An eclectic blog about beads, beading and beyond



Friday, July 31, 2009

More record breaking beads - flying flags for beads


In Abu Dhabi, Jeyaraman Ravi has made a large beaded flag in honor of his adopted country – the United Arab Emirates. He believes that he has made the largest beaded flag in the world and he has been successful in getting the Guiness Book of Records to create a new category for him as a result. Jeyaraman’s flag is yet to be certified as the winner in the category but with the following facts and figures I wish him luck:
o Number of beads he has used: 288,400
o The size of the finished flag: 3 metres long and 1.5 metres wide
o Time taken to complete the flag: About eight hours over 14 months.
o Weight of the flag: 10 kilogram
o Amount of thread used to make the flag: 850 grams.

Any beaders tempted to make their own flag can find free flag patterns for flags of a more modest size at:
o http://familycrafts.about.com/library/bdspins/blbdspinflags.htm

For those interested in the meanings of colours the flag’s Pan-Arab colors red, green, white and black, colors apparently symbolise Arab unity. One alternative explanation is that the green represents fertility; the white represents neutrality, and its black represents its oil. A second alternative is that the white represents peace and honesty, the red is for bravery and valour, green for hope and joy and its black for determination.

Sources
  • http://www.worldrecordsacademy.org/biggest/largest_flag_made_out_of_beads-world_record_set_by_Jeyaraman_Ravi_90183.htm
  • http://www.worldamazingrecords.com/2009/04/worlds-largest-handmade-bead-flag.html (also the source of the image I have used)
  • http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/mideast/uae.htm
  • http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_red_mean_in_UAE_flag_mean

2 comments:

Dawn N said...

I never knew there were beads in the Guiness Book of Records.

Live, Love, Laugh, Write! said...

That's pretty crazy! What cracks me up is that he says it only took 8 hours... but that's stretched over 14 months. Gee - most of us spend 8 hours beading AT LEAST every week!

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