DIY $9 Set of Flag Swivel Rods

Yesterday I got the news that I can officially be a part of the flag team in our congregation.  Yay!  With that, I had been scoping out what type of flags they use.  Most often I see the swivel sorts, with the ball on the end that helps rolling the rod in the hand, probably saving the wrist.  I bought some cheaper ones that have flags already attached (though swivel), outside of the beautiful non-swivel ones I shared in a previous post for $12.  For cost efficiency, I wanted swivel rods that didn't have their flags permanently attached, that way I could interchange the same rod with multiple flags.  I had did online window shopping for a while and could not find these any cheaper than $18 a rod.  That's $36/set.  Perhaps if that included the flags, that would have been the most I was comfortable spending, but it didn't (flags were still ranging around $14 just for one detachable/$28 a set!).  A praise session could easily turn into $64+.  I'm just a little more economical than that.  I ventured to make my own.

The blueprint I used was from ones that I had previously purchased, whose flags were not removable.  First of the all, it wasn't just the luxury of changing flags on one rod that made me want more rods, but it was the fact that the dowels of the ones I had purchased were thin and caused hand cramping.  However, they were an example for me in the task I was undertaking.  They are pictured below.

It took just 2 stores -- Home Depot and Hobby Lobby.

At Hobby Lobby, I picked up 2 5x8 dowels and the ball caps in the same aisle.  Those balls can only fit over a 5x8, hence that is the dowel size I had to get.  Note, the dowels are 36 inches long, which is rather heavy-duty.  You could always use a rotary tool to cut it down a few inches, but not too much because you will still need it long enough for the poly pipe and your hands.  Or, you could take it to Home Depot (which was my next stop) and use their aisle saw for free.  You can also get a strip of velcro here for less than a dollar.

At Home Depot, I really only needed the poly pipes that spin over the dowels.  These pipes were in the PVC pipe section, under the bundles of lightweight pipes that are sold in rolls.  These are much thinner and lighter, and $.90 a pipe.  I purchased 2 at the 3/4 size, 24 inches long.  Again, you can have these cut shorter at Home Depot (even their tools department will help you out for free) or do at home if you have the tools.  If you don't already have it, you can also pick up electrical tape and wood glue (I already had these).

Use wood glue to cap off one end with the wooden ball.  Put dowel through the pipe.  Secure the other end of it in place with electrical tape, as pictured below.  This will allow free spinning without friction.

Then I secured the other end of dowel with the same wood glue and wooden ball.  There are a few options you can do to secure a flag to the swivel pipe.  The option I chose was to use the soft side of velcro.  Just a wrap around on the 2 ends of the pipe is sufficent to stick to a flag made of certain materials.  Or you could always use the other side of the velcro and sew it into the end of the flag that wraps around the pole/rod.

Grand total?  For both rods, all things considering... $9, and still with plenty of balls left over for another project.  That's $27 dollar savings!

Worship Flags for 1/4 of the Cost

Yesterday my husband helped me make some worship flags.  The day prior I had been looking at separate vendors for purchase.  There are a few types to choose from -- some that swivel on the rod, and others that do not swivel.  From there, there are quite a few styles.  The ones we did yesterday are the bigger, non-swivel flags that look like they emit forth directly from your hand, as if they were an extension of it.  These are the kinds that I see people get by with just one single one, or two if you are skilled.  We made two, for practice and the future, and because we have children.

Now one of the lady flaggers I know told me that the starting price of $40 a pair of those style of flags that I found on from a certain vendor was a really good deal, since most of them start at $70 for that certain style.  When I read that flag maker's technique, how she prays over the flags ordered, I thought how special it would be to do my own, and had hoped to make it even cheaper.  Brant wanted to do it as love offering to me.  

The supplies we needed were:

1 large (4 ft), or 2 smaller (2 ft), fiberglass rods as dowels

2 yards of lame or organza fabric

electrical tape (optional)

I pondered where I would find fiberglass rods.  Since these types of flags have a smaller dowel, wood is just not going to be durable.  I have seen a flexible poly being used as well, but knew that since I am just starting out, a strong fiberglass rod would suit best.  Well, I will tell you I found a fiberglass rod at Home Depot's sign department, right next to where they would have the garage sale signs.  It is a simple reflector rod/stake, and it comes in 4 ft at $2.  I swapped that one up, and my husband took the rotary tool to it to make it 2 2ft rods.  Note, you don't need tools.  Home Depot has saws for customer use sitting in the lumber department.  This rod comes with rubber ends.  Make sure to snatch that up to ensure the end does not jam into your hand when in use, or rip through your fabric.  Though, if you are using electrical tape (later explained), it won't matter much.

Then we wrapped our orange rods up with electrical tape, securing the ends for a smooth finish.  The rods are complete -- moving onto the fabric.

Two yards is more than enough for 2 of these flags, even if you only used one flag in your dance.  Simply cut in half and begin to hem edges.  My end product was 35" x 44" on each flag.  Before I hemmed, I took a lighter to the loose ends to ensure they would not unravel in the sewing process.  This fabric is very delicate and I did not want needle snags to turn into fabric coming undone.  

Now you have a rectangle.  On the smaller edge, I folded over 7/8" once, pinned, then rolled over again, releasing first pin to repin the second fold.  This is for the pole.  Then we hemmed.  I only hemmed 2 ft (plus 2 inches, will explain why later) from the top of that smaller side because the rod is only 2 ft long and I want the excess to hang like a wing off of my hand.  I've seen most will cut around that area to accencuate that wing piece.  It will do fine on its own if you just let if freely hang, like I explained.  

So that extra 2 inches on the rod's side is so that you have enough fabric to fold over where the top of the pole would be, securing the fabric's integrity, that the pole does not rip through your fabric.  Once this is done, you simply slip the rod in and the flag is ready for use.  Notice, we did not secure the other end of the fabric to the rod.  This is because you will be holding that end -- it is not needed.  This also allows you to have a removeable rod for other flags.  Picture of handheld end, below.

Ta-da!  The best part?  The grand total was $12.