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

This is the default: the size that fits the bracket already on the house, and the size Americans replace more than any other. When someone says flag without qualifying it, this is what they mean.

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

Built to the Michigan flag specification

The Michigan flag is set out in Michigan Compiled Laws Section 2.23, with the arms at Section 2.22 from Act 209 of 1911. It is the state coat of arms on dark blue.

Adopted August 1, 1911, making it Michigan’s third flag.

The design, the colors and the seal or emblem are set by statute; the size of a modern outdoor flag is not. That is the case in most of the country, and it is why manufacturers across the industry all build to the same standard sizes.

We hold to a faithful reproduction of that design, at the standard outdoor sizes the industry uses and the states themselves buy. What matters on a flag that flies outdoors is accurate colors, seal and emblems, and that is exactly what this one has.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Michigan Compiled Laws Section 2.23, Act 209 of 1911 reads:

The state flag shall be blue charged with the arms of the state.

The arms are defined in words at Section 2.22, by reference.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Michigan Compiled Laws Section 2.23 in full at Justia, 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 arms carry elk and moose supporters, a bald eagle crest, the motto Tuebor meaning I Will Defend, the words E Pluribus Unum, and the state motto Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice, If You Seek a Pleasant Peninsula, Look About You.

Worth knowing about this flag

Three separate Latin mottoes appear on this flag. Most listings mention one.

Where the Michigan flag flies

Each holds a significant Civil War battle flag collection. Connecticut's is at the Museum of Connecticut History in Hartford. Illinois has the State Military Museum in Springfield. Massachusetts has the State House Hall of Flags. Michigan runs a Save the Flags program with rotating display at the Capitol. Minnesota's Historical Society holds the First Minnesota's colors associated with Gettysburg.

Walter and Mary Burke Park in New Baltimore, a hundred and sixty feet, completed October 2016, flying a thirty by sixty foot flag. Funded by the New Baltimore Lions Club at about a hundred and seven thousand dollars with no tax money.. A competing dealership claim at George Matick Chevrolet in Redford Township, a hundred and fifty four feet in June 2023, is shorter.

Fly it on Michigan’s birthday

Michigan became the 26th state on January 26, 1837. 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 Michigan flag has an official reason to go up.

Have it on hand before the date arrives and it is on the flagpole in time. The full state-by-state list is on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Michigan

Nylon inland. Polyester on the Great Lakes shorelines for lake effect wind and moisture.

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.

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.

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.

Work the numbers and you get 15 square feet of nylon at roughly two ounces a square yard. At thirty miles an hour, the fly end actually outpaces the wind, because the wave running to the tip accelerates along the way — the reason the tip fails first, and the reason fly-end stitching count is the number that matters.

This is a one person job to raise or lower, folding down to drawer size. Rotating two flags monthly costs you a minute at this size, nothing more.

Lock stitching means each stitch is knotted into the next, so a broken thread stops where it broke rather than unzipping the seam. 4 rows does not mean 4 times the strength; it means 3 backups. Two solid brass grommets sit in a reinforced, inch and a half heading. At fifteen square feet, there is enough sail area to put real strain on them whenever the site sees wind.

Commercial grade nylon is the material in this flag. Light enough to catch a gentle breeze, it sheds water rather than holding onto it and dries fast, which keeps a flag from staying heavy and stressing its seams. The ink is UV resistant and field tested, since sun exposure is what determines how long the color lasts.

Why this flag is harder to make than most

Two large animal supporters, an eagle, a shield and three mottoes. In terms of sheer element count it is one of the busiest flags in the country.

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 Michigan flag placed 59, at 3.46 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

It suits a five or six foot house bracket, or an in-ground flagpole of fifteen to twenty feet. That is the most common residential setup 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

It is not that the 3x5 foot flag is weaker. It is that it is the size sold on price, which means most of them are built to a price. A cheap 3x5 foot flag with one or two rows of stitching on the fly end will fray inside a season and be six inches shorter by the end of the next one. The construction is the whole 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?

The rule that governs both tables is a length-to-height ratio of about one quarter to one third. Borderline cases favor the smaller size if you want it flying often and lasting, or the larger size if the point is to be seen from a distance.

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 supply the whole range shown above, whether or not a given size currently has its own listing on the site. Ask if you do not see it.

About the back of the flag

A printed flag's reverse face is a mirror image of the front, and that is standard, not a fault — it describes most of the flags flown across the country. Double sided construction, which reads correctly from either face, sews two flags together with a liner and roughly doubles both weight and price. Single sided remains standard, and correct, unless a state's statute specifically calls for double sided.

Flying it with the United States flag

This is governed by the United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 7: the United States flag always outranks every other flag in position, never displayed below it or to its right at the same level — right from the viewer’s side, that is. Two flagpoles of equal height place the United States flag at the viewer’s left with both flags the same size; if the poles differ in height, it goes on the taller pole; on one pole flying two flags, it sits at the top. The Flag Code carries no penalty for private citizens, but institutions treat it as the standard.

Buy two and they both last longer

One flag flown month after month wears faster at the same point every time; two flags rotated monthly outlast three run to failure, because rest lets fabric recover. Bring the flag in ahead of severe weather — a hard storm overnight can outdo six normal months. And check the fly end first, since that is where fraying starts, and a small stitch repair there is worth a full extra season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

Our state flags go to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies regularly. Tax exempt purchasing is handled on the tax exempt page. For quantity, a replacement schedule, or a size outside this listing, use the contact page.

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.