Most people learn the flag fold badly, at a funeral, from three feet away, while thinking about something else. Then a folded flag comes home and nobody in the house can put it back the way it was. So, the fold, step by step, and then the part a procedure page will not tell you, which is what the fold is doing to the flag itself.
The Fold in Five Movements
Fold the flag in half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again toward the open edge, keeping the blue union outward. Then start the triangles at the striped end, bringing the corner of the folded edge to the open edge and turning the outer point inward, and repeat along the length until only the blue field shows.
In practice, start with the flag held waist high and fully open, stripes running horizontally. Make both lengthwise folds first and check that the union is still in full view. Only then begin the diagonal folding, working from the striped end toward the union.
That is the traditional method as The American Legion sets it out, and the Legion is the authority most readers will check next, so we will not paraphrase it into something slightly different. A large flag may need a third lengthwise fold before the triangles start. When you reach the end, the remaining tail tucks into the folds and the result is the shape the Legion calls a cocked hat.
Two details decide whether it looks right. Keep the folded edge taut across the whole length, because slack in the middle turns into a lumpy triangle six folds later. And make the first triangle square, since every following fold inherits the angle of the first one.
Folding a Flag on Your Own
The two person fold is the one everyone has seen and the one person fold is the one everyone actually needs, because most flags come down off a residential pole with nobody else in the yard.
Do it on a clean table rather than in the air. Lay the flag out flat, smooth it, and make both lengthwise folds on the surface so the fabric stays under tension without a second pair of hands. Then move to the end of the table and work the triangles toward the union, pressing each one flat before starting the next. The flag is not supposed to touch the ground, and a table is the simplest way to guarantee it does not.
If you are folding outdoors alone with no table, drape the flag over your forearm after the lengthwise folds and work the triangles against your arm. It is slower and the result is looser, but it keeps the flag off the grass.
What Folding Does to the Flag, from the People Who Sew Them
A flag is not a rectangle of cloth. It is a header, a set of grommets, a canton and a run of stripes, all joined by seams that carry load in specific directions, and the fold interacts with every one of those.
The header, the reinforced strip along the hoist, is the stiffest part of the flag and it is built to take the pull of a halyard, not to be creased. When you fold, that header ends up in the last triangle and it will hold a hard crease if you press it. Fold it in, do not iron it flat.
Fabric matters more than people expect. A nylon outdoor flag is light and springy and will not hold a sharp fold for long, which is fine, because it is going back on a pole. A cotton burial flag is dense, takes a crease permanently, and is the one where the fold has to be right the first time. Polyester sits in between, and its open weave means a fold that traps moisture will hold that moisture. Never fold a flag that is still damp. Nothing shortens a flag's life faster than being put away wet, and no amount of careful folding survives it.
We make more than 5 million U.S. flags a year in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and the failures that come back to us are almost never sewing failures. They are storage failures.
About the Meaning of the Thirteen Folds
You will find a script that assigns a meaning to each of the thirteen folds, and you will hear it read at ceremonies. It is worth knowing what it is before you repeat it as fact.
The American Legion, on the same page that carries the folding procedure, says plainly that the source and date of origin of that script are unknown, that some attribute it to the Gold Star Mothers and others to an Air Force chaplain, and that others consider it an urban legend. The thirteen folds are a consequence of the geometry of a rectangular flag folded into triangles, not a designed symbolism. The script is a tradition layered on top, and it is a moving one, but it is not part of the Flag Code.
We would rather say that than repeat something a reader can disprove in one search.
Where a Folded Flag Goes
A folded flag is a triangle with a specific footprint, and the case has to match it rather than approximately fit it. Our flag cases and markers page sets out which case goes with which flag size.
If the flag is a burial flag, the case is the thing the family will look at for the next forty years, so the wood is not a trivial choice. Our memorial cases come in cherry, oak, maple, poplar and a plastic option.
If the flag you are folding is coming down for good rather than for storage, folding is not the last step. Read how to retire a worn flag, because a flag that is finished deserves the ceremony rather than the bin.
For the wider set of display conventions the fold sits inside, our flag etiquette basics covers the rules people most often get wrong. And if you would rather see the sewing than read about it, watch our people at work in the Flagmakers documentary, filmed at the Oak Creek plant.
FAQ
How do I fold my flag?
Fold it in half lengthwise twice with the blue union kept outward, then fold triangles from the striped end toward the union, alternating a diagonal fold and a straight fold until only the blue field remains and the tail tucks in. Work on a flat surface, keep the folded edge taut, and make the first triangle square.
How many stars should show on a folded flag?
There is no prescribed number. A correctly folded flag shows only the blue union, and how many stars land face up depends on the flag's size and how many lengthwise folds it needed. What matters is that no stripes are visible and the triangle is fully closed.
How do I fold a 3X5 American flag for display?
A 3 by 5 needs only two lengthwise folds before the triangles begin, which makes it the easiest size to fold single handed on a table. Finished, it makes a triangle that fits a standard 3 by 5 case. Check the case dimensions before you buy, because a flag folded loosely will not seat properly in a case cut for a tight fold.
