FORTISVEX Texas State Flag 3x5 Feet Polyester - Made in USA Lone Star Flag with Brass Grommets

The polyester 3x5 foot flag is the house flag for people who have already worn out a nylon one. If your last flag frayed in a season, this is the answer, provided your site actually has wind.

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

Built to the Texas flag specification

The Texas flag is set out in Texas Government Code Chapter 3100, at a two to three proportion, with the statute giving precise star geometry. It is a blue vertical hoist stripe one third the length carrying a white five-pointed star, with white over red horizontal stripes.

This was the 1839 national flag of the Republic of Texas, drawn by Peter Krag and approved by President Lamar January 25, 1839; it became the state flag at annexation in 1845 and was re-adopted August 31, 1933 after a period with no active flag statute.

Texas is precise about proportion rather than size. Government Code Chapter 3100 requires a width to length ratio of two to three, which a 4x6 foot flag, an 8x12 foot flag and a 10x15 foot flag all match exactly. A 3x5 foot flag is a three to five ratio and is therefore slightly deeper than the statute describes.

We reproduce that design faithfully, in the standard outdoor flag sizes the whole industry uses and that the states themselves buy. What matters on an outdoor flag is that the colors, the seal and the emblems are right, and they are.

The law that defines it, in its own words

Texas Government Code Section 3100.002, Description: In General reads:

(a) The state flag is a rectangle that: (1) has a width to length ratio of two to three; and (2) contains: (A) one blue vertical stripe that has a width equal to one-third the length of the flag; (B) two equal horizontal stripes, the upper stripe white, the lower stripe red, each having a length equal to two-thirds the length of the flag; and (C) one white, regular five-pointed star: (i) located in the center of the blue stripe; (ii) oriented so that one point faces upward; and (iii) sized so that the diameter of a circle passing through the five points of the star is equal to three-fourths the width of the blue stripe. (b) The red and blue of the state flag are: (1) the same colors used in the United States flag; and (2) defined as numbers 193 (red) and 281 (dark blue) of the Pantone Matching System. (c) The red, white, and blue of the state flag represent, respectively, bravery, purity, and loyalty.

Section 3100.001 separately states that the state flag is the 1839 national flag of the Republic of Texas.

You do not have to take our word for any of that. Read Texas Government Code Section 3100.002 in full at the Texas Legislature, and check what we sell against it.

This is the actual flag we manufacture, not an approximation.

What is on it and what it means

The lone star stands for Texas unity, one for God, State and Country. Chapter 3100 assigns the colors directly: blue is loyalty, white is purity, red is bravery.

Worth knowing about this flag

For most of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Texas had no flag statute in force. The 1933 act put the Lone Star Flag back into law.

With Hawaii, it is one of only two state flags that previously served as the flag of a sovereign nation.

Where the Texas flag flies

The original Battle Flag of San Jacinto has hung in the Texas House of Representatives at the State Capitol in Austin since 1933, with a reproduction displayed when the House is not in session to protect the fragile original. The World's Largest Texas Flag, one hundred by one hundred and fifty feet, was made by Dixie Flag and Banner of San Antonio and is unfurled at Longhorns football games.

Fly it on Texas’s birthday

Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845. 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 Texas flag has an official reason to go up.

Get it now so it is flying on the day itself. See every state’s birthday on our state birthdays page.

Nylon or polyester in Texas

Polyester across the wind and ultraviolet Panhandle and West. Amarillo at 13.5 and Lubbock at 12.4 miles per hour are among the very windiest American stations, and El Paso for ultraviolet. Polyester also on the Gulf Coast at Houston and Corpus Christi. Nylon acceptable in the sheltered central metros at Austin, San Antonio and the Dallas interior.

Fifteen square feet, a house flag: here the material decides two things — whether it moves on a light-wind day, and how quickly it dries out after rain.

The two-ply polyester is what is listed here, the right choice for the exposed, windy, coastal and high sun sites above, and for a flagpole flying around the clock. It comes down to fiber chemistry: polyester’s ester bonds resist ultraviolet where nylon’s amide bonds do not, holding strength and color longer under sun. It absorbs almost no water, staying equally strong wet or dry, sheds rather than holds salt, and has less moisture to freeze. The open weave passes high speed wind through rather than catching it, which is why it beats nylon on an exposed pole. What it gives up: calm-day flight, since the extra weight means it hangs on a still afternoon while nylon keeps moving. On a sheltered site, nylon is the one that flies more.

One more thing that decides it, and it is the part people only learn after buying twice: replacing a flag twice a year on a tall flagpole is not just the price of the flag. It is the ladder, the halyard, the time, and on a commercial site somebody’s hour. The heavier material costs more once and saves that. On an exposed flagpole this is the cheaper flag over three years even though it is the dearer one today.

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 3x5 Feet is built

Most 3x5 foot flags fail at the fly end early, because this size is bought on price more than any other. The difference between a season and three seasons is four rows of lock stitching there.

The math comes to 15 square feet of two-ply spun polyester at roughly four ounces a square yard. In a thirty mile an hour wind, the fly end moves faster than the wind that is driving it, since the wave headed for the tip speeds up as it travels — which explains why the tip wears out first and why fly-end stitching count is worth checking 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.

With lock stitching, every stitch knots into its neighbor, so damage stays contained at the break instead of running down the seam. Read 4 rows not as 4 times the strength but as 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.

The material is two-ply spun polyester, built for punishment. Woven open, it lets wind pass through rather than resisting it, it stays just as strong wet as dry, and it holds its color under strong sun far longer. The honest trade off is weight — it needs more wind to fly, and it costs more.

A design that reproduces cleanly

Three colors and one star. It is among the cheapest state flags to build properly and among the longest lived, because there is no fine detail to fail.

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 Texas flag placed 2, at 8.13 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.

When a house flag needs the heavy material

For most houses the answer is no — a sheltered suburban bracket favors nylon at this size. A ridge, a lakeshore, the coast, or open farmland is different, though, and that is where the heavier material pays for itself.

Specifications

• Size: 3x5 Feet
• Area: 15 square feet
• Material: 100 percent two-ply spun polyester
• 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 behind both tables below is that a flag’s length should run about a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. Where two sizes both fit, the smaller one flies more often and lasts longer, and the larger one reads from further away.

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 do not limit ourselves to what is listed on the site. The full range above is available to order, and an unlisted size can still be supplied.

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

The rule comes from Title 4, Section 7 of the United States Flag Code: no flag is displayed above the United States flag, and none is placed to its right at the same level, which from the viewer’s position means the left. Equal-height flagpoles carry the United States flag on the viewer’s left with matching flag sizes; unequal flagpoles put it on the taller one; a single flagpole with two flags carries it at the top. Civilians face no penalty for departing from the Flag Code, but it is the standard institutions hold to.

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

Municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies all buy state flags from us regularly. The tax exempt page handles tax exempt accounts, and the contact page is the route for quantity orders, replacement schedules or a size not shown here.

Why buy it from us

This is a small American company, and what you see listed is what we actually stock. Every flag is made in the United States, printed with UV resistant ink, and built to the construction described above, not to whatever a price point demands. Selling one flag that lasts beats selling three that fail. Orders over twenty five dollars ship free.