thedrifter
06-16-07, 06:32 AM
‘Broad stripes and bright stars’ in the making
By Lance Cpl. Jessica N. Aranda, MCAS Miramar
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. (May 22, 2007) -- “Unfurled to every breeze,” saluted, waved over parade decks during eagle, globe, and anchor ceremonies and raised by five Marines and a Navy corpsman on Iwo Jima, the American flag serves as a symbol of patriotism and a national emblem.
Today marks the final day of the 2007 National Flag Week — a week set aside by Congress to commemorate the adoption of the U.S. flag as the symbol of America.
Aside from representing the nation during times of war and peace, the flag’s history includes its careful fabrication process.
CF Flag Company, a company in Huntsville, Ala., produces more than one million American flags annually.
“It starts out as a bulk of material and it is transformed into stripes and a field of stars,” said David Krieger Sr., sales manager of CF Flag Company.
The companies that make true flags, following government specifications, must use all American-made materials. The specifications, established by the U.S. Department of Heraldry, require stitching, brass rings, fabrics and dye to be manufactured within the United States, said Krieger.
The fabrication process begins with huge rolls of fabric delivered by forklifts into a 30,000 square-foot warehouse. Workers then put thousands of yards of material into industrial washers, dye it, dry it, and test for color fading.
The government also specifies the dye’s tone. Only Old glory blue and Old Glory red are used.
Long stripes, short stripes and groups of stars are the three components of the flag. The blue fabric and stars are normally sent to an outside embroidering company. In the meantime, cutters and sewers stay busy attaching the red stripes to the white.
When the stars return to the company, small teams of embroiderers piece each flag together. After the cutters and sewers measure and stitch all the stripes, it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to sew together on an assembly line of industrial-sized sewing machines.
For quality assurance purposes, inspectors look over the finished products and manually remove excess threads.
Flag companies remain conscious of flag etiquette from start to finish, said Chris Binner, vice president of marketing and sales of Valley Forge Flag Company, located in Womelsdorf, Pa. A flag never touches the ground during the fabrication. Immediately after the process, employees drape the flags over saw-horses or huge racks and package them for shipping.
Flag making companies normally only supply to flag resellers, but they do respond to custom orders. The government, their largest consumer, purchases more than 60 percent of the flags to supply the House of Representatives, the Senate and other government entities in the Washington, D.C., area.
The Veterans Administration buys interment flags, used for caskets of veterans, in numbers as high as 18,000 per day.
Military bases, both stateside and overseas, also order the flags to post on installations.
The largest type posted on bases, the garrison flag, measures 20 by 38 feet and flies on Sundays and holidays. Companies custom-make all garrison flags, which usually take one to two weeks to hand sew.
CF and Valley Forge flag companies combined produce more than two million flags each year.
“To some people, it’s just fabric, but I produce something that service members have paid the ultimate sacrifice for,” said Binner. “I am honored to be doing this, it is our nation’s symbol.”
Ellie
By Lance Cpl. Jessica N. Aranda, MCAS Miramar
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. (May 22, 2007) -- “Unfurled to every breeze,” saluted, waved over parade decks during eagle, globe, and anchor ceremonies and raised by five Marines and a Navy corpsman on Iwo Jima, the American flag serves as a symbol of patriotism and a national emblem.
Today marks the final day of the 2007 National Flag Week — a week set aside by Congress to commemorate the adoption of the U.S. flag as the symbol of America.
Aside from representing the nation during times of war and peace, the flag’s history includes its careful fabrication process.
CF Flag Company, a company in Huntsville, Ala., produces more than one million American flags annually.
“It starts out as a bulk of material and it is transformed into stripes and a field of stars,” said David Krieger Sr., sales manager of CF Flag Company.
The companies that make true flags, following government specifications, must use all American-made materials. The specifications, established by the U.S. Department of Heraldry, require stitching, brass rings, fabrics and dye to be manufactured within the United States, said Krieger.
The fabrication process begins with huge rolls of fabric delivered by forklifts into a 30,000 square-foot warehouse. Workers then put thousands of yards of material into industrial washers, dye it, dry it, and test for color fading.
The government also specifies the dye’s tone. Only Old glory blue and Old Glory red are used.
Long stripes, short stripes and groups of stars are the three components of the flag. The blue fabric and stars are normally sent to an outside embroidering company. In the meantime, cutters and sewers stay busy attaching the red stripes to the white.
When the stars return to the company, small teams of embroiderers piece each flag together. After the cutters and sewers measure and stitch all the stripes, it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to sew together on an assembly line of industrial-sized sewing machines.
For quality assurance purposes, inspectors look over the finished products and manually remove excess threads.
Flag companies remain conscious of flag etiquette from start to finish, said Chris Binner, vice president of marketing and sales of Valley Forge Flag Company, located in Womelsdorf, Pa. A flag never touches the ground during the fabrication. Immediately after the process, employees drape the flags over saw-horses or huge racks and package them for shipping.
Flag making companies normally only supply to flag resellers, but they do respond to custom orders. The government, their largest consumer, purchases more than 60 percent of the flags to supply the House of Representatives, the Senate and other government entities in the Washington, D.C., area.
The Veterans Administration buys interment flags, used for caskets of veterans, in numbers as high as 18,000 per day.
Military bases, both stateside and overseas, also order the flags to post on installations.
The largest type posted on bases, the garrison flag, measures 20 by 38 feet and flies on Sundays and holidays. Companies custom-make all garrison flags, which usually take one to two weeks to hand sew.
CF and Valley Forge flag companies combined produce more than two million flags each year.
“To some people, it’s just fabric, but I produce something that service members have paid the ultimate sacrifice for,” said Binner. “I am honored to be doing this, it is our nation’s symbol.”
Ellie