Uncle Sam Hat - Burlap Door Hanger

Hi everyone!! Thanks for being so patient during our blogging hiatus!  We missed sharing our craft & DIY projects with you, but it was nice to step back and focus on every day life.  We've decided to make some blogging changes going forward; instead of posting a few times a week, we are going to start posting every other week.  We want our blog to be a great DIY resource for you.  Our blog posts will be more focused on explaining a DIY craft and how you can create it yourself.

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Today I will be sharing with you a patriotic craft.  This door hanger can be used for Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Presidents Day, whatever Patriotic Holiday that inspires you to decorate!

This Uncle Sam Hat was created using burlap, acrylic paint, stencils, and old plastic grocery bags.  I already had all the supplies, so it was a free project for me.  But I bet you could do it for under $10.

To start I cut out an Uncle Sam Hat template.  I opened up a leftover paper grocery bag and drew out the design.  Click here to download the hat template, you will need to edit the template to the size door hanger you want.  Keep in mind this will be hanging on your front door - so don't make it too big or too small.

Once the template was cut out, I traced the pattern on to my burlap.  You are essentially creating a hanging pillow, so cut out 2 burlap hats (front & back).

Because I cannot get enough chevron, I decided to make the stripes a chevron stripe!  Create a pattern to trace on to your hat, Julia has a good tutorial here.

You will only paint a design on the front of your door hanger.  This will be done before the front and back are attached to each other.  I used acrylic paint for this project.

I started by taping off a section between the bottom of the hat and the top - this area will be painted blue last.  Paint the lower area red.  This is when I realized how porous the burlap is - it soaks up a ton of paint.  A great way to prevent this but still see the texture of the burlap is to cover the entire piece in a coat of mod podge. 



The mod podge will allow your paint to go on smoother and more even.  Make sure the mod podge is completely dry before painting on top of it.

Trace on the chevron stripe.  Then paint with a foam brush the red & white stripes.  Once the stripes are dry, remove the tape divider and paint that area blue.  Burlap is very forgiving, so do not worry about your lines being perfectly straight - that is why burlap is such a great craft product to use.

Last I stenciled on "USA" to the bottom of the hat.  Another option would be to stencil on your last name.  You can either use a the old school method or a Silhouette to create your stencil.

Once the front of your hat is completely dry, it's time to attach the back.  First you want to add a hook to hang the Uncle Sam Hat from the door.  I used twine since it matches the burlap look.  Make a loop with the twine, center on the top of your hat, and secure with hot glue on the inside of your hat.

Now line up your hat (front and back) and attach with hot glue.  Leave an opening at the bottom so you can stuff the hat.

I stuffed my hat with plastic grocery bags - they're lightweight, the same color as burlap and FREE!  The hat just needs enough stuffing to make it 3-dimensional.  You don't need to stuff it full like a pillow.  Close up the bottom hole with hot glue.  And now it's time to decorate your front door! 

I love how the finished product looks!  I've had this hat hanging on my front door the last few weeks.  Because July 4th falls in the middle of summer, I think it's appropriate to decorate patriotically all summer long! 

How do you plan to celebrate July 4th?

The last 2 years I ran in the Peachtree Road Race. [2012 recap]  This year I plan to cheer on the runners from the sidelines.   I'm hoping my holiday is spent at the pool, grilling out, sipping some adult beverages and spending time with the BF and friends!