Rustic Texas Flag

The rustic Texas flag wall hanging can be made easily, using old fence boards. The fence boards are attractive and using them for these types of projects keeps them from the landfill!

I am continually updating this site with new projects. There are several of them waiting to be published. If you have any suggestions or questions about any of these projects, please don't hesitate to contact us!

Making the Rustic Texas Flag

Before you begin, it is essential to know the dimensions of the elements of a Texas flag. Here are the facts:

The height of the flag is 2/3 the width of the flag.
The blue stripe on the left is 1/3 the width of the flag.
The red and white stripes are 2/3 the width of the flag and have equal heights.
The white stripe is on the top.
The star is 3/4 the width of the blue stripe and positioned in the center of the blue strip.

Creating a Template for the Lone Star

When painting the colors on the Texas flag, the red, white and blue stripes are easy enough, but it is easiest to paint the star on the flag using a template (once the blue color has dried).

As mentioned earlier, the Lone Star on the Texas flag is 3/4 the width of the blue stripe. This means that the diameter of a circle connecting the 5 points of the star is 3/4 of the width of the blue stripe.

To create the star template, use a compass to make a circle the diameter that you want the star to be - you can use poster board or cardboard for the template material. Draw a horizontal line through the middle of the circle, dividing it into two parts. Using a protractor, draw another line 72 degrees from the center point of the horizontal line.

Using your compass as a measuring tool, measure the distance between the point on the horizontal line that intersects with the circle and the point on the circle where the 72 degree line intersects. This distance is the distance between all of the points of the star.

If you use a compass for the above procedure, you can place the needle on the 72 degree point (or the horizontal point) and, making your way around the circle, mark the remaining 3 points of the star.

If you are successful, when you get to the last point, they should all be the same distance apart.

Building the Rustic Frame

I used old fence boards to build the rustic Texas flag featured on this page. For the sake of easy calculation, I was fortunate enough to have fence boards that were exactly 4" in width. I used three of them to create the height measurement of 12".

Since the height of the flag is 2/3 of the width, the resulting width is 18". Cut three 4" wide fence boards 18 inches long. Cut two 12" lengths from another fence board (these are used to fasten the three 18" fence boards together).

Fasten the pieces together. Use a pencil to lay out the red, white, and blue elements of the Texas flag.

Paint the blue stripe and the red stripe. Allow the two sections to dry completely.

Center the star template (created earlier) onto the blue stripe and secure it with push-pins to hold it in place. Carefully paint the star using a small brush. Use a minimal amount of paint on your brush to prevent the paint from seeping between the template and the rustic flag surface.

Once the star has been painted, you can remove the template and paint the remaining white stripe. Allow the paint to dry completely.

Creating the Frame for the Rustic Texas Flag

Rip another fence board 1 3/4" wide to use as the frame around the flag. Using a miter saw, cut the pieces to length and attach them to the flag - make sure that the back of the frame is flush with the back of the 12" boards used to fasten the three face boards together (so that they won't be seen).

Attach a wire or other hanging hardware to the back and you are done!

What next?

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