From the Garage
Wood American Flag Dimensions: Sizes & Proportions
Get the proportions right and a wood American flag reads as a flag from across the room — instantly. Get them wrong and it just looks like striped boards with a blue corner. The difference is all in the dimensions: how many stripes, how the canton is sized, and the overall width-to-height ratio.
Here's how I size the flags I build, the two sizes I offer, and exactly how to lay one out if you're building your own.
The One Ratio That Matters
An official U.S. flag uses a width-to-height ratio of 1.9 to 1 — nearly twice as wide as it is tall. Your eye knows this proportion even if you've never measured it. Stray too far from it and the flag starts to look stretched or squished.
Every wood flag I build sticks close to that 1.9:1 proportion. It's the single most important number, and it's the one most first-time builders get wrong by making the flag too tall.
Stripes and the Canton
The layout itself is fixed by the flag's design — you don't get to improvise here:
- 13 stripes — 7 red and 6 white, starting and ending with red.
- The canton (the blue star field) sits in the upper-left and covers the height of the top 7 stripes.
- The canton spans roughly the left 40% of the flag's width.
- 50 stars in the canton, in the standard 9-row offset pattern.
Because the stripe count is locked at 13, the height of your flag is really set by how wide your boards are. Thirteen boards stacked equals your total height; the length you cut them sets the width. Match those so you land near 1.9:1 and the flag looks right.
Every Proportion, By the Numbers
Here's the full breakdown the way flag makers actually spec it — every measurement as a fraction of the flag's height (the hoist). Lock the height, and every other number follows. The right-hand column works it out for my 3-foot flag as a real example.
| Measurement | Official ratio | On a 3-ft flag (19.5" tall) |
|---|---|---|
| Overall height (hoist) | 1 | 19.5" |
| Overall width (fly) | 1.9 × height | 37.05" * |
| Each of the 13 stripes | 1/13 (0.0769) × height | 1.5" |
| Canton height (top 7 stripes) | 7/13 (0.5385) × height | 10.5" |
| Canton width | 0.76 × height | 14.82" |
| Star diameter | 0.0616 × height | 1.2" |
| Star grid | 9 rows, offset 6–5 pattern | 50 stars |
* A strictly-official flag 19.5" tall would be 37.05" wide. Like most wood-flag makers I round the 3-foot to an even 36" — close enough that your eye reads it as correct, and it makes for cleaner cuts. The canton and stars stay drawn to the exact official proportions.
The Two Sizes I Build
I make every design — American, Alabama, and (soon) Thin Blue Line — in two sizes:
| Size | Dimensions | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full (3-foot) | ~36" wide × ~19.5" tall | Living room, entryway, office wall — a real statement piece | $349 |
| Tabletop mini | 17" wide × 9" tall | Desk, shelf, mantel, smaller wall — or a gift on a budget | $199 |
Both hold the same 1.9:1 proportion, the same 13 stripes, and the same hand-stained, stenciled detail — one is just scaled down. The 3-foot is the one most people hang on a main wall. The 17×9 mini is the one people grab for a desk at work, a bookshelf, or as a gift that won't crowd a small space.
Building Your Own? Here's How to Size It
If you're making one yourself, decide your board width first, then work outward:
- Pick your stock. Common 1×2 pine furring strips measure about 1.5" wide. Thirteen of them stacked gives you roughly 19.5" of height.
- Set your width for 1.9:1. For ~19.5" of height, a strict 1.9:1 is 37" long — I round to a clean 36", which your eye reads as identical and cuts easier. Anywhere in that 36–37" range looks right.
- Mark the canton. Tape off the upper-left over the top 7 boards, about 40% of the way across. Use your star stencil as a sizing guide.
- Want a different size? Keep the math. Whatever your height, multiply by ~1.9 to get your width, and the canton always covers the top 7 stripes.
Quick Proportion Calculator
Enter the width you want to build, and this gives you every other measurement to official proportions:
For the cut list and build steps, grab my free build plan; for star placement at any size, use the free star layout tool; and see the whole process in how to build a wood American flag and how to stain a wood American flag.
Want the Exact Measurements & Cut List?
My free printable build plan has the cut list, the blue field dimensions, and the build steps for a standard 36 × 19.5-inch flag. For any other size, the free star layout tool draws your star field.
Get the Free Build Plan →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard size of a wood American flag?
There's no single "official" size for wood flags, but most are built to the U.S. flag's 1.9:1 proportion. My standard is the 3-foot (about 36" × 19.5"), with a 17" × 9" tabletop version for smaller spaces.
What size wood flag should I get?
For a main wall, entryway, or office, go with the 3-foot — it reads as a real piece from across the room. For a desk, shelf, mantel, or as a gift, the 17×9 mini fits better and costs less.
What sizes and designs do you offer?
Two sizes — the 3-foot ($349) and the 17×9 mini ($199) — in three designs: the American flag, the Alabama state flag, and a Thin Blue Line flag (coming soon). See them on the order page.
How many stripes does a wood American flag have?
Thirteen — 7 red and 6 white, starting and ending with red, for the original 13 colonies. The canton (blue star field) covers the top 7 stripes.
What are the exact proportions of an American flag?
As fractions of the flag's height: the width is 1.9×, each of the 13 stripes is 1/13 (0.0769×), the blue canton is 0.76× wide and 7/13 (0.5385×) tall, and each star is 0.0616× across. On my 3-foot flag (19.5" tall) that works out to a 14.82" × 10.5" canton with 1.2" stars.
Rather Have One Built for You?
If you'd rather skip the measuring and the math, I build each flag by hand in Trussville, Alabama — correctly proportioned, sealed, and ready to hang — in both the 3-foot ($349) and the 17×9 tabletop ($199) size.