Rarely will you find a more random and visually
stimulating canton on a sewn American Flag than is found
on this 45 Star homemade flag. The seemingly random
pattern of stars, with their axes rotated haphazardly
along every orientation, masks indications of the actual
underlying spiral pattern which is exceptional and
unusual. The extremely irregular spacing of the stars
produces pleasing densities and voids which add to the
visual impact of the flag. Virtually no starting point
leads to a discernable overall pattern, making it
difficult to even count the stars in the flag without
losing your place. Various short arcs and whirls emerge
throughout the field, yet only after locating the key
star in the flag does the sweeping arc of a
full spiral
pattern fall elegantly into place.
The flag is all cotton and machine stitched on a home
sewing machine. The canton is pieced from two pieces of
fabric. The sleeve hoist is wide and original to the
flag. The stars of the flag are double-appliqué, thus
the maker took great care in aligning and stitching a
total of 90 stars, 45 per side, producing the same
unique pattern on each side of the flag. The stars are
not folded under, though they were carefully aligned
front and back. The edges of some of the stars have
developed a slightly shaggy appearance over time,
resulting in a less polished, yet folky and appealing
look. Furthermore, in a charming display of frugality,
no less than a dozen stars are pieced together from two,
and in some cases, three separate pieces of fabric, with
the maker carefully aligning and stitching the parts to
produce a single star. There is some minor tearing and
some mothing, as well as some wind damage on the fly
end, yet overall this beautiful flag is in excellent
condition, especially considering that is 100 years old.
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