DIY Pride Flags by Rooster DeMotte!

So you might be asking yourself, what if I don't want to buy a plasticy pride flag or I can't afford one from the internet? Well not to fear! You can follow the routes of our queer ancestors and make one yourself.

Pride flags were not originally mass produced! They were hand made in basements, smokey apartments, and raised with the solemn understanding that they may be torn down and burned.

Here are some historical examples:

Click here to read the Smithsonian Magazine's "Long-Lost Fragment of First Rainbow Pride Flag Resurfaces After Four Decades".
Click here to read Peppermint Magazine's "The Art of Resistance - How Sewing is Stitched into Pride's History".

How To Make Your Own Pride Flag

Everything from sourcing fabric to smacking that thing together

Picking your flag

Thanks to this lovely website, you can select a flag that has some real meaning to you. It is likely that you're going to put a lot of effort into this project, so I recommend you pick a flag you like!

Sourcing Fabric

Fabric is very easy to find if you look for it. If you have scraps from old projects, or a hoarding grandma, you can probably find most of your colors for free, but if you can't, here are some possible locations:

Thrift stores

Some thrift stores will have dedicated fabric sections, but you can also look through the following items for fabric to be reused:

Bedding and towels
Scarves and ties (you could make a very cool flag with only ties)
Men's dress shirts (lots of patterns, and generally not tailored)
Skirts (not always the best, but sometimes you can find some gold)

Remember: If it's at a thrift store, it's one step away from being garbage. Don't feel bad about tearing it up.

Garage sales and estate sales

If you know anything about crafters, it's that we hoard up to death. If there are estate sales in your area, they likely will have some sort of lovely fabric collection you can rifle through.

Your own wardrobe

If you have ruined clothes that are not nice enough to be gifted away or given to a thrift store, I recommend you tear them up and use them for a flag! It adds a personal touch to your work, and you aren't just chucking them in the garbage.

Important notes on fabric:

Fabric can be very difficult to sew or construct with if you pick the wrong texture. When sourcing for your flag, I recommend you stick to materials that are similar in thickness to each other. I also recommend you avoid the following materials, unless you have experience sewing with them:

Spandex and athleticwear: Too stretchy (gets eaten up by your machine)
Corduroy: Way too thick, also will not flow in the breeze the way you'd like it to
Silk (unless you're hand sewing): Beautiful, but can very easily be eaten by a machine
Burlap: I don't know where you got burlap from but put it back!

Construction

Here is a tutorial on the basics of pride flag construction by the Suffolk Public Library. They have a very small version here, but it covers basic understanding of construction. You can also hand sew, or hot glue if you really need to, but for the sake of it staying together, I recommend using thread in some capacity.

Upkeep

Like any other handmade gift, you should be gentle with your new flag if you don't want to repair it over and over. Machine wash, air dry is usually my go-to, but check out the tags on your base fabric and try your best to follow that instruction. Ideally, you shouldn't be dragging your flag through mud or using it as a protection from tear gas, so it should be fine to lay beautifully on your wall, and get spot cleaned as needed.

If it does need fixing however, I recommend Visible Mending. Sewing on patches in a contrasting color or sewing up tears in brightly colored thread will provide a wonderful motif as your flag becomes a mosaic of your lived experience.

Here are some handmade scrappy flags from across the internet:

Feel free to send your handmade flags by filling out this form where they will be lovingly displayed on this page!