FORTISVEX Washington State Flag 3x5 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

The 3x5 foot flag is the one most people mean when they say flag. It is the default house size, it fits the bracket that came with the house, and it is the size replaced most often in America.

This is the Washington state flag at 3x5 Feet (15 square feet) in nylon, made in the United States and finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Washington flag specification

The Washington flag is set out in Revised Code of Washington 1.20.010. It is a dark green field with the state seal carrying a portrait of George Washington.

Adopted in 1923 and standardized in 1967.

Washington regulates by ratio rather than by size. WAC 434-04-017 sets a one to one point six flag ratio with seal diameters given for the 3x5 foot, 4x6 foot and 5x8 foot sizes, and the state runs a competitive bid to that specification. The law is written around the standard commercial sizes rather than against them.

This flag reproduces the design faithfully, built to the standard outdoor sizes used across the industry and bought by the states themselves. The colors, the seal and the emblems are the part that has to be right on an outdoor flag, and they are right here.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Revised Code of Washington 1.20.010 reads:

The official flag of the state of Washington shall be of dark green silk or bunting and shall bear in its center a reproduction of the seal of the state of Washington embroidered, printed, painted or stamped thereon. The edges of the flag may, or may not, be fringed. If a fringe is used the same shall be of gold or yellow color of the same shade as the seal. The dimensions of the flag may vary.

Washington Administrative Code 434-04-017 adds the sizing rule: identical seals on each side, a 19 inch seal on a 3x5 foot flag, 25 inches on a 4x6 foot flag, 31 inches on a 5x8 foot flag, and in all other cases a seal one third the flag length on a flag with a height to width ratio of one to one point six.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Revised Code of Washington 1.20.010 in full at the Washington State Legislature, 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 seal portrait is based on a Gilbert Stuart painting. The seal itself was designed in 1889 by the Olympia jeweler Charles Talcott.

Worth knowing about this flag

A bill directs a redesign recommendation by July 1, 2028, subject to referendum. Nothing has changed yet, and the green field with the Washington portrait remains the flag.

It is the only state flag with a green field, and the only one depicting a United States president.

Where the Washington flag flies

An eighty by forty foot flag flies on a hundred and twenty foot pole at a recreational vehicle consignment business in Burlington along Interstate 5. Regional rather than a claimed state record. A historic episode worth using: at Camp Lewis in Pierce County in 1918 a three hundred and fourteen foot Douglas fir pole and a sixty by ninety foot flag attempted a world record, and the pole broke.

Fly it on Washington’s birthday

Washington became the 42nd state on November 11, 1889. 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 Washington 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 Washington

Nylon in the sheltered Puget Sound lowland at Seattle and the Spokane interior. Polyester on the Pacific coast and in the wind prone Columbia Basin.

At fifteen square feet, a house flag, the flag material decides whether it flies on a light day and how fast it dries after rain.

What you have here is the nylon, appropriate for the sheltered and moderate wind sites listed above, for any house bracket, and for anywhere the flag is brought down during storms. Two things decide it: it is light, flying on an ordinary breeze rather than going limp, and it dries fast, which is the defense against mildew in humidity. The trade is ultraviolet durability — nylon’s amide bonds break under sun, fading and weakening faster than polyester, and it loses about a tenth of its strength wet. For an exposed site on the list above, the polyester version is worth a look instead.

One more thing that decides it, and it is the part people only learn after buying twice: a nylon flag flies on days a polyester flag will not. If the flag matters to you on a still morning, on a holiday, at a funeral, at a ceremony, that is an argument for this one even on a site where the polyester would last longer. A flag that hangs is not doing its job either.

The working benchmark most institutions use comes from the American Legion, which reports that the United States government expects a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset to last about ninety days, and one flown around the clock about a quarter of that. Retailer experience runs three to six months for nylon and four to eight for polyester flown daily, and one to three years for a flag flown only on occasions. Those are working figures, not a warranty, and exposure moves them a long way in either direction.

How the 3x5 Feet is built

The fly end is where this size gives out, and it gives out sooner than it should on most flags people buy, because the 3x5 foot flag is bought on price more than any other size. Four rows of lock stitching on the fly end is the difference between one season and three.

The arithmetic behind that: 15 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.

Raising or lowering this size is a one person task, and it folds to fit a drawer. Rotating two flags monthly is a minute of effort, no more, at 3x5 Feet.

Each lock stitch knots into the one beside it, so a broken thread stays broken right where it snapped instead of unraveling the whole seam. 4 rows is not 4 times the strength — it is 3 backups. An inch and a half wide, heavy duty white and reinforced, this heading carries two solid brass grommets. Fifteen square feet is enough sail area to work them hard in any real wind.

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

A recognizable human portrait printed on both faces of a green flag. It is the most expensive state flag to reproduce accurately, because a portrait that is slightly off does not look approximate, it looks wrong.

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 Washington flag placed 47, at 4.53 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

A five or six foot house bracket or a fifteen to twenty foot in-ground flagpole both suit this size — the most common residential pairing in the country, and this is the size built for it.

Questions about the 3x5 Feet

What size flagpole does a 3x5 foot flag need? A six foot house bracket, or an in-ground flagpole of fifteen to twenty feet. It is the most common residential pairing in the country.

How long does a 3x5 foot nylon flag last outside? The federal working figure is about ninety days for a flag flown daily from sunrise to sunset, and about a quarter of that flown around the clock. Retailers commonly see three to six months in daily use and one to three years flown on occasions only.

Is this flag printed or sewn? The design is printed in UV resistant ink on one side and reads through in reverse on the back, which is how nearly every state flag sold in the country is made. The construction, the heading, the stitching and the grommets are sewn.

Why this size gets replaced most

This size is not inherently weaker. It is the one most commonly sold on price, so most of them are built cheaply. A 3x5 foot flag with only one or two rows of fly-end stitching frays in a season and loses six inches by the next. Construction explains the entire difference.

Specifications

• Size: 3x5 Feet
• Area: 15 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 4 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 1-1/2 inch
• Finish: Brass Grommets
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

Both tables follow the same logic. A flagpole reads best with a flag whose length falls between a quarter and a third of its height. Where a size could go either way, smaller means more flying days and a longer life, bigger means more visibility at range.

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

Push the flagpole past a hundred feet and the same ratio still applies, but it stops being a simple lookup: the flag, the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load need to be engineered as a unit, and skipping that step damages the flagpole before it damages the flag. A number of famous large flags deliberately break the rule of thumb, on an engineer’s word rather than a table’s.

We carry the full range whether or not every size appears on this website. If the size you need is not listed, we can still supply it.

About the back of the flag

It is normal for a printed flag to read backward from behind — almost every flag flown in America works this way. A flag that reads correctly from both sides is double sided: two flags sewn together with a liner, at roughly double the weight and cost. Single sided stays the standard and the right choice except where a state’s own law requires the double sided build.

Flying it with the United States flag

Section 7 of Title 4, the United States Flag Code, addresses this directly: the United States flag is never outranked in position, staying above every other flag and to the right at the same level, which reads as the viewer’s left. Same-height flagpoles put the United States flag on the viewer’s left with matching flag sizes; different heights put it on the taller pole; one flagpole with two flags puts it at the top. There is no legal penalty for civilians under the Flag Code, but it is what every institution follows anyway.

Buy two and they both last longer

Rotate two flags on a monthly cycle and they will outlast three flags flown until they fail, because the fabric gets a rest and the fly end is not taking the same beating in the same spot every day. Bring it down before severe weather; one real windstorm can do more damage overnight than six ordinary months. Check the fly end, not the middle — a few minutes of stitching at the first sign of fraying buys another season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

Cities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies buy state flags from us as a matter of routine. The tax exempt page is where a tax exempt account is set up; the contact page is where quantity orders, replacement schedules, and sizes not shown here get handled.

Why buy it from us

We are a small company based in America, and we keep in stock what we sell. Every flag is made domestically, printed in UV resistant ink, and finished to the construction described above rather than scaled down to a price. Selling a flag that lasts matters more to us than selling three that don’t. Orders over twenty five dollars ship free.