A little over 30 years ago, I made these little patriotic American flag pins. I don’t remember where I first saw the idea – probably in a magazine, because the internet was still dial-up, Prodigy, and outrageously expensive.

I was a new mom, newly divorced, and took my son to the cabin for the 4th of July with my parents, my brother, his wife, and their daughter. My niece was a couple of years older than my son and absolutely adored me, so I was always trying to come up with things we could do that didn’t involve parking her in front of Barney or 101 Dalmatians.

So we made these little pins.

By “we,” I mean I made the pins. Her attention span – and her tendency to stab herself with the safety pin – made it less of a group activity than I’d envisioned.

That said, they’re easy to make. They take less than half an hour, and you only need:

  • Red, white, and blue seed beads
  • Safety pins (various sizes)

Supplies & Sizing

For the original pins, I used:

  • Size 3 safety pin (main pin)
  • Size 1 safety pins (for beading)

You can use any size you want – just make sure your beads fit on the pins. For the ones I made recently, I used a size 2 safety pin for the main pin because I couldn’t find anything larger.

How to Make the Beaded Pins

There’s a bit of a learning curve because you’re essentially working backwards.

You’ll need a total of 12 small beaded pins:

  • 6 pins with 9 beads, alternating red and white
  • 6 pins with 9 beads total: 4 blue beads + 5 alternating red and white beads

Important:

When threading the pins with blue beads, add the blue beads first so they sit closest to the loop of the safety pin. This forms the blue field of the flag.

Assembling the Flag

Once all your smaller pins are beaded, you’ll attach them to the main pin.

This is the slightly tricky part:

Start by adding the pins with the alternating red and white beads first
It feels counterintuitive, but they need to go through the loop of the main pin before the others
Once those are in place, add the pins with the blue beads to complete the flag pattern.

I made a short video showing this part, because it’s much easier to see than explain.

And that’s it.

I made several of these American flag pins – one ended up on a pair of Dr. Martens sandals, another on my leather motorcycle jacket. Over the years, I’ve gotten more compliments on those little pins than you’d expect, and I’ve given plenty away as easy, last-minute gifts.

They’re simple, a little nostalgic, and just complicated enough to make you feel like you accomplished something.
If you make one, just know: the first one might test your patience. After that, you’ll start cranking them out like it’s 1995 and you’ve got nowhere to be.

With the Semiquincentennial coming up – a word no one asked for – it feels like a good time to bring them back.