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Unless specified otherwise,
all our 2 ft. x 3 ft. and larger USA flags are sewn flags, not printed. This means the blue starfield is sewn together with red and white stripes, resulting in lots and lots of seams.
When sewing machines emerged in the 19th century, the
chain stitch was on the scene first.. A key feature of machine sewing the chain stitch is SPEED! Machines making a
lock stitch emerged later (in the 1830's and 1840's.) It is not nearly as fast in a production line as the chain stitch.
Chain Stitch versus Lock Stitch
The big differences in these two stitches:
Flags made with chain stitches come off the line much faster and are less expensive because of this. Chain stitches are used in the horizontal seams (i.e. between the red and white stripes). A chain stitch can become unraveled if the loop is pulled; for this reason, the stitch is sewn in one direction - from the header (pole side) to the fly end.
You have probably seen the term "single needle stitching' on mens shirts; this refers to a lockstitch. Flags with lock stitching throughout take much longer to make.The lock stitch does not unravel easily. It takes two threads to make a lock stitch. These threads 'lock' together in the weave of the fabric, and are hard to take apart. Lock stitch flags will match the color of each thread to the face of the fabric. In a single seam, a white stripe will show white thread, and the red stripe will show a red thread.
Outdoor flags take a beating, and accumulate dirt, which accelerates wear. Accumulated particles abrade the threads over the life of the flag. A break in the thread of a chain stitch seam can lead to unraveling of the seam, while multiple breaks in a lock stitch seam are necessary for the same unraveling.
Our premium nylon chain stitched flags deliver robust performance at great economy. Our Professional Grade lock stitch flags deliver that extra strength for heavy duty flag flyers.
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