How to, painlessly, sew stars in a large US flag?

[base935 0]

I'm in the final stages of building a ~1100sqft (~24'x48') USA flag, and have put the most difficult until the end. The blue field will be roughly 2.5 bolts tall, 12' or so, 18' long. The diameter of the stars will be 17" (4/5 stripe height), but looking for advice on how to best sew the white stars so that they will be visible from both sides.

Sew the stars on with edges seamed, then cut the blue out with 1/2"ish allowance, then fold that back over? x50

Meticulous, repetitive, frustrating, etc.

Gravity Research Institute

[RiggerLee 61]

The "easy" way, if you're willing to sacrifice bulk, is to stick them on. You can get insignia tape in full width sheets. You can cut out the stars and then stick them on. And the line them up and stick another layer on the other side. Then you can sew around the edge to make it more permanent. It's the cheating way to do it. It has to be a fairly heavy opaic material. F-111 for instance will not show as very "white" It's really more clear. To show well you'll still need to take pictures from the sun side. Light wont shine through.

Another choice. This works better with a more stabilized cloth like a spinnaker cloth. Is to temporarily stick it down with a spray adhesive and then sew it down with some kind of zigzag a double or triple throw is nice. Then cut out the blue inside. With the more stabilized cloth you can get by with out folding and seaming. And it's easier to cut out with the spinnaker. See old wind blades though I recommend a slightly wider seam and don't go over board with how tight the zigzag is.

I hope you didn't bid low on this.

Lee

Lee
[email protected]
www.velocitysportswear.com

[riggerrob 558]

Hint: start with sticky, rip-stop tape (Para-Gear).

[airtwardo 6]

base935

I'm in the final stages of building a ~1100sqft (~24'x48') USA flag, and have put the most difficult until the end. The blue field will be roughly 2.5 bolts tall, 12' or so, 18' long. The diameter of the stars will be 17" (4/5 stripe height), but looking for advice on how to best sew the white stars so that they will be visible from both sides.

Sew the stars on with edges seamed, then cut the blue out with 1/2"ish allowance, then fold that back over? x50

Meticulous, repetitive, frustrating, etc.

Ya want the low cost, low bulk quickie method?

Paint them on...or silk screen, but that's a pain.


Yeah - I'm serious...make a poster board template with several in a row, measure and mark the field then use a laser level for alignment...goes fast, especially the 'back' side - keep a single star template and touch up when needed.

Two hours vs. two weeks!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Tatertot 0]

airtwardo

***I'm in the final stages of building a ~1100sqft (~24'x48') USA flag, and have put the most difficult until the end. The blue field will be roughly 2.5 bolts tall, 12' or so, 18' long. The diameter of the stars will be 17" (4/5 stripe height), but looking for advice on how to best sew the white stars so that they will be visible from both sides.

Sew the stars on with edges seamed, then cut the blue out with 1/2"ish allowance, then fold that back over? x50

Meticulous, repetitive, frustrating, etc.

Ya want the low cost, low bulk quickie method?

Paint them on...or silk screen, but that's a pain.


Yeah - I'm serious...make a poster board template with several in a row, measure and mark the field then use a laser level for alignment...goes fast, especially the 'back' side - keep a single star template and touch up when needed.

Two hours vs. two weeks!

Sounds good! What kind of paint do you use?

[yoink 321]

airtwardo

Two hours vs. two weeks!

You could also use Iron-On fabric as the 1-step-up-from-paint solution.

Nuts to that much sewing.

[RiggerLee 61]

The paint could be challenging to say the least. In silk screening T-shirts we use a PVC. It's actually a plastic that gets into the fibers and hardens under heat. That's why it stays. You basically can't do that with nylon. It will melt and it doesn't stick well. There is also a dye sublimation that works very well on nylon and other synthetics. But it can't do light on dark. You could actually print the blue but I can't imagine doing some thing that big. To silk screen on synthetics or smooth surfaces like the cheep corrugated plastic signs you can use an epoxy paint. It's much harder to work with then the PVC. There is a working time and clean of the screens is a bitch but it's not like you're going to be doing this all day. It's just fifty stars. I'd try a good course screen about 100 count or less. You want the epoxy paint they use to print white numbers on jerseys for foot ball. Put a thin spacer. 1/8 or 1/4 inch wood around the base of the screen to give you the stand off. Swipe with a squeegee. Done. You have a star. The more I think about this the better it sounds. And the white is WHITE. It's good and opaic. I'll bet I could print one side in about two hours. Come back and do the other side the next day. Try to get LoPo or HiPo fabric or some actual flag fabric rather then F-111. I think you'll have better luck with a more porrus non slick surface. I think this is the way to go. All you need is to order one screen, the paint, and a squeegee. You can get it all from any silk screen supply shop.

Lee

Lee
[email protected]
www.velocitysportswear.com

[airtwardo 6]

RiggerLee

The paint could be challenging to say the least. In silk screening T-shirts we use a PVC. It's actually a plastic that gets into the fibers and hardens under heat. That's why it stays. You basically can't do that with nylon. It will melt and it doesn't stick well. There is also a dye sublimation that works very well on nylon and other synthetics. But it can't do light on dark. You could actually print the blue but I can't imagine doing some thing that big. To silk screen on synthetics or smooth surfaces like the cheep corrugated plastic signs you can use an epoxy paint. It's much harder to work with then the PVC. There is a working time and clean of the screens is a bitch but it's not like you're going to be doing this all day. It's just fifty stars. I'd try a good course screen about 100 count or less. You want the epoxy paint they use to print white numbers on jerseys for foot ball. Put a thin spacer. 1/8 or 1/4 inch wood around the base of the screen to give you the stand off. Swipe with a squeegee. Done. You have a star. The more I think about this the better it sounds. And the white is WHITE. It's good and opaic. I'll bet I could print one side in about two hours. Come back and do the other side the next day. Try to get LoPo or HiPo fabric or some actual flag fabric rather then F-111. I think you'll have better luck with a more porrus non slick surface. I think this is the way to go. All you need is to order one screen, the paint, and a squeegee. You can get it all from any silk screen supply shop.

Lee

Doing the single star screen thing is a pain on a fabric field that big...the spacing and angles can begin to drive ya nuts.

I found it's faster to make up the six star template...do the 5 rows of six stars first - then chop off a star and do the 4 rows of 5 stars...save the choppy offy guy as a spot touch up guide for later on when the flag shows wear.

A good quality epoxy looks & works fine for the 'jumping' type of application...photos are (usually) from a distance so spacing is more important than tee shirt quality (fine) edges...so to speak.

Remember to use a leading edge weight not a swinging headache ball at the bottom.

Also - on a flag that size, you may find it wants to 'bow-tie' on deployment...if you have that problem, I can show you a tried & true way of packing huge flags that prevents it.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~