Patriotic Projects To Make With Your Serger

It’s easy to add an extra touch of handmade to your 4th of July celebrations with these sewing projects. Regardless of the project, mix and match fun fabrics in patriotic colors or choose to use holiday-themed prints to create custom placemats, outfits, or even a tablecloth for your backyard barbecue. From patchwork pillows to a great little ruffled skirt, we’ve put together some fun patriotic projects to make with your serger.

Reusable Fabric Bowl Cover

Summertime means picnics and barbecues, but it doesn’t mean you need to deal with pesky bugs in your food. Using two circles of fabric and some elastic, you can quickly whip up these reusable fabric bowl covers. Custom make them to fit small dishes, all the way up to large serving bowls to fit your outdoor dining needs.

Your serger quickly attaches elastic to projects, especially if your machine has an elastic attachment foot. The serged seams won’t damage the elastic and allow it to maintain its full ability to stretch.

Scrappy Strip Placemat

In under twenty minutes, you can create one of these beautiful placemats from start to finish. They make a great accent for your 4th of July table, whether you’re planning to eat inside or outdoors on the patio table. Use strips of patriot fabric or simply choose prints in red, white, and blue.

This project pieces together strips of fabric — with the overlock stitch used as a decorative accent — making it a great scrap busting project. You can incorporate quilting cottons and heavier materials such as twill or denim to add texture to the finished placement. The edges are finished with an overlock stitch, so there’s no need to sew a binding on to enclose the unfinished edges.

BBQ Utility Apron

This barbeque utility apron not only keeps dad’s clothes clean while he’s running the grill, but it also has a handy towel loop for wiping his hands and a helpful utensil pocket. Everything the grill master may need is conveniently right at his fingertips.

To create an apron with more stiffness and structure, opt for a heavier fabric like denim or duck cloth. For a little extra flair, you can make the pockets out of a fun cotton print that matches his interests, such as his alma mater, favorite sports team, or hobby.

Pillowcase Dress

Pillowcase dresses are a quick and easy project to sew up for your favorite little girl. And one of the best projects to take on if you’re a beginner sewist. All you need is a yard or so of fabric and some ribbon to create this adorable dress.

This pillowcase dress pattern makes a fun outfit for your little one to wear to the 4th of July parade or your get-together with friends and family. You could even embroider stars on the bottom of the dress in a solid fabric to add a little something “extra”.

Potluck Dish Carrier

If you’re headed to a neighborhood (or family) potluck, this dish carrier is a must-sew project. Using 18-inch squares of fabric and fusible fleece for the main part of the carrier, this project is almost like a mini-quilt, finished off with bias binding on the edges and a couple of loops with D-rings.

Using your serger to attach the bias binding is an efficient way to finish the edges, and it helps to keep the bulk down compared to using a standard sewing machine. While some may think it’s unconventional, some quilters prefer the technique.

Ruffled Skirt

If you’ve got an adorable little girl — or two — in your life, this ruffled skirt is a quick, cute project to sew up for the 4th of July. The darling(s) in your life will twirl round and round in a frilly, elastic waist skirt, whether it be at the local parade or your favorite fireworks festivity.

Using your serger makes quick work of this project. Use it to ruffle the fabric, finish the raw bottom edge with a rolled hem, and then attach the ruffle to the skirt bottom. Since the serger finishes all of the raw edges, the skirt’s inside seams will never fray.

Bandana Tablecloth

This year, skip the cheap vinyl tablecloth for your backyard barbecue and make this adorable bandana tablecloth instead. Using bandanas from the dollar store will cost you less than $15 to buy the supplies. After your holiday get-together, throw it in the wash and tuck it away for the following year.

Choose red, white, and blue bandanas to go with your patriotic theme, or opt for a single color palette. The edges of the bandanas will already be finished, but using your serger makes quick work of stitching the seams, creating a durable table covering that will withstand many barbecues to come.

Patchwork American Flag Pillow

If you’re looking for indoor patriot projects, look no further than this beautiful patchwork American flag pillow. Using charm packs in patriotic colors reduces the amount of time cutting squares, but you can also do this project using yardage if you’d like.

This pattern has a solid back, but you can easily switch it out to make an envelope or zippered back and use it as a pillow cover. For those with limited storage, the pillow cover makes a great project that is easy to stow away until next summer.

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About Amanda S.: Growing up, I was fascinated by watching my mom and grandma turn fabric into beautiful handcrafted items. In my early 20’s, I finally got brave, buying a sewing machine and teaching myself to sew. As I fell in love with sewing, my machine collection expanded, and I ran an Etsy shop sewing children’s clothing for a few years. As a single mom of 3 great kids, my sewing time has lessened, but I still try to find time to work on quilts, bags, and projects with my kids, teaching them what I love.