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As a pirate one should have a pirate flag. That sounds easier than it is to achieve, at least that's my experience. There are lots of templates out there, but I found it very difficult to find a pattern that suits my taste and needs. I don't want a too complicated design, because such don't feel very period, if you consider that a sail maker had to make such a flag back in the 1700's. And I don't want to just copy one of the better known designs like that of Calico Jack, although I like the crossed sabers more than the crossed bones (because in my oppinion the ratio between the head and the sabers looks better than between head and bones - just a feel of design). And then a flag design really hit me. It's from Roman Polanski's "Pirates". Who ever came up with that design did a really great job. It looks handmade, it feels period and it have some humor just sewn in. The teeth missing skull is less scary and more funny! I first thought of making my own design based on this flag but then I decided to just copy it one to one, because that design just feels perfect (and it could be seen as an homage to the original designer). My flag is made of linen and has the measures 135 cm x 250 cm (about 53" x 98"). The inspiration (a srceenshot from Polanski's "Pirates" title sequence) my design made in corelDRAW (I have made the sabers a little bit wider) the layout for printing the pattern on cardboard the cut-out pieces of linen positioning on the black linen the obverse layout on the reverse - back-to-front spray adhesive comes in handy when you do not like pins to attach stuff down I still have to made the hem by hand

Having made my crew a larger flag for use at our events, I've come across a small dilemma. You see, the smaller flag was easily hung from a nearby tree branch or tent pole, but this larger flag (about 4'X6') is another matter. I've seen portable, telescoping flagpoles (for tailgates and the like), but the sturdy ones cost upwards of $300, which is more than I can spend. My current plan is to try three 5' sections of thick PVC or metal conduit (painted to look like wood, of course) connected by two 4-way joints. Rope will be run through the horizontal arms of the joints and staked down to the ground, creating a sort of rigging to stabilize the pole once it's in the ground. I was wondering if anyone could find any immediate fault with this plan, and wanted to see what all you creative folk have come up with for flying your colors.

I wasn't entirely sure where to put this thread, so please relocate it if necessary. =) It's my captain's birthday soon, and I've been trying to figure out what to get/do/make for him for a while now. It occurred to me today that, while he has designed a flag for himself and has a few items with that design on them... he doesn't have an actual FLAG! This will not do! I looked around these boards and the internet in general, and found that the most common material for the body of the flag was wool bunting, right? Well, wool bunting is wicked expensive these days, which makes me sad. I'd really like to use SOME form of wool, but having never purchased or worked with that fiber before, I'm not sure what else to look for. I've got several "light weight" black wools bookmarked, and I can certainly order swatches of them, but what should I look for in a flag-appropriate wool? Admittedly this flag is not likely to be very exposed to wind and weather -- if it's not just hung up on a wall, it'll probably be carried by a member of the crew. So while I'm not too concerned with it "flying" nicely, it does need to be lightweight, and I want it to look a little more "period-ish" than the nylon flags I'm used to seeing. Would linen be an acceptable alternative in this case? It sounds to me like linen was more used for the appliques on the flags and not so much for the main body of them, but I'm not aiming for period accuracy, just "something better than nylon", hah! Basically, I'm seeking advice in these areas: 1. What wool (or wool-like) fabric would work for a flag, and do you have any advice on where I might find it for... not hideous prices? 2. If a suitable wool isn't to be found, would linen work well enough? 3. ...Any other suggestions based on your own experiences? =) Thank you!

Just finnished the paint job for Pylos's flag. Just needs the grometting and some weathering and it'll be good to go:

Here is my first Joly Roger, it dates little, I had realized it cotton black and old sheet white, it is sewn machine but the fellow man will be sewn hand: http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/5729/pict2436.jpg http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2145/pict2438.jpg

So we have an event coming up here and my wife wanted a new pirate bodice and a flag so I’ve been working on these of late. The flag came out nice enough that we are going to start offering custom made, hand painted flags on our website. Here are the shoulder and breast plates for my wife's bodice: Here's her flag: