Tuesday, November 20, 2007

How can I get a pair of pep flags

Purchase a pair (2) of poles.



These poles sell at various lengths in various styles. The ones used by most competitive teams are the 28 inch pole with a shaft and a [rubber] ball at one end. The shorter ones don't have as much weight as the 28" ones, and it makes them more difficult to handle.


You COULD make your own using the wooden sticks and wooden ball handle attachments they sell at most craft stores, but I wouldn't recommend it because I've never tried it before.
If you live in the 310 area code I would suggest going to Moore's dancewear (it's off the 405 freeway @ 4068 Redondo Beach Blvd Torrance Ca 90504). If you go to Moore's, then get the "Junior" flags as opposed to the "Juvenille" ones. If you can't remember, they SHOULD be slightly longer than your arm (about 28 or 30 inches as previously stated). Each pole would price about $25 dollars (I haven't been there in a while so the price might have raised).

The Internet contains may sources to purchase such flags, but be careful! since you can't measure up the flags with you in person, you won't be sure of the quality of the poles. Here's a list of online website sources for you to purchase your poles: Star Line Baton Company's & dancecheer.net

Sewing your flag




Here's a little diagram of how I sew my flags (You should be able to click on it). The light pink lines are where you sew, the dark pink lines are the length and the light blue is what those parts are. The actual shaft of your flag would be about 20 inches, but I don't like my flags too humongous.


The type of material is a sort of nylon that is really thin. I can recognize it relatively easy because when I look closely at the fabric, you could see little squares in them, almost like a grid all over (Some people say to buy "nylon ripstop" BUT that is actually a different type of fabric than the actual material I use). But with the fabric it's not too light to have some control over the poles, but can make the "snap" sound extra loud.

When you put it on your shaft, you COULD use the velcro that comes with your poles. But I would recommend investing in electric tape. This tape is flexible and can stretch and is relatively cheap. Take off the velcro already attached to the plastic shaft and just tape the material to the shaft.

You could also use the same electric tape for taping up the tip of the flag, rather than using the plastic tip. The plastic tip tends to fall off when using it often and under lots of stress, plus the electric tape is a little softer and more available than replacing those tips.

12 comments:

John W. Key's 1st of 15 said...

Thanks for the tutorial on how to make the flags. I need to go back to even more basics. How do I learn how to twirl in the first place? I have the flags, I have the batons, but I don't have the knowledge about how to twirl. I would be twirling for church, so any pointers, instruction, manuals you could direct me to, etc would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks,
Tammy

Jen said...

When I sum up the courage to step in front of a camera (as well as the time to do so) I'll be posting loads of tutorials for all the pep flag beginners out there!

Spirit of Excellence said...

please hurry up and have courage Jen! There are no dvd's out there - I only found one from Susan Katz - and it's only with one flag baton. I presently twirl two flags but do not know how to improve my skill level - I do not twirl as fast as pep flag routines that I have seen. I also have a troupe of kids - ages 7 - 13 years old - so that makes a difference too. But I do need some help and basics of adding the foot movements and how to twirl so fast too.
Please help us asap!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Ms. Jen, did you know that this electrical tape method was developed by a Bishop dad back in the 1984-85 season? As with every invention, it was made out of necessity…an urgent one! The white tip of his daughter's pole cracked minutes before comp and he happened to have electrical tape in his car!

(And by the way, Bishop won 1st place that day.)

Anonymous said...

* MORE TAPING TIPS *

Jen, I would leave the Velcro intact; it will keep the flag doubly secured to the shaft (clear plastic tubing around the pole).

When you first get your poles, you’ll also want to protect the shaft from cracking by spiraling down just one layer of tape around this fragile piece. It’s important to keep it at just one layer so you don’t add weight to the pole. The secondary nice thing about taping up the shaft is that it keeps electrical tape handy in case of emergency! Can’t tell you how many times I’ve spared other teams by taping up their flags out of this extra tape.

Then, you definitely want to remove the white tips and replace it with electrical tape wound around the tip enough times so that the shaft doesn’t come off the pole.

And finally, as Jen suggested, tape down your flags to the shaft to keep your flags extra secure.



* NEED MORE SNAP? *

As your hairspray your curls in place for any performance, be sure to give your flags a quick spray, too. Not too much or it’ll weigh down the flag!

GO KNIGHTS!

Anonymous said...

Hey Jen,

The tutorial you posted on how to sew a flag isn't working.. is it just my computer or is there an error?

Anonymous said...

where do you buy fabric? the store i went to didn't have the colors i liked =(

Anonymous said...

Did you try Jo-Ann's fabrics?

Anonymous said...

that's where i went. but they only had basic colors like red, blue, black, white, green, yellow.

i kinda wanted something brighter but they didn't have any.

Anonymous said...

will poly china fabric work?..like..the color guard fabric?

Jacquigp123 said...

Thanks so much for the info! Do you know of anywhere in the 310 area code that will make custom flags for cheap? I'm trying to start a team at my school and we want to keep costs down (plus, no one trusts me to make them and no one else is stepping up!)

Unknown said...

Need the template to sew pep flags. Is there anyone who can email to glennsabalza73@gmail.com