Many of you know Mimi Dietrich as a nationally renowned teacher and the best-selling author of numerous quilt books. She comes by all the accolades honestly—they all stem from her delight, enthusiasm, and passion for appliqué. When Mimi heard about a one-of-a-kind appliqué challenge in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, she jumped at the chance to become a part of it. The challenge was on an enormously grand scale—we’re talking two-feet-wide appliqué motifs!
We welcome Mimi to Stitch This! today to tell us about her involvement in this exciting, poignant project—re-creating the Star-Spangled Banner flag for an upcoming celebration in Baltimore. Here’s Mimi to tell us more about the inspiring story behind the stitches of the original flag and the new flag, and the amazing legacy that an everyday woman left behind.
Star-Spangled Stitches
I live in Baltimore, Maryland, and love Baltimore Album quilts. This summer my hand-appliqué and hand-piecing experience led me to a once-in-a-lifetime project. Technically, it’s not a quilt, but my quilting skills and quilting friends have played a large part. I have been working on an amazing project called “Stitching History” at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. We are re-creating the Star-Spangled Banner!
Here are some facts about my latest Baltimore appliqué project:
My supplies!
Block size: 16′ x 16′ (yes, that’s feet, not inches!)
Total size: 30′ x 42′
Materials List
- 250 yards of wool flag bunting fabric
- A whole bolt of white Kona cotton fabric
- Ten spools of linen thread
- Lots of needles with big eyes
- 4 large boxes of Wonder Clips
- No pins
- 200 volunteers
It’s the biggest appliqué project I’ve ever worked on!
Do you know the story behind our country’s national anthem? In 1814, two hundred years ago next year, Francis Scott Key woke early after a battle in Baltimore Harbor. He looked up through the dawn’s early light, saw a huge American flag flying over Fort McHenry, and wrote a poem that is now our National Anthem. That Star-Spangled Banner is now in the National Museum of American History in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.
Go back one year before that. A flag maker named Mary Pickersgill in Baltimore was commissioned to make a large garrison flag for a fort, to be flown on special occasions. This is the Star-Spangled Banner that inspired our national anthem. It is 30′ x 42′ in size!
The design of the original Star-Spangled Banner flag.
Now, two hundred years later, the Maryland Historical Society’s Director of Education is also a park ranger at that fort—and a modern-day Mary Pickersgill. She visited quilt guilds in the Baltimore area to build excitement for this fabulous Stitching History project. We are recreating the Star-Spangled Banner by hand! We are hand piecing 15 stripes that are each 42′ long, and appliquéing 15 stars that are each 2′ wide. It’s a challenge, but it’s also fun, amazing, and very emotional!
How did I get involved? I was just sitting at a meeting of the Baltimore Appliqué Society when a wonderful young woman proposed the project and showed us a piece of fabric as long as a 42′ stripe. I couldn’t sit in my seat any longer…I had to be a part of this! I wanted to appliqué a star!
My wish come true.
Every official volunteer had to learn how to piece the stripes with a technique similar to a flat-fell seam. We learned from milliners from Historic Williamsburg. The blue area of the flag was also pieced from strips. The fabric we used is a very lightweight wool bunting, woven by a company in Pennsylvania especially for the project in 25″-wide strips, the same width of the stripes.
I was very excited about appliquéing the stars, and I became the star leader after the blue field was assembled. Responsibility, yikes! But this has been an incredible adventure. I have loved every minute!
Here’s how the stars were made. After making a star pattern that measured 2′ across, I cut out 15 stars from freezer paper. Then I ironed the freezer paper to the star fabric. We used white Kona cotton because although the original flag was wool, the stars were cotton. My appliqué grad class basted the freezer-paper seam allowances over the freezer-paper stars. I know Mary Pickersgill didn’t use freezer paper, but I wanted to shape the stars and protect them during cutting in a later part of the process.
My appliqué grad class!
One of the biggest challenges was placing the stars correctly. The blue field is 16′ square, and the stars needed to be placed just right. A few brave quilters climbed onto the tables and a spotter helped. We pinned them on and then basted them in place.
We appliquéd the stars to the front of the flag using linen thread and a #9 milliners needle, taking ¼" stitches. The blue fabric is 24 threads per inch, and a small stitch could pull the threads out of place…another challenge!
When the stars were done, we turned the flag over and cut the blue fabric away from the back of the stars. We reinforced the fabric with a ¼" strip of fusible Pellon…sorry Mary, but the blue fabric frayed like crazy! Then we turned the cut edges under to finish the back of the stars. One layer of cotton fabric created the stars, very much like Mary Pickersgill did 200 years ago.
Cutting the back of the stars
Hand stitches on the back of the stars
A back-lit star
The stripes were pieced together in two sections—the short 24′ stripes and the long 42′ stripes. The blue star field was stitched to the short stripes, then the long stripes were added to put the entire flag together. It’s not a quilt, but our experience with piecing and appliqué sure did come in handy!
More than 200 volunteers signed up to take a stitch in history—quilters, appliquérs, dressmakers, tapestry makers, and stitchers. In addition, more than 1000 people took stitches in the flag: children, families, historical impersonators, WWII veterans, our mayor, a US senator and a US representative, plus people from 45 states and 15 countries. The museum invited them to come take a stitch on two open-sewing days; visitors to the museum were also invited to take a stitch any day we were working.
The project started on July 4, 2013, and the flag was finished on August 22, 2013. This is approximately the same time of year that Mary originally made the flag. But she had no air conditioning and worked in a small row house. We worked in a large conference room at the Maryland Historical Society, large enough to lay out the finished 30′ x 42′ flag. She didn’t have Ott Lights or rotary cutters or freezer paper or Wonder Clips to keep 42′ of fabric together. We are in awe of her!
A woman reenacts the part of Mary Pickersgill
The flag will fly from a huge flagpole at Fort McHenry on September 14, 2013, Defender’s Day in Baltimore. We have already cut patriotic quilting fabric into squares for each volunteer to use as a hankie. We are sure we are all going to cry when it flies. This has been an amazing summer!
The completed flag.
Isn’t it gigantic?
A test run—with "happy endings"!
Mimi, what a tribute to your expertise to play a leading role in such a remarkable project. Thank you for sharing your uplifting story with us!
- For more updates about the “Recreating the Star-Spangled Banner” project, follow Mimi’s blog.
- You can also watch this video from NBC news that covers the making of the flag: Hundreds recreate “Star-Spangled Banner” flag
- Finally, mark your calendars so you don’t miss a special report on the project from CBS Sunday Morning, airing on September 15th!
To make your own homage to the American flag, check out our patriotic-quilt roundup. If you’d like to learn more about Mimi and her passion—appliqué—you can pick up one of her popular books:
Baltimore Blocks for Beginners, Mimi Dietrich’s Favorite Appliqué Quilts, A Quilter’s Diary
What do you think of Baltimore’s homage to the flag? Share your thoughts in the comments!
It was a once in a life time wonderful experience. I can not wait to see the Flag fly over Ft McHenry
—Mary Martin on September 2, 2013Only one word I can think of to describe this…."WOW". The ladies did a wonderful job. Congratulations to each one.
—Jer Hutchins on September 2, 2013How beautiful and what a terrific job!! Saw the history of the Fort and the Star Spangled Banner on Who Do You Think You Are? It was a great history lesson for us all!! Thanks for posting this! Lavinia/AZ
—Lavinia Sala on September 2, 2013My hometown. Did me proud!
—Patricia Hersl on September 2, 2013I second Jer’s comments. The only thing better would be to see it fly. I’ve visited Baltimore several times and it is a lovely city.
—Claudia on September 2, 2013What a wonderful opportunity to be involved in a project like that!
—Carol Loughlin on September 2, 2013I cannot think of a word that describes how I felt after reading this article! It makes me proud to be an American. What a huge project to undertake. Wish I had been able to participate. A huge thank you to all who did get to take a stitch or two or hundreds of stitches. As the previous commenter said "Wow"!!!
—Karen L. on September 2, 2013God bless America, and God bless all those who took part in this amazing project to reproduce our beautiful flag.
—gail on September 2, 2013I am just in awe after reading about this ambitious project. I actually had tears in my eyes. What a wonderful way to express our pride in our country. Thank you to all who participated. You should be so proud. I’ll be watching on Sept. 14th from here in Massachusetts.
—Karen on September 2, 2013Stunningly beautiful! I love our nation and its flag. Great job everyone!
—Merlie Brown on September 2, 2013I can’t imagine the honor you must feel in being a part of this wonderful undertaking. I volunteer with Quilts of Valor and I sometimes sew with tears in my eyes think about the wounded soldier who will get the quilt. How much more emotion must there be in honoring our country with this reenactment of the quilt.
What a wonderful opportunity.
—karen howell on September 2, 2013On the last two days, before we finished the hems, we all paused for a moment, and took stitches for all the quilters we wished could be stitching with us.
—Mimi Dietrich on September 2, 2013I am so proud of these ladies who recreated the Star Spangled Banner. My hats are off to you and thank you for each and every stitch. I hope I get to see this fly someday!
—Sandi Myer on September 2, 2013A beautiful and inspiring story. Wish I could have been a part of it and see it up close. What a thrill.
—Mary on September 2, 2013Our country was built on love and courage. This flag not only represents our country but also ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN in the service protecting the USA.
What a beautiful tribute to our country and to the state of Maryland. I was in awe while reading the story and about all the ladies that made the Star Spangled Banner. It is beautiful!
God Bless All that worked on it.
—Carol Bramande on September 2, 2013Absolutely phenomenal!
—Kathleen Wells on September 2, 2013Absolutely wonderful! Wish I could have taken a stitch.
—Mary Lou Nall on September 2, 2013What a wonderful project and a wonderful opportunity to be a part of that. Wish I could have been there. It surely must have been a challenge due to its size, but you all came through beautifully.
—Wanda on September 2, 2013What a remarkable undertaking and what an impressive result!
—Constance Durham on September 3, 2013Ladies & gentlemen you are all to be commended!
I got teary eyed reading that and seeing the finished product.
—Evelyn H on September 3, 2013What an amazing project! And what a thrill for all the participants–wish I could have added a stitch!
—Marlene Davis on September 3, 2013This project gives new meaning to Oh Say Can You See, By the Dawn’s Early Light, What So Proudly We Hailed, At The Twilight’s Last Gleaming…I wish I could be there to watch it hoisted, and imagine the bombs bursting in air. God Bless our America, now and then, and Bless the hundreds of hands that lovingly, and carefully (probably in some cases painfully)placed, pieced and stitched our beloved country’s banner. Thank you All.
—Juliet on September 3, 2013Just reading about the honor of making this flag brings tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing the step-by-step process with us. I will eagerly wait for the news coverage on September 13th and share the emotion I know you will feel.
—Sue Atkinson on September 4, 2013Such an amazing project. May we NEVER delete the phrase "one nation UNDER GOD with liberty and justice for all". It seems we are under attack once again to abolish this!
—Pam Hunt on September 5, 2013Being from the Baltimore area and working at Johns Hopkins, I could see a glimpse of Fort McHenry when driving through the Inner Harbor on my way to work. I wish I could be there to watch this beautiful flag being raised above the Fort. I will definitely be watching the news to see it! Thank you to Mimi and her band of quilters for making this tribute to our fantastic country!
—Kim on September 8, 2013Loved it! What an honor for our country, and God’s Blessings for all those quilters.
Keep smiling,
—Lynnita Shipman on September 8, 2013Thanks for sharing your project with us . Humble , pride , self respect , (and a word for each letter of the alphabet ) is now associated with you and each one of your patriotic team . You are now part of American history ! !
—Linda Clark on July 10, 2015Thank you all for your participation on this project. It is a beautiful sight to see.
—Cheryl on May 12, 2017