Make These Patriotic Pinwheels for 4th of July!
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Make these Patriotic Pinwheels using the free printable paper pattern and use them to celebrate the 4th of July! This is a fun and easy craft for all ages and makes such a pretty and whimsical decoration for Independence Day!
Patriotic Pinwheels
Making paper pinwheels is so easy! All you need is some paper, straws, and pins – either a push pin/drawing pin/thumb tack or a split-pin (also known as brads) – the latter being safer for kids.
If you celebrate 4th of July then why not make a few of these pinwheels to use at your celebrations or have it as a fun activity for the family to do while the hot dogs and burgers are grilling!
Materials & Tools Used in This Craft
Full instructions are found in the printable tutorial card at the end of this post, but here is a quick outline so you know what to expect from the craft.
I highly recommend always reading everything all the way through before starting any project so you understand all the steps required.
- Patterned Paper*
- Straws – try to use red, white, and/or blue if you can
- Glue Stick
- Scissors
- Push Pins or
- Split Pins
*You will find the free printable paper used in this craft further down the page – downloads are surrounded by a purple box.
I’ve provided two paper sizes – A4 and US Letter (8.5″ x 11″) – download the size that is appropriate for your printer.
More Patriotic Crafts for 4th of July!
Once you’ve made these patriotic pinwheels you’ll be wanting to make more crafts for 4th of July! Here are some more for you to check out:
- Patriotic Paper Banner Craft for the 4th of July!
- Red, White & Blue Paper Flower Wreath
- Patriotic USA Wooden Sign
- 30+ Awesome Patriotic Crafts for the Whole Family!
I’ve shared lots of great craft ideas on The Purple Pumpkin Blog over the years, in fact, there are 100+ crafts to make and do at home that you can try!
Download Patterned Paper
Click the download link to save the printable file(s) to your computer.
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Visit The Purple Pumpkin Shop for both premium and FREE printables that you won’t find on my main blog!
How Do You Make Pinwheels?
The printable tutorial card is below. To save ink, any demonstration images do not print.
Patriotic Pinwheels
Use the free printable patterned paper to make these whimsical patriotic pinwheels for the 4th of July!
Materials
- Free Printable Patterned Paper - download in blog post
- Paper or Plastic Drinking Straw
- Push Pins or
- Split Pins
Tools
Instructions
- Download and print the patterned paper. The download contains a full sheet of each pattern which you can cut into a square, as well as a square of the patterns too. Use whichever one you prefer. If your printer has a duplex option you can print on both sides, but if not, you can glue two patterns together to have a pattern on both sides, or have one side blank - the choice is yours!
- Fold the paper square diagonally in half in one direction, and then again in the other direction to form crease lines.
- Use scissors to cut slits about two-thirds down along each of the crease lines towards the center.
- There are now two corner ends at the end of each slit. Take one of the ends and gently fold it over into the center of the square and use a glue stick to secure it in place.
- Skip the next corner and take the one after that to fold over towards the center and glue it in place. It's kinda hard to describe so the photo should demonstrate what you need to do! Repeat two more times for the other corners.
- Grab a straw and a pin for the final construction. If you are using a regular push pin then all you need to do is push it through the center of the folded square. Then push the pin and folded square onto the straw. Ball up some masking tape to stick onto the back of the pin to stop it from pricking you!
- Alternatively, you may want to use a split pin (also known as brads). Follow the steps above and split the pin once through the paper and the straw.
Recommended Products
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There is also the How To Make Patriotic Pinwheels for the 4th of July video over on my YouTube channel that you can watch and save to your Playlists for future reference. (Don’t forget to subscribe while you are there!)