Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1919-06-17
like BETSY ROSS
Girl Of 1919 May Easily
Construct Her Own
Starry Flag.
"NHE American flag is one of
the easiest in the world to
make, since all of it's parts

the easiest in the world II
make, since all of it's parts
are In straight lines. Any
schoolgirl who is able to sew car
make flag for about one-half of what
1t will cost her at a store, and still
have stronger and more durable one
when she has it finished. There are
two principal ways of proceeding in
the making of an American flag. The
one used by most persons is TO de-
termine first the width of the stripes
so that if the flag is to be made of
silk, ribbon may be purchased of q
standard width. From this the size
of the flag may be determined. The
second method is to decide either the
width or the length of the flag and
then compute the amount of material
from the size decided upon.
Let us assume that we wish to
make flag from two-inch silk rib
bons since two-inch ribbon is stand
ard size and may be purchased at any
dry goods store. Since the stripes
will be two inches wide, the width of
the canton, or the blue field, will be
seven times two inches, or IA inches,
and its length will be the same, since
the canton of the American flag is
square. The canton is also One-third
of the length of the flag. Then the
flag will be three times II inches,
which equals AZ inches and the width
being 13 times two inches, or % inches.
Thus, to use two-inch ribbon, one will
have flag three and a half feet long
and a little more than two feet wide.
Material Needed.
The next thing is to determine just
how much two-inch ribbon must be
purchased, so that the stripes may be
made with little or no waste There
are three full white stripes In the
complete length of the flag, which
equals 126 inches, and added to that
will be the three short stripes, two
thirds the length Of the flag, or "a
inches, making a total of 210 inches.
or about six yards. For the red stripes,
1t is necessary to add one extra short
red stripe of IA inches, which is
about half of a yard. Thus, for a
flag made with two-inch ribbon, 1t
will be necessary for the maker TO
purchase six yards Of white and six
and half yards of red ribbon. The
canton will be seven inches square
and the stars may be made from
smaller widths of ribbon. There must
be 48 stars arranged In six rows of
eight stars each. By using a ruler,
the exact position of the stars may
be determined and they can be easily
cut If paper pattern is made be-
forehand.
BY the second method, one deter
mines the length of fiag-for example.
make the flag 81 inches long. By ap-
plying the same process of computa-
ton backwards, the size Of the can
ton will be seven inches square and
the width Of stripes one inch. The
amount of material may be de-
termined by the same calculations used
In the first method.
The official origin of the flag with
the ID alternate red and white stripes,
representing the United Colonies in
a blue canton, which was raised on
Prospect hill, Cambridge, on the first
day of January, 1776, has never been
satisfactorily determined. 1t is com
monty thought that the continental
congress appointed George Washing
ton, George Ross and Robert Morris
a committee, authorized tc design a
suitable flag for the nation and that
they called upon Mrs. Ross, who was
conducting an upholstery business on
Arch street in Philadelphia. The con-
frmation of this report is not to be
found in the Journal of Congress.