Flag shadow box: fold the flag, size the case, mount it
How to fold a flag for a shadow box, the size of the folded triangle for 5 × 9.5 and 3 × 5 foot flags, a cut list for a triangular case, and flag care.
Published
A folded United States flag is a right-angled triangle whose short sides are a quarter of the flag’s height. Its long side is 1.414 times that, and it stands half as tall as it is long. For a 5 × 9.5 foot burial flag that is about 21.2 inches long and 10.6 inches tall before you allow for the thickness of the cloth; for a 3 × 5 foot flag, about 12.7 by 6.4 inches. Measure your own folded flag before you buy or build anything, because cloth is bulky and no two fold alike.
This guide covers the fold the Department of Veterans Affairs sets out, the sizes, a cut list for a triangular case, and how to keep the flag safe behind glass. It covers the United States fold. Other countries fold and display their flags in their own ways; ask the service or the veterans’ body concerned.
How to fold the flag
The Department of Veterans Affairs prints the method on the sheet handed over with a burial flag, part of VA Form 27-2008 (the edition of May 2024), under the heading “Correct method of folding the United States flag”. Its burial flags page links to the same form.
- “Straighten out the flag to full length and fold lengthwise once, folding the lower striped section of the flag over the blue field.”
- “Fold the flag lengthwise a second time to meet the open edge, making sure that the union of stars on the blue field remains outward in full view.”
- “A triangular fold is then started by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to the open edge.”
- “The outer point is then turned inward, parallel with the open edge to form a second triangle.”
- “The diagonal or triangular folding is continued toward the blue union until the end is reached, with only the blue showing and the form being that of a cocked (three corner) hat.”
Two people make this far easier: one holds the blue end taut at waist height while the other folds from the striped end. Keep each triangle tight and square to the edges, because slack adds up over many folds. At the end, the loose margin is tucked into the pocket of the last fold so that the triangle holds itself shut; the American Legion’s folding procedure describes the finished flag as “completely folded and tucked in”.
If your flag came already folded from a service, there is no need to refold it. Measure it as it is.
How big the folded flag is
The first two folds quarter the flag’s height (its hoist), making a long strip. Every triangular fold after that makes a right-angled triangle whose two short sides equal the width of that strip. So:
- Short sides = hoist ÷ 4
- Long side = hoist ÷ 4 × 1.414
- Height, standing on its long side = half the long side
| Flag | Hoist | Short sides | Long side | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 × 9.5 ft | 60 in | 15 in (381 mm) | 21.2 in (539 mm) | 10.6 in (269 mm) |
| 4 × 6 ft | 48 in | 12 in (305 mm) | 17.0 in (431 mm) | 8.5 in (216 mm) |
| 3 × 5 ft | 36 in | 9 in (229 mm) | 12.7 in (323 mm) | 6.4 in (162 mm) |
| 2 × 3 ft | 24 in | 6 in (152 mm) | 8.5 in (216 mm) | 4.2 in (108 mm) |
These are the sizes of a triangle of paper folded the same way, with two lengthwise folds. A real flag comes out a little larger, because every fold goes round a thickness of cloth. (The American Legion notes that a large flag “may have to be folded lengthwise a third time”, which halves these figures.)
The 5 × 9.5 foot size is the interment flag. The United States Army’s regulation on flags, AR 840-10 (the edition of 19 August 2025, paragraph 2-3), gives it a “5-foot hoist by 9-foot, 6-inch fly” and says it is the flag authorised “for deceased military personnel and for deceased veterans”. It is also one of the sizes Executive Order 10834 lists for United States government flags, with a hoist of 5.00 feet and a fly of 9.50 feet. The VA’s burial flag page and form do not state a size, so measure the flag you have. A 3 × 5 foot flag is the common house flag; it has slightly different proportions, and folds the same way.
Thickness is the measurement people forget. The strip is four layers of cloth, and the strip of a 5 × 9.5 foot flag is long enough to make about fifteen triangles, one on top of another, which puts roughly sixty layers of cloth in the finished triangle. How thick that is depends on the cloth: a heavy flag folds much deeper than a light one. Lay the folded flag on a table, rest a ruler flat on top and measure the height at the thickest point.
Size the case
Take three measurements of the folded flag: the long side, the height and the thickness. Add about 10 mm to the long side, 5 mm to the height and 10 mm to the thickness. Those are the inside dimensions of the case.
Ready-made cases are sold by the size of flag they fit. Check the listed inside dimensions against your measurements, and do not rely on the name alone, especially for a thick cotton flag.
Two ways to build one
A triangular case
The classic flag case is a triangle with the long side as its base. Its corners are 90° at the top and 45° at each end of the base.
For an inside base of B and timber of thickness t:
| Piece | How many | Inside length | Outside (long point to long point) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 1 | B | B + 4.83 × t |
| Sloping sides | 2 | B × 0.707 | B × 0.707 + 3.41 × t |
For example, an inside base of 560 mm in 18 mm timber gives sloping sides 396 mm long inside. Outside, the base is 647 mm and each sloping side is 457 mm, and the case stands 323 mm tall.
The joints are the hard part:
- The top joint is an ordinary mitre: each sloping side is cut at 45°.
- The two base joints are 45° corners, so each piece is cut to a point of 22.5°. On a mitre saw’s scale that is a setting of 67.5°, which is beyond the range of many saws. It is usually cut with a jig that holds the timber at an angle to the blade, or by hand and trued with a plane.
If that is more than you want to take on, let the base run right across and stand the sloping sides on top of it. Every angled cut is then 45°: the foot of each side to sit flat on the base, and the top where the two sides meet. The ends of the base are cut square. The base must be longer to reach under both sides, B + 2.83 × t, and each sloping side is B × 0.707 inside and 2 × t longer outside. With the same 560 mm and 18 mm timber, that is a base of 611 mm and sides of 396 mm inside, 432 mm outside.
Cut a groove for the glass or acrylic near the front edge of all three pieces before assembly, or fix thin strips inside to hold it. The back is a triangle of thin plywood or hardboard, screwed on so that the case can be opened.
A rectangular shadow box
A folded flag will stand on its long side, so it also fits in an ordinary rectangular shadow box. Because the triangle is half as tall as it is long, a box whose inside is as wide as the flag’s long side and half as high holds the flag alone. Make the box taller and the space above takes medals, badges, a photograph and a name plate; the two empty corners beside the triangle suit small things such as a unit coin.
Put a thin strip along the bottom, in front of the flag, so that it cannot slide forward, and a pad behind it (below) to hold it up to the strip. How to make a shadow box gives the cut list for a rectangular box, and how to mount medals in a shadow box covers the medals.
Hold the flag without fastening it
Nothing should be pinned, glued or stitched to the flag. The VA’s instructions say that the flag “should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stowed in such a manner as will permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way”, and that it should never have “attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature”. So medals, pins and name plates go on the case or the backing beside the flag, never on the cloth.
The flag is held by the fit of the case:
- Behind: a pad of polyester batting covered in washed cotton, cut to the triangle, takes up the spare depth and presses the flag gently forward.
- In front: a narrow spacer strip round the inside of the glazing keeps the cloth a few millimetres off the glass. The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) explains why in its note on framing textiles: a gap “reduces the risk of moisture condensing on the glazing” against the cloth.
- At the sides: the walls of the case.
Protect the cloth
A burial flag cannot be replaced. The VA states: “We can’t replace flags that are lost, destroyed, or stolen.” Three things in a display case harm a textile over the years, and CCI’s notes on textiles address each.
Bare wood. CCI lists “unsealed wood and wood products” among the materials that should never be in direct contact with a textile, because wood gives off acids. It accepts wood only when sealed with a barrier foil. At home, line the inside faces of a wooden case, and the back, with clear polyester film or acid-free matboard so that the cloth does not rest on timber, and leave a newly glued or varnished case open for three to four weeks before the flag goes in, the airing time CCI gives for adhesives inside an enclosure.
Light. “Light damage is cumulative and irreversible,” CCI writes in Textiles and the Environment, and ultraviolet “is a major cause of yellowing and weakening of fibres”. Museums light textiles at about 50 lux; CCI puts average daylight at 30,000 lux, six hundred times brighter. Stand or hang the case away from windows, not on a mantelpiece over a working fire, and choose glazing that filters ultraviolet if you can. CCI also suggests covering objects “temporarily when they are not being viewed”: a cloth laid over the case in a room that is seldom used costs nothing.
Damp and heat. CCI’s one firm rule on humidity for textiles is to avoid damp, “over 70% RH”, which brings mould. Keep the case off outside walls in unheated rooms and away from fireplaces and radiators.
Do not spray the flag with anything: CCI’s list of things that should never touch a textile being framed includes “sprays of any kind”. If the flag is stained, torn or very old, ask a textile conservator before cleaning it. CCI names stains, tears and “fugitive dyes”, dyes that run when wet, among the reasons to consult one first.
A name plate
A plate on the base of the case, or on the backing of a rectangular box, usually carries the name, rank, service and dates. Text to SVG turns typed wording into outlines sized in millimetres, which a cutting machine can cut from card or vinyl and a laser can engrave on a thin plate. It makes the lettering only; the plate is fixed to the case, not the flag. For the wording and order of rank and awards, follow the service’s own guidance.
Questions
How do I fold a 3 × 5 flag for a shadow box? The same five steps. The strip is 9 inches wide, so the triangle is about 12.7 inches long and 6.4 inches tall. It needs a case made for that size: a burial flag case is far too large.
Why does my folded flag not fit a case of the “right” size? Thickness. A heavy cotton flag folds into a deeper, slightly larger triangle than the paper sizes above. Refold it more tightly, or choose a case by its inside dimensions.
Should stripes show? Not on the United States fold. The VA’s last step ends “with only the blue showing”. If red and white show at an edge, unfold a few turns and refold them more squarely.
Can the flag touch the glass? Many cases let it. A small gap is kinder to the cloth, for the reason CCI gives about condensation.
Can I put the flag and medals in one box? Yes: use a rectangular box with the flag standing at the bottom and the medals mounted on the backing above.