45 Star Corner Repair

[Hormel]

Happy 4th, although a few days late!

We have a 45 star flag we only fly on the 4th of July here in Seattle. It is a really thin material and the corners are a little frayed. Can the corners be repaired or patched? The material looks like linen but from reading the forum it looks like it would have been made of wool bunting at the time?

I have attached a picture, looking at it now I suspect I am not doing it any favors hanging like this. We don't have any history on the flag other than it was bought by my grandmother maybe forty years ago at a garage sale in Missouri where it had been used as a bedspread.

Thanks
John

[NAVA1974]

My recommendation is to leave the fly corners alone. The damage is barely visible, and modern repairs will not increase the collector value of the flag. The only reason that I see for repairing the corners is to make it stronger to withstand greater wind loading, and you certainly do not want to fly it from a pole like a new flag.

If you must repair the flag you have at least three options which are found on antique flags:

1) Sew a patch of antique red wool bunting over the damaged areas*
2) Fold the remaining fabric at an angle and re-create the hem on that angle - this will strengthen the corner, but make the "bites" more visible.
3) Trim off the last one or two inches of the end of the flag perfectly square, and re-hem the entire fly end - this will shorten the flag slightly, but preserve the appearance.

* Where do you get antique red wool bunting? Buy another antique wool bunting flag in even worse condition and cannibalize it. No, I'm not kidding. Civil War Re-enactors Suppliers may advertise new wool bunting, but it is probably much easier to find an old wool 48-star flag and use that material.

Nick A
Columbia MD

[csaanv]

Hormel,
What a wonderful flag! In my humble opinion Nick's suggestion is the way to go. I cannibalized a wool 48 star flag that was really a mess with moth holes and tears. I was able to save the canton and make it into a Naval Jack and kept the untouched areas of the stripes to repair my other flags. When I needed to repair a hole in a canton I used a section of the white stripe and dyed it blue to repair holes in the canton. I had to experiment with the dye by using small swatches of bunting until I was able to match the correct shade of blue. You can always remove the patches later if you need to.
Cheers,
Mike