FORTISVEX Washington State Flag 4x6 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

A 4x6 foot flag is the first size that really needs a flagpole in the ground. It is too large for a standard house bracket, and that is the honest reason to step up to it rather than any question of appearance.

This is the Washington state flag at 4x6 Feet (24 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.

What we build is a faithful reproduction of that design, sized to the standard outdoor sizes every manufacturer uses and the states themselves order in. On an outdoor flag, the colors, the seal and the emblems are what has to be right, and here they are.

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.

This is what we actually make, not a stand-in for it.

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 now and it is on the flagpole for the day. The full list of state birthdays 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.

Twenty four square feet is where wind load starts to matter in earnest, and the verdict above carries more weight here than on a standard house flag.

This listing is nylon, right for the sheltered and moderate wind sites above, for a standard house bracket, and for anywhere you take the flag down before a storm. Two things make it the pick. It flies on the breeze most yards actually see instead of hanging flat, being light, and it dries fast, which fights mildew where humidity is high. What it sacrifices is ultraviolet resistance: nylon’s amide bonds absorb and break under sun, losing strength and color faster than polyester, plus roughly a tenth of its strength while wet. For an exposed site from the list above, the polyester version is the better choice.

There is one more factor, and most people only discover it after buying the wrong material once: a nylon flag moves on days a polyester flag stays limp. If it matters to you that the flag is actually flying on a still morning, a holiday, at a funeral, at a ceremony, that favors nylon even where polyester would outlast it. A flag hanging motionless has failed at its job too.

The benchmark institutions generally lean on comes from the American Legion: the federal government's own expectation is about ninety days for a daily sunrise-to-sunset flag, and roughly a quarter of that flying around the clock. Retailers report three to six months for nylon flown daily, four to eight months for polyester, and one to three years for occasional flying. Treat those as working estimates rather than a warranty, since exposure can shift them a great deal.

How the 4x6 Feet is built

With well over half again the area of a 3x5 foot flag, a 4x6 Feet catches proportionally more wind, and the fly end pays for it. It carries four rows of lock stitching, and needs every one.

Here is the arithmetic: 24 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. A thirty mile an hour wind sends the fly end moving faster than the wind itself, since the wave traveling toward the tip picks up speed as it goes — which is why the tip wears out first, and why the fly end's stitching count is the figure to check on any listing.

Still a one person job, but you will notice the difference the first windy day you try to take it down alone. Do it before the weather, not during it.

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 of reinforced heavy duty white heading holds two solid brass grommets and tooth washers, carrying real load at twenty four square feet.

The material here is commercial grade nylon. Its lightness lets it fly on a gentle breeze, it sheds rather than absorbs water, and it dries quickly, sparing the seams the extra weight and strain of staying wet. Field tested UV resistant ink handles the part that actually determines fade life: sun exposure.

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?

This size wants an in-ground flagpole of eighteen to twenty five feet — on a six foot bracket, expect it to drag and wrap around the pole.

Questions about the 4x6 Feet

What flagpole does a 4x6 foot flag need? An in-ground flagpole of eighteen to twenty five feet. It is too large for a standard house bracket, which is the honest reason to choose it.

Is a 4x6 foot flag worth it over a 3x5 foot flag? Only if the flagpole is tall enough. On a twenty foot flagpole a 3x5 foot flag looks lost and a 4x6 foot flag fills it. On a six foot bracket the 4x6 foot flag will wrap.

Can I fly a 4x6 foot state flag with a 4x6 foot United States flag? Yes, and on two flagpoles of equal height that is the correct pairing, with the United States flag to the viewer’s left.

Where the step up starts to cost you

Going from a 3x5 foot flag to a 4x6 foot flag is where buying cheap begins to be expensive. The extra area means more force at the fly end and more load on the grommets, so a 4x6 Feet built to a budget fails faster than a 3x5 Feet built the same way. This is the size where construction stops being a nicety.

Specifications

• Size: 4x6 Feet
• Area: 24 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

The rule keeps holding above a hundred feet of flagpole, but the buying decision does not stay simple: the flag, the truck, the halyard, the foundation and the wind load now have to be specified as one engineered system, and a flag chosen without checking the flagpole rating puts the pole at risk before the flag. Some of the most recognizable flags in the country deliberately run larger than the rule, always with an engineer behind that call.

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

A printed flag reads correctly from the front and reversed from the back. That is normal and it is true of almost every flag flown in the country. A flag that reads correctly from both sides is a double sided flag, built as two flags sewn together with a liner between them, and it costs roughly twice as much and weighs roughly twice as much. Unless the statute for a particular state requires it, single sided is the standard and the right choice.

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

Fly one for a month, then swap. Two flags rotated monthly will outlast three flags flown to destruction, because the fabric recovers when it rests and the fly end stops taking the same abuse in the same place. Take it down in severe weather; a flag left up through a real windstorm can take more damage in one night than in six normal months. And watch the fly end rather than the middle, because a few minutes with a needle when the fraying starts buys another 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

We run a small American company and stock the flags we sell. Each one is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above instead of built to hit a lower price. One durable flag beats three that fail, in our view. Free shipping applies to orders over twenty five dollars.