FORTISVEX Pennsylvania State Flag 6x10 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

This is the size where a state flag leaves residential territory behind. Sixty square feet is commercial, flown on a commercial flagpole, and it is the last size built with grommets before rope takes over.

This is the Pennsylvania state flag at 6x10 Feet (60 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Pennsylvania flag specification

The Pennsylvania flag is set out in the Act of June 13, 1907, Public Law 560, Number 373, which specifies dimensions and yellow silk fringe. It is a blue field matching the United States flag blue, carrying the state coat of arms.

Adopted June 13, 1907.

The statute for this flag describes the design, the colors and the seal or emblem, but it does not fix an overall size that a modern outdoor flag has to match. That is the normal position across most of the country, and it is why every manufacturer builds state flags in the same standard sizes.

The design here is reproduced faithfully, at the standard outdoor sizes the whole industry works in and that states buy for themselves. What actually matters on a flag flown outdoors is that the colors, the seal and the emblems are correct, and they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Act of June 13, 1907, Public Law 560, Number 373, Section 1 reads:

That the flag to be known as the official flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be of blue, same color as the blue field in the flag of the United States, and of the following dimensions and design; to wit, The length, or heighth, of the staff to be nine feet, including brass spear-head and ferrule; the fly of the said flag to be six feet two inches, and to be four feet six inches on the staff; in the center of the flag there shall be embroidered in silk the same on both sides of the flag the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in proportionate size; the edges to be trimmed with knotted fringe of yellow silk, two and one-half inches wide; a cord, with tassels, to be attached to the staff at the spear-head, to be eight feet six inches long, and composed of white and blue silk strands.

The spelling heighth is the act’s own.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Act of June 13 in full at the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and check what we sell against it.

That is the flag as we build it. Nothing about it is approximate.

What is on it and what it means

The arms show a ship, a plough and three sheaves, with horse supporters, an eagle crest and the motto Virtue, Liberty, and Independence.

Worth knowing about this flag

The blue is specified as matching the United States flag, which sounds obvious but is the detail that separates a correct Pennsylvania flag from a generic navy one.

Where the Pennsylvania flag flies

The Department of General Services runs the program through the Capitol Police, flying United States and Pennsylvania flags over the Capitol in Harrisburg with a certificate of authentication, with a minimum of one week's notice. One distinctive detail worth using: while other Capitol flags are raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset, the Main Capitol flags are not lowered at sunset but are displayed twenty four hours a day, and all weather flags are flown in inclement weather.

The Capitol Preservation Committee maintains one of the largest Civil War battle flag collections in the country, holding Pennsylvania regimental colors.

Fly it on Pennsylvania’s birthday

Pennsylvania became the second state on December 12, 1787. Under the United States Flag Code as amended July 7, 1976, a state flag flown on the state’s birthday takes its place beneath the United States flag, and that day is the one date every year the Pennsylvania flag has an official reason to go up.

Buy it in time and it goes up on the day it matters. Every state’s date is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Pennsylvania

Nylon statewide at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown. Polyester on the Lake Erie shore at Erie.

Sixty square feet makes this a commercial flag, and on an exposed site from the list above, the right material is the difference between one season and three.

This is the nylon listing, suited to the sheltered and moderate wind sites named above, to any house bracket, and to anywhere you bring the flag in during storms. Two factors drive that choice. Nylon is light, catching the breeze most yards actually get instead of hanging still, and it dries quickly, which is what keeps mildew at bay in humid air. The cost is ultraviolet life: nylon’s amide bonds absorb and break under ultraviolet exposure, fading faster than polyester, and it loses about a tenth of its strength wet. On one of the exposed sites named above, look instead at the polyester version.

Here is the part usually learned the hard way, after a second purchase: nylon catches wind on days polyester simply will not move. When the flag needs to be visibly flying — a quiet morning, a holiday, a funeral, a ceremony — that argues for nylon even on a site where polyester would technically last longer. A flag that just hangs there is not doing its job either.

The number most institutions rely on traces to the American Legion, which reports a roughly ninety-day expectation from the federal government for a flag flown daily sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that flown around the clock. Retailer experience puts nylon at three to six months daily, polyester at four to eight, and an occasionally flown flag at one to three years. These figures are practical guidance, not a warranty, and exposure will move them considerably.

How the 6x10 Feet is built

Six rows of lock stitching replace four at this size, because sixty square feet generates far more force at the fly end than any house flag experiences. Four rows would not hold.

The arithmetic behind that: 60 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. In a thirty mile an hour wind the fly end of a flag this size travels faster than the wind itself, because the wave running out to the tip accelerates as it goes. That is why the tip wears out first and why the stitching count at that end is the number worth reading on any listing.

Two people and a clean, open surface are what this size needs for a proper fold. A tailgate will not do at sixty square feet.

With lock stitching, every stitch knots into its neighbor, so damage stays contained at the break instead of running down the seam. Read 6 rows not as 6 times the strength but as 5 backups. At sixty square feet, the heading takes the most sustained strain of any part of the flag, which is why it runs two inches of reinforced heavy duty white with brass grommets and tooth washers.

Nylon, commercial grade, is what this flag is made from. It is light enough to move in a gentle breeze, sheds rather than soaks up water, and dries quickly — a wet flag is a heavier flag, harder on its own seams. The ink is UV resistant and field tested, because sun exposure is what actually fades a flag.

Why this flag is harder to make than most

Two horse supporters, an eagle, a ship and a motto. The horses are the expensive part and the part that reads as wrong when the print is soft.

For what it is worth, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 72 state, provincial and territorial flags in 2001 and rated them from zero to ten. The Pennsylvania flag placed 57, at 3.69 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

An in-ground flagpole thirty to forty feet tall suits this flag.

Questions about the 6x10 Feet

What size flagpole for a 6x10 foot flag? Thirty to forty feet. At this size the flag is commercial and the flagpole has to be an in-ground pole with a truck and halyard.

Why does the 6x10 foot flag have grommets when the 8x12 foot flag has a rope? Sixty square feet is the most two brass grommets can be asked to carry. Above this the load is spread along a rope sewn the length of the heading.

Does a 6x10 foot flag need a heavier flagpole? A sixty square foot flag in a gust loads a flagpole hard. If the pole was sold for a 4x6 foot or 5x8 foot flag, check its rating before stepping up.

The last size on grommets

Past this size, construction shifts entirely to a sewn rope the length of the heading, since two grommets cannot carry the load any further. The 6x10 Feet sits exactly at that boundary — six rows of stitching, a two inch heading, and still grommets.

Specifications

• Size: 6x10 Feet
• Area: 60 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 6 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 2 inch
• Finish: Brass Grommets
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

Underneath both tables is a single ratio: a flag a quarter to a third the flagpole’s height. When you land between two rows, that is a real choice, not a rounding error — smaller flies more often, bigger reads further.

If you know your flagpole height, start here.

• 6 Feet house bracket: 2x3 Feet or 3x5 Feet
• 15 to 20 Feet flagpole: 3x5 Feet or 4x6 Feet
• 20 to 25 Feet flagpole: 4x6 Feet or 5x8 Feet
• 25 to 35 Feet flagpole: 5x8 Feet or 6x10 Feet
• 35 to 45 Feet flagpole: 6x10 Feet or 8x12 Feet
• 45 to 60 Feet flagpole: 8x12 Feet or 10x15 Feet
• 60 to 80 Feet flagpole: 10x15 Feet or 12x18 Feet
• 80 to 100 Feet flagpole: 12x18 Feet or 15x25 Feet
• 100 to 120 Feet flagpole: 15x25 Feet or 20x30 Feet
• 120 to 150 Feet flagpole: 20x30 Feet or 20x38 Feet
• 150 to 200 Feet flagpole: 20x38 Feet or 30x50 Feet
• 200 to 240 Feet flagpole: 30x50 Feet or 30x60 Feet
• 240 Feet and above: 30x60 Feet or 50x80 Feet, engineered to the flagpole

If you know your flag size, start here.

• 2x3 Feet: 4 to 8 Feet bracket or garden flagpole
• 3x5 Feet: 6 Feet bracket, or 15 to 20 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 4x6 Feet: 18 to 25 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 5x8 Feet: 25 to 35 Feet flagpole
• 6x10 Feet: 30 to 40 Feet flagpole
• 8x12 Feet: 40 to 50 Feet flagpole
• 10x15 Feet: 50 to 60 Feet flagpole
• 12x18 Feet: 60 to 80 Feet flagpole
• 15x25 Feet: 80 to 100 Feet flagpole
• 20x30 Feet: 100 to 120 Feet flagpole
• 20x38 Feet: 120 to 150 Feet flagpole. This is the garrison size under Executive Order 10834, at a one to one point nine ratio rather than the two to three of the commercial sizes, and it is the size flown at the White House and the Capitol
• 30x50 Feet: 150 to 200 Feet flagpole
• 30x60 Feet: 200 to 240 Feet flagpole. This is the largest standard commercial size
• 50x80 Feet: 240 Feet and above, engineered to the flagpole

The quarter to a third rule holds all the way up, but above about a hundred feet the flag and the flagpole stop being two purchases and become one engineered system: the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load all have to be specified together, and a flag bought without checking the flagpole rating damages the flagpole first. Several famous installations deliberately fly longer than the rule, which is a choice made with an engineer rather than from a chart.

What is on the website is not the limit of what we carry. Any size in the tables above can be ordered, listed or not.

About the back of the flag

Every printed flag looks right from one side and mirrored from the other, and that is simply how the overwhelming majority of American flags are built. Making both sides read correctly means building what is really two flags stitched together over a liner, at roughly twice the price and twice the weight. Single sided is the standard, and it is the right choice unless a state’s statute specifically requires otherwise.

Flying it with the United States flag

The United States Flag Code, at Title 4, Section 7, sets this out: the United States flag holds the position of honor, never below another flag and never displaced from the viewer’s left when flags fly level. With two flagpoles of matching height, the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and the flags match in size; with unequal heights, it goes on the taller pole; on a single pole carrying two flags, it is at the top. The Code has no penalty attached for civilians, but it remains the standard every institution follows.

Buy two and they both last longer

Alternate two flags on a monthly schedule and you will get more life from both than from three flags flown until they wear out, because resting fabric recovers and the fly end stops absorbing the same repeated stress. A severe storm is the one condition worth taking the flag down for; it can do more damage in a night than six calm months. The fly end frays first, not the center, and stitching it early adds a season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

We regularly supply state flags to cities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies. Tax exempt accounts run through the tax exempt page. Quantity pricing, replacement schedules, or a size that is not listed all go through the contact page.

Why buy it from us

A small American company runs this store, and everything listed here is something we actually stock. Every flag is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above rather than built down to a price. We would rather one flag last than sell three that fail early. Free shipping kicks in over twenty five dollars.