About our Signal
Flags

The USS Marblehead, 1916
Photo by Thomas P. Naughton

The USS New York
Battle of Santiago
1898

Back before wireless radio and telegraph, ships at sea needed a way to communicate from a distance. With their probable beginnings in the 18th century, code flags have evolved into the patterns accepted today. Our flags use the same patterns as those of the US Navy.

International signal flags continue to be useful today. Ships moving in and out of port fly their radio call sign so that they can be quickly identified by harbor masters. With modern electronic surveillance, naval battle groups use signal flags to maintain radio silence.

There are 26 naval signal flags corresponding to the letters of the English alphabet. Then there are 10 numeric pennants, from 0-9. Additionally, certain repeater flags are used to pass information about the message itself; for example, a code that indicates a previous flag is repeated. Finally, there are a few special code flags, such as “Diver Down,” meaning there’s an underwater diver in the vicinity (so drive carefully).

Probably because of their colorful designs, a fully “dressed” ship flies all the flags for special occasions. In fact, the Navy Department specifies the order in which the flags are hung (hoisted).

How We Make our Flags

Most signal flag kits you'll find, contain only one of each flag, including the code flags. They come in standard sizes, with size 0 usually being around 9” x 15”. Oftentimes, you'll also find the whole alphabet in a single, non-seprable (very long) unit. In our case, we sell separate, individual flags, and you can buy more than one of each letter. We don't do number penants or repeaters—just the alphabet letters.

We wanted these flags to work well as home decorations, so we’ve adjusted the sizes. Our flags are square, 8” x 8”, and are designed to hang from a rope, the rung of a “ladder,” or a typical curtain rod (3/4" or less). The rope passes through a "casing," not the typical grommets used in other flags. This makes it easier to hang them without additional knots, buckles, clips, or loops and toggles. (Click here to see our flag alphabet.)

By making our signal flags smaller, they don’t take up as much room. A one-word horizontal banner might be only 4 feet long, but it just as easily could be 15-20 feet long (or longer). It all depends on what it says and how many letters or words: It's your option.

We make the flags out of blended fabric, handcrafted and machine stitched. Many companies offer only "screened" patterns printed directly on lightweight synthetics. That's helpful when using the flags at sea, where waterproofing is important. Our flags, although they can be washed (in cold water), aren’t designed for salt-water or ocean duty. They're designed as nautical decorations with the pattern on only one side and a white lining on the back.

Flag Details and Images

Decorated ships in New York City harbor

We know it’s tricky buying anything online or through a catalog, so we’d like you to see what we make, in detail. You either can Click here for Close-ups, or on any of the pictures below, to see the images in larger form.

All our flags have a white cotton back lining (e.g., the letter "i" to the left). The backing makes the colors nice and bright, but it also means the pattern can be seen only from one side. As we've said, our banners aren't designed to be hoisted up a halyard in the typical vertical orientation seen so often in typical pictures.

Message Orientation

You can choose two different “orientations” in the banners—the direction they're read. In all situations, each flag's casing is at the top, not at the left, as seen in most Web representations. The flags are the same pattern, just rotated 90-degrees. However; you can get a banner that's read from left to right (horizontal), or from top to bottom (vertical ladder).

Horizontal banners (rope or valance) allow for more flags, as they’re usually hung across a wall or window, between trees, on a porch, or other places where there’s lots of room. Vertical (ladder) banners hang from a picture hook on a wall, or you can use an over-the-door hanger for your front door or a bedroom door.

Order as many flags as you’d like, but keep in mind that for vertical ladders, 3 – 6 flags look great when hung from a typical door or wall. We thought it would be fun for people to be able to have just their initials or a short message as a nautical room decoration. For example, you might have a boating theme in a downstairs rec room or bar, in which case you could hang a vertical banner that spells “BAR” or “DRINKS.” It’s really only a matter of how much room you have.

Vertical banners (wall hangings)

Our vertical wall hangings are made with 1/2" PVC rungs, each having two brass split rings. We use 5/16" braided polyester rope for the sides, and simple knots for separation.

At the top, we use a piece of 3/8" braided rope, and a 1" brass split ring. As you can see, the top ring is simply loop-attached and can be removed, depending on your situation or tastes.

The triangle at the top is about 1-foot tall from the top rung, and each flag takes about 9 inches. Depending where on a wall or door you hang it, you might get up to 7 flags in a vertical ladder, but really, 6 flags looks better. Vertical banner overall height works out to about 12 inches per letter.

Horizontal banners

Our horizontal banners ordinarily come with a complimentary length of 3/16” nylon rope; either plain white, or blue and white (our choice). We pass the rope through the casing, then separate each flag with a simple knot. For multi-word banners, we put a 5” space between two knots. Using knots like this lets you to change the rope to make it thicker or longer if you need to. The casing can handle up to about a 3/8" diameter rope.

Banner width works out to about 11-inches per flag, but if you need a closer measurement, ask us. We'll tell you to within about four inches, the end-to-end length of a specific banner message. We can add some additional rope, for your convenience, if you need it, or we can cut the rope into separate banners for parts of the same message at no extra charge. The length of the end loops also can be adjusted, simply by re-tying the knots.

Window Treatments

You can use our flags for a boating theme curtain valance, on a curtain rod; just let us know. Flags for rope banners use a thinner casing, where flags for curtain rods use a slightly wider diameter casing. The extra room in the casing allows the flags to slide onto an ordinary curtain rod. Each flag is almost exactly 8" wide, but they look nice with about half an inch between them. 

The only differences between a horizontal banner and a valance is that we do not include the rope, and the casings are a bit wider. Please be sure to specify that you want window treatment flags when you order. 

Washable – Use & Care

Unlike other flags we've seen, ours are individually machine stitched, using high-quality fabric. Each flag is separate, and can be washed in cold water, preferrably on a delicate setting. The banners can be hung indoors or outdoors, but keep in mind that they're not designed for long-term outdoor use. Each flag has a solid white backing so they're viewable from only the front. The window valance flags can be easily slipped off the curtain rod for washing.

The horizontal banner flags can slip over their spacing knots, or you can untie the knots and slide the flags off the rope. The knots are simple overhand knots, and can be quickly retied when you re-string the flags. Every flag has its English alphabet letter on the back so you'll know what it represents and in what order its placed.

The vertical flags are more problematic. This is because the knots on the side rope hold up the various rungs. As such, they're placed specifically for the rungs to be horizontal. Additionally, the top cord of the vertical banner is lashed, to connect it to the rope passing through the top flag's casing and rung. Although the lashing can be slipped upward when undoing the flags, depending on your knowledge of rope, these banners might be better dry-cleaned.

We use a fusing bond called Steam-A-Seam™ in some of our flags, and that company recommends that you don't use a dryer sheet (e.g., Bounce) or other fabric softener. You can wash or dry-clean our flags with no problem at all, just stay away from the fabric softener (it may loosen the bonding). Remember that every flag has its English-alphabet letter printed on the back of the casing, so you'll always know what the flag pattern represents.

Here are some flags being readied for shipment.

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