Whether you use it as a placemat, centerpiece or wall decor, this Greek flag sets an island-inspired blue and white color scheme for a Mediterranean dinner, a prelude to a trip, or a Greek staycation. You can print out our illustration or make your own out of painter’s tape or strips of colored paper. Whatever you choose, it’s a way to set the scene for island-inspired fun!
What You Need:
- ⅞” wide blue painter’s tape
- scissors
- pencil
- two pieces of 8.5 X 11 white cardstock or cover weight paper
- ruler clear tape
Step 1: Using clear tape, connect two pieces of white paper, joining the long sides. Try to line them up so the seam between the two pieces is minimal.
Step 2: Flip the rectangle you just created over so that the clear tape is on the back.
Step 3: Cut the flag so that it is 8 ¾” wide and 12 ½” long.
Step 4: Cut two 12 ½ inch long strips of painters tape. Adhere one to the bottom of the flag. Leave a blank space the width of the tape just above it, and adhere the second strip above that so that you have two blue stripes with a white one in between.
Step 5: Cut four strips of painter’s tape 8 ⅛” long. Adhere one to the top right corner of the flag. Leave a blank space the width of a strip of tape, and adhere a second blue strip just below that. Leave another blank space the width of a strip of tape and adhere the third strip just below it. Now you’ll have, from top to bottom: a short blue stripe on the top right, followed by a short white one, then a short blue, a short white, a short blue, a long white, a long blue, a long white, and a long blue at the bottom, for a total of nine (the number of different letters in the Greek phrase “Freedom or Death,” which was the rallying cry of the Greek Revolution in 1821, when the modern Greek state was created after over 400 years of being part of the Ottoman Empire).
Step 6: To make the cross in the flag’s upper left corner, cut eight strips of painter’s tape 1 ½ “ long. Stick two side by side in the top left corner of the flag, creating a square approximately 1 ½” wide and 1 7/8th” high.
Step 7: Use another two strips to create another square at the top of the flag, just to the left of the top two short stripes.
Step 8: Take another two strips and stick them side by side to create a square just to the left of the bottom two short stripes.
Step 9: Use the last two pieces of tape to create a square opposite the one you just made. This one will be placed on the left hand side of the flag, 1 ¼” away from the square to the right of it, and 7/8th of an inch underneath the square above it, so that the white space in between the four blue squares creates a cross.
Now you’re ready to fly the flag!
To make smaller flags to match your masterpiece, download our Greek Flags template, print, and cut out. The smallest ones can be scattered on the table as confetti or taped to toothpicks as cupcake toppers, and the large one makes a quick and easy placemat or wall decor.
