Make Your Own Garden Flag: Sizes for Yard, Desk and 3x5
Make your own garden flag, desk flag, wall flag or 3x5 pole flag. Which size suits each spot, what detail survives, and the canvas to start from.
By the Flag Maker team
Make your own garden flag by designing a portrait 2:3 canvas, because the garden flag most US shops sell is 12 by 18 inches and hangs the tall way from a small stand. Pick the size before you draw anything, since the shape of the canvas decides what fits and what gets cut.
Most people search by where the flag will go, not by ratio. A yard flag, a desk flag, a flag for a bedroom wall and a 3x5 pole flag are four different shapes with four different limits on detail. This guide maps each one. For what happens after the design is finished, see getting your design printed as a flag.
Common flag sizes and what they suit
| Where it goes | Common size | Ratio | Orientation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden stand | 12 x 18 in | 2:3 | Portrait |
| House bracket | 28 x 40 in | 7:10 | Portrait |
| Desk stand or mini hand flag | 4 x 6 in | 2:3 | Landscape |
| Room or dorm wall | 3 x 5 ft | 3:5 | Landscape |
| Outdoor pole | 3 x 5, 4 x 6 or 5 x 8 ft | 3:5, 2:3, 5:8 | Landscape |
These are the sizes shops stock most often. None of them is a legal standard, and sellers do vary, so confirm the exact inches on the product page first.
How do I choose the right size flag for my yard?
Choose the size from how the flag will hang. A garden stand takes a 12 by 18 inch garden flag, a 5 or 6 foot pole on a house bracket takes a 3 by 5 foot flag, and a flagpole in the ground takes a flag about a quarter to a third as long as the pole is tall.
Work it out in this order:
- Decide where it hangs. A shepherd’s hook stand in a flower bed, a bracket on the porch post and a pole in the lawn each take a different size.
- Measure the pole or stand. For a telescoping pole, use the height you’ll actually extend it to, not the maximum on the box.
- Pick the size from the chart below. If you’re between two sizes, take the smaller one for a windy spot or a light pole.
- Check the shape. Garden and house flags hang portrait, pole flags hang landscape, so set the canvas before you design.
Annin Flagmakers publishes this range by pole height:
| How it hangs | Flag size |
|---|---|
| Garden stand | 12 x 18 in, portrait |
| House bracket, 5 to 6 ft pole | 3 x 5 ft flag or 2.5 x 4 ft banner |
| 18 ft in-ground pole | 3 x 5 to 4 x 6 ft |
| 20 ft pole | 3 x 5 to 5 x 8 ft |
| 25 ft pole | 3 x 5 to 5 x 8 ft |
| 30 ft pole | 4 x 6 to 6 x 10 ft |
| 35 ft pole | 4 x 6 to 6 x 10 ft |
| 40 ft pole | 5 x 8 to 8 x 12 ft |
The garden stand row isn’t from Annin’s chart; it’s the standard size garden flags are sold in. A flag that’s too small looks lost on a tall pole. One that’s too big for a short pole wraps around it and can brush the ground or the roofline.
The same chart works for a state or country flag, such as a Florida flag for a yard, or an England or UK flag for a garden. Those are sold in the same standard sizes, and the pole decides the size, not the design.
Garden and yard flags hang the tall way
The 12 by 18 inch garden flag has a sewn sleeve along one short edge. It slides onto a shepherd’s hook stand and hangs portrait, which is the opposite of how most flags you have seen are shaped.
That changes the design. Stripes that run side to side on a national flag now run across a narrow width. A wide badge has to shrink to fit. Build the design in the portrait canvas from the start rather than rotating a landscape one at the end.
The sleeve eats roughly an inch at the top. Keep anything important below it, and keep the main image in the upper two thirds, because the bottom of a garden flag spends most of its life curled, damp or sitting in the plants.
Yard flags on a house bracket are the bigger cousin, usually 28 by 40 inches. More room for detail, same portrait problem.
One thing people miss: a single sided garden flag shows a mirror image on the back, so any words read backwards from that side. Walkers see both sides. A symbol works from either direction, which is why symbols beat text here. Our answer on whether you can print a flag you design covers what printers do with the file.
Desk, wall and room flags
A desk flag is usually 4 by 6 inches on a small base. That is about the size of a postcard, and it is brutal on detail. Two or three colors, one shape, nothing thin. The same 4 by 6 inch size is what mini hand flags use.
A flag for a room or a dorm wall is different because it never moves. Pinned flat, the whole design is visible at once, so a slightly more complex layout holds up. Most people buy 3 by 5 feet for this, since it is the cheapest size to get printed.
Still, a wall flag gets looked at from eight or ten feet away. Hairline outlines and small lettering disappear at that distance just as they do outdoors.
The standard 3x5 flag and when to go bigger
Three by five feet is the default for a custom flag, and it is a 3:5 rectangle. Not 2:3, which is what many world flags use. If you design at the wrong ratio the printer has to stretch, crop or pad your file.
Go bigger when the flag goes higher. The chart in choosing the right size flag for your yard matches flag size to pole height.
Official proportions are their own thing. The US flag is specified at 10:19 by Executive Order 10834, yet the 3x5 flags sold everywhere are a 1:1.67 shape. Match the printer’s size, not the official spec. The proportions used by world flags lists the common ones.
How size changes what detail still reads
Shrink your preview until it is about an inch wide and look at it. Whatever you cannot make out is wasted work at any size, and the smaller the flag, the earlier things drop out.
Rough guide by size:
- 4 x 6 inches: one shape, two colors, no text.
- 12 x 18 inches: one clear charge, two or three colors, thick lines.
- 3 x 5 feet: a few elements, still no small lettering.
Line weight is the real limit. A stroke that looks fine on screen becomes a thread on fabric. Thicken it until it survives the squint test. The same goes for an uploaded mark, which is covered in adding a logo or photo.
The North American Vexillological Association makes the broader point in its design guidance: keep it simple enough that a child could draw it from memory. Small flags force that on you. Also keep detail away from the fly end, the outer edge that frays first.
Setting the right canvas size before you design
Pick the physical size, then set the canvas to match. Here is the pixel math for common sizes.
| Flag size | Inches | At 150 ppi | At 300 ppi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 x 6 in | 4 x 6 | 600 x 900 | 1200 x 1800 |
| 12 x 18 in | 12 x 18 | 1800 x 2700 | 3600 x 5400 |
| 28 x 40 in | 28 x 40 | 4200 x 6000 | 8400 x 12000 |
| 3 x 5 ft | 36 x 60 | 5400 x 9000 | 10800 x 18000 |
Those large files are one reason to export a vector SVG instead, which stays sharp at any size. The short answer on the pixel size of a 3x5 flag explains the resolution choice.
For a garden flag, set the canvas portrait before you begin. For anything on a pole or a wall, set it landscape. Then work through the shapes in order, the way designing a flag lays out.
Design it in Flag Maker
Flag Maker on the home page is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. Set your ratio, build the design, then download an SVG or PNG and send it to whichever printer you like.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a garden flag?
The standard garden flag sold in the US is 12 by 18 inches, a 2:3 shape hung portrait from a small stand. Larger house flags are usually 28 by 40 inches on a wall bracket. Sizes vary by seller, so check the product page before you design. Even half an inch of difference changes where the artwork gets cropped.
How do I choose the right size flag for my yard?
Go by how it hangs. A garden stand takes a 12 by 18 inch flag, a 5 or 6 foot house-mounted pole takes a 3 by 5 foot flag, and an in-ground pole takes a flag about a quarter to a third as long as the pole is tall. Annin lists 3x5 to 5x8 for a 20 foot pole and 4x6 to 6x10 for a 30 foot pole.
Can I make my own desk flag?
Yes. A desk flag is usually 4 by 6 inches on a small stand, the same 2:3 shape as many national flags. At that size only big shapes read. Use two or three colors, one simple symbol, and no lettering smaller than the main mark. Print a paper copy first and look at it from arm's length.
What size should a flag for a room or wall be?
Most room and dorm wall flags are 3 by 5 feet, the same size as a standard pole flag. Pinned flat, the whole design shows at once, so you can keep slightly more detail than on a flag that flaps. Seen from across a room, thin outlines and small lettering still vanish, so keep the shapes bold.
What canvas size do I need to make my own 3 x 5 flag?
Design in a 3:5 shape. A 3 by 5 foot flag is 36 by 60 inches, so at 150 pixels per inch the canvas is 5400 by 9000 pixels, and at 300 pixels per inch it is 10800 by 18000. A vector SVG skips the pixel math, since it stays sharp at any size.