Flying the Tartan (No, not a "fly plaid")

[Father Bill]

Okay, it's kinky, weird and unusual, but I want to make a tartan flag for the new flagpole in my garden - no insignia, just a bright, beautiful piece of my tartan. The visitors and neighbours who don't understand can jolly well ask. It's going to be a local conversation piece of course!

Flags hereabouts are normally six foot by three. Of course, I'm going to have to hem the edges and add a hoisting strip with a proper cord sewn in. I can do that, but I'll need sewing advice too, once you advise me on materials.

So: question one for now, is what material would the Rabble suggest. PV? (Certainly not wool, I'm sure!) Acrylic? Something else?

It has to be able to be sewn and stand up to wind, rain, and sun without fading too quickly.

Once you decide for me what material to use, then you'll start helping me to source it. Sinclair modern of course!

What say ye, Great Rabble? (Again, yes, I know it's kinky, weird and unusual, so don't bother with that part, just what material you'd suggest.)

Cheers & Blessings,

Bill+

[The Wizard of BC]

The properties you need in a flag will determine the fabric.

You need the fabric to be strong. This is not torsion strength but resistance to wear from flapping in the wind.
You need the fabric to be color fast or resist being bleached from the sun.
You need the fabric to be weather resistant. Flags get wet in the rain and this will cause many fabrics to stretch or deform.

Poly/Rayon

Unless of course you have a source that I don't for Poly/Cotton or Nylon flag fabric woven in Tartan.

Flags come in many shapes and sizes. The US flag has a 10:19 ratio. The current Canadian and UK flags are a 1:2 ratio. The most common is a 2:3 ratio.
Flags are a very interesting topic. A little known piece of trivia is that you if you were to cut a flag of the Netherlands in half, the result could pass for 2 French flags.

[Father Bill]

Somehow Steve, I knew you'd chime in on this one. Is your comment "poly/rayon" an answer to the question? Is it woven/printed in tartans somewhere?

No, I don't have any sources. That's why I'm asking the question.

[Todd Bradshaw]

In the sailmaking and boat cover business the most UV and weather resistant fabrics we use for boat covers and such tend to be acrylic first, followed fairly closely by polyester. It's not unusual for good ones to have a warranty to withstand five years or more of constant exposure without sun rot (the sun is usually a much bigger danger to these fabrics than water, as long as they have decent ventilation so that they can dry out after getting wet). The dye used to color them might be a different story though. They may or may not fade badly, and I don't know how you might predict the results for fading for fabrics not specifically designed for outdoor exposure. Most of the marine fabrics these days are pretty colorfast. Tartans not really intended for that sort of use? Who knows?

One thing you can do though is to routinely treat the fabric with 303 Fabric Guard (pump spray squirt bottle available from places like Amazon - not cheap, but excellent stuff). Fabric Guard is not only a water resistant treatment, it also contains the best UV absorbers that you can buy, and that's what is going to help reduce fading and sun rot. Basically, the UV blockers convert UV to heat, where it can dissipate into the atmosphere, rather than deteriorate the cloth. Over time, they get used up doing their work, so periodic re-treatment is a very good idea.

It won't alter the color or look of your fabric, but can have a big effect on water absorption, fading, and UV life in terms of tear strength. Most fabric projects are better off when well protected from both being regularly soaked and exposed to the sun.

Egyptian Cotton sailcloth samples with no treatment and Fabric Guard treatment.

[The Wizard of BC]

Somehow Steve, I knew you'd chime in on this one. Is your comment "poly/rayon" an answer to the question? Is it woven/printed in tartans somewhere?

No, I don't have any sources. That's why I'm asking the question.

Marton Mills weave what we know in the kilt world as P/V. The "V" stands for Viscose which is the British term for Rayon.

So Tartan woven in P/V from Marton Mills is the only option that I know of that will meet your requirements.

Which Tartan Bill? I'll check my lists and see if they have it in their stock listing.

[Father Bill]

Marton Mills weave what we know in the kilt world as P/V. The "V" stands for Viscose which is the British term for Rayon.

So Tartan woven in P/V from Marton Mills is the only option that I know of that will meet your requirements.

Which Tartan Bill? I'll check my lists and see if they have it in their stock listing.

Sinclair Modern, Steve. Thanks for looking it up!

[Father Bill]

In the sailmaking and boat cover business the most UV and weather resistant fabrics we use for boat covers and such tend to be acrylic first, followed fairly closely by polyester. It's not unusual for good ones to have a warranty to withstand five years or more of constant exposure without sun rot (the sun is usually a much bigger danger to these fabrics than water, as long as they have decent ventilation so that they can dry out after getting wet). The dye used to color them might be a different story though. They may or may not fade badly, and I don't know how you might predict the results for fading for fabrics not specifically designed for outdoor exposure. Most of the marine fabrics these days are pretty colorfast. Tartans not really intended for that sort of use? Who knows?

One thing you can do though is to routinely treat the fabric with 303 Fabric Guard (pump spray squirt bottle available from places like Amazon - not cheap, but excellent stuff). Fabric Guard is not only a water resistant treatment, it also contains the best UV absorbers that you can buy, and that's what is going to help reduce fading and sun rot. Basically, the UV blockers convert UV to heat, where it can dissipate into the atmosphere, rather than deteriorate the cloth. Over time, they get used up doing their work, so periodic re-treatment is a very good idea.

It won't alter the color or look of your fabric, but can have a big effect on water absorption, fading, and UV life in terms of tear strength. Most fabric projects are better off when well protected from both being regularly soaked and exposed to the sun.

Egyptian Cotton sailcloth samples with no treatment and Fabric Guard treatment.

Wow! A very thorough and helpful response.

The good news is that this will be for "occasional" use, so the fading may not be as big an issue as all that, but still, some really good pointers here.

Steve is suggesting P/V. Would your fabric guard suggestion work there or at least help?

[The Wizard of BC]

Bill, In you first post you specified that you want Tartan fabric for your flag.

As far as I know the only fabric available in Tartan, that would meet the requirements of a flag is P/V. It is already Teflon coated. It is very color fast. It will resist repeated wettings. And it will still look good after blowing in the wind.

If sailcloth were woven in Tartan it would be perfect.

So my suggestion is get some P/V, spray it with Scotch Guard or the 303 fabric guard brand of the same thing.

And fly it with pride.

[Father Bill]

Great! Thanks Steve.

So, Steve, and perhaps others, what's my source of a piece of Sinclair Modern a little larger than 6' x 3' to allow hemming etc.?

And what type of thread do I use to sew the hems? I'll be using Liesel's sewing machine, although she doesn't know that yet.

What type of cloth do folks recommend for the usual white hoisting strip?

[The Wizard of BC]

OK Bill, you are SOL. Sinclair is not one of the stock Tartans.