Flag Fold “Helps”

In my theology degree studies, I use several books and online resources that are all called “helps” and they are extremely helpful. Well, we all need “helps” in all kinds of situations and folding the American flag is definitely one of them.

Here is one of the videos I made explaining how to fold the flag using just two people. In this particular video, I try to go in-depth to help you understand what I have found to be the best technique.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BoXg1BCarI[/embedyt]

The Triangle Folds

The picture below is for reference. You can make the second horizontal fold come to match the first or, to make the triangle folds a little more sturdy, you can bring that second fold up to the top (the flag’s far right edge in the picture).

Now I have a couple of pictures to share with with you. The first one is in regards to the first triangle fold to land in the blue field. First, the tip of this fold should land around the first row of stars. If it does not fall within this area there are a couple things you can do. First, take care of the excess or shortage of material at the tuck at the end and the other is described below.

Sometimes, with a flag that is stretched out from many folds or a poorly-made flag, that first fold into the blue doesn’t quite make it or the fold that should go into the blue completely falls short and you have a flat end right at the edge of the blue field, as pictured. The way around this dilemma is to pull the flag out of its fold as indicated, which will help take up some room so there will be an appropriate amount of flag to tuck at the end.

Below, is the standard finish that many of us who have folded an American flag remember accomplishing. There is nothing wrong with it and it can work very well. When at this point, it is best to fold the point at the far right onto the material to be tucked so that there is less material to tuck- this then may create a thicker flag.

You may find that tucking the remaining material as pictured below makes the final tuck a little easier.