN RAG GARLAND, BUT THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE THE SAME FOR ANY GARLAND YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE

Take your first (ironed) fabric piece and lay it out 18″ tall and 44″ wide in front of you. Cut off the lefthand side edging and discard it, see photo below.

Add Your Heading Text Here

Next, line your ruler up with left edge of your fabric, and on the right side of your ruler draw a line from top to bottom with your pen. Move the ruler over lining the left side up with the line you just drew and, again, draw a line down the right side of the ruler. Move your ruler over and repeat across the fabric until you have marked 18, 15 or 13 strips (depending on how many fabric choices are being used). See photos below to see the ruler width markings.

TYING FABRIC STRIPS TO TWINE

Vintage Halloween Fabric Rag Garland layout (this layout matches photos below)

Spring Fabric Rag Garland layout

Lay your strips out in the order you want to tie them to the twine. See the above left photo to see how I ordered my strips for the Vintage Halloween rag garland. (The above right photo shows the order for a Spring rag garland).

Cut your twine 80″L, then come in about 10″ from the left side and tie your first strip there, see photos below for a visual on how to tie the strips.

Once the first fabric strip is secure on the twine, move on to the next strip and tie it to the twine, then scoot it over next to the first tied strip. Continue to tie strips until all 5, 6 or 7 fabric choices are on the twine. Repeat this sequence until all 90 or 91 strips have been tied to the twine, see photos below.

NOTE: If you ruler is 1 3/8″ wide you can tie you fabric strips with slight space between each strip to fit the 5′ of fabric strip space.
However, if your ruler is 1 6/8″ wide scoot your fabric strips right up next to each other in order to fit the 5′ of fabric strip space.

Add Your Heading Text Here

FABRIC STRIP CLEAN UP

When I am done tying all the fabric strips to the twine, I like to go through and give the garland a quick clean up. As you can see from the photo below, you will have lot’s of stray threads. I go through and pull and cut off as many visible threads as I can so my garland has a cleaner look.

TIP – Use a steamer to keep your garland looking new season after season. It’s an easy way to get rid of unwanted wrinkles and creases!

Add Your Heading Text Here

Happy Creating!

Check It Out!

These Crochet Spring Carrot Coasters add the perfect touch to your Spring/Easter table! Find the free pattern here

Hand out these adorable Crochet Spring Carrot Treat Pouches to your Easter guests, both young and old alike! Find the free pattern here

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