Tippysmom

Hi all,

I promised a neughbor i would try to try to mend a tattered nylon flag for him.

It’s a state flag, 5X3 and all nylon. Problem is, the bottom is tattered from whipping winds and part of the fabric stabilizing the hem has been ripped away, leaving it uneven.

Exen if I double the existing hem, it will be uneven. I’m trying to think of a solution. Would cutting it straight and serging be an answer or wouldn’t it be strong enough?

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions??

TIA
Renate

thimblebug6000

Sorry I can't offer any help with the repair, but when I googled how to repair a US flag, I came up with this interesting site. https://www.united-states-flag.com/flag-disposal.html

nativetexan

Oh my husband brought in our flag and needed it mended. When i started sewing the dirt went every where. Especially in my bobbin area. Not sure what i used for needle, so very long ago.

sewbizgirl

I'm no help, but this reminds me of a funny story from my youth. We lived near a cemetery during my high school years, and strange as it may seem, I loved to take walks to it and just look at all the headstones and enjoy the quiet and solitude. (Old cemetery, no visitors, ever...). I began to be disturbed that the flags that were on some of the graves were all faded, torn and tattered. So I gathered them up, a few at a time, and took them home for repair. I carefully mended all of them. Some could only be zig-zagged to a backing fabric. Lotsa work... And then about a week later Memorial Day rolled around and all the graves got brand new flags!! I had no idea the city did that. I wonder what the flag people thought as they removed all these patched up flags of mine! HA HA.

quiltingshorttimer

repairing the frayed nylon is a problem. As I remember from repairing the nylon flags on our boat, it was best to trim off the frayed threads and use a fray check on the edge (or if you are careful, and have a steady hand you can "trim" it with a match flame), then turn it under, or if it makes it really uneven, just zigzag it until really secure edge. The fray check will be stiff, so I always used a match--it burns the nylon edge so that it stops the fraying. Good luck--if the wind has really worked it, it may not be a repairable without losing the shape.

OurWorkbench

Can you find a matching fabric and do a flat feld seam to attach after trimming straight and making a new bottom hem?


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

willferg

Your heart was in the right place!