Gold Winger Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 My mother taught me todo survival sewing when I was about nine or ten. Stich a split seat. Sew on a button. I cn hem pant but it isn't pretty. Patches? Now that's where I shine. Sewing machine? Not for me. Once I have the patch positioned which takes about a week because I'm particular (maybe peculiar), it takes about five minutes per patch. No patch glue or iron ons for me. Every patch on my daughter's girl scout "uniform" has been sewn on. I also repair tattered stuffed animals. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
local1400 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I don't think sewing as a MB would stand on it's own but I do like mschwartz's idea of "Family Consumer Skills". You could add ironing, money budgeting/checkbook/bills stuff and integrate Personal Management MB in to the new one. I have always loved the ladies so in HS I took Home Ec to be near them. I have always sewn on my own patches until recently because Mrs. 1400 really wanted to for me so I naturally let her. But my trick is to make a loop out of masking tape to hold them in place, sew halfway around the patch, then remove the tape and close her up. I have badge magiced some patches to my blanket as a temporary fix and am sewing them on now. It is very hard to push a needle through the BM and the needle comes out sticky. But I don't want to lose a 25 year old camporee patch that can't be replaced and I don't fully trust the Badge Magic will be forever permanent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunny2862 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Adam Sandler, the Waterboy, Mothers voice - "StitchMagic is the Debbil"(Devil) Used it once, never again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 My senior high school year, my mother made me do housekeeping. It included cooking, baking, sewing, darning, laundry, ironing, cleaning, and every other household chore. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. When she passed away a couple of years ago, my father presented me with her sewing machine. A couple of years ago I made 12 full American Civil War uniforms for my Venturing Crew. Have I had to make use of any of these sewing skills in the past week? Yep, 3 times. My ASM is getting the material and I'm planning on hemming up 50 custom neckerchiefs for the troop so they can be professionally embroidered. I would love to have a "Household Maintenance" Merit Badge for the boys. It will affect every day of their lives for the rest of their lives. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GS-CS_leader Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 I'm guessing that the "Stitchmagic" Gunny2862 is referring to is either a glue or a iron-applicable fusable webbing. Girl Scouts used to sell a glue that was a lot like clear silicone caulking (complete with toxic fumes), and then replaced by the iron-on mesh stuff. Neither of those products worked that well. But the "Badge Magic" (badgemagic.com) adhesive sheets do work quite well. It is BSA-approved and sold at most council shops and scoutstuff.org. They even have kits with the badge shapes pre-cut, although if you cut your own shapes out of the plain sheets you can cover more badges per sheet. Yes, I know I sound like a walking advertisement for the stuff, but I truly do not have any vested interest in the company. I do still prefer to sew on most patches. Since I have the Badge Magic around after pre-testing it before recommending it to my scout families, I like to use a small piece of Badge Magic to hold the patch in place while I sew, sort of like the way local1400 uses a loop of masking tape. Then you don't have to take the tape out. Otherwise, I use masking tape around the edges on top of the edges that I am not sewing and just remove sections tape as I sew. I also find it easier to use Badge Magic for the patches that are solidly embroidered (no plain fabric showing). Those patches are really thick and stiff so are hard to sew on by hand, and also tend to have very irregular borders so are hard to sew on by machine with transparent thread. Like local1400, I've also had the experience of sewing on a badge that I had used Badge Magic to attach and having the needle get all sticky. Now when I use BM and I know that I'm planning to sew it on once I have more time, I trim the BM a little small so that it doesn't go out to the very edge. That way the border where I'm going to sew is still clear of the sticky adhesive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeprepared Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 YES, cub and boy scouts need to learn ho wto sew. Thread a needle, sew on a button, sew on a patch or badge, it is a life skill.. what do we do next to make this happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzt049 Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 My mother sewed on my badges when I was a cub scout, but I did my own as a boy scout (and I ironed my uniform before every meeting.) I think it should be a Tenderfoot Requirement to sew on your Scout badge. We had a scout show up to Summer Camp with this Scout Badge in his pocket. I got out my sewing kit and taught him to sew, and he sewed on the badge. You should have seen the look on his face when he was done. As far as I know, my son and he are the only ones in the troop who sew on their own badges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnniePoo Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 My husband can sew better than me. He grew up in a large farm family, and all of the kids learned to sew quite well. It has been very useful. My fellow Webelo den leader and I are going to start teaching our den how to sew, starting with the brag vests for the Tigers. We're determined that they learn many sewing techniques, not necessarily to sew their own clothes, but more to do fabric repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnniePoo Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 My husband can sew better than me. He grew up in a large farm family, and all of the kids learned to sew quite well. It has been very useful. My fellow Webelo den leader and I are going to start teaching our den how to sew, starting with the brag vests for the Tigers. We're determined that they learn many sewing techniques, not necessarily to sew their own clothes, but more to do fabric repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanRx Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Scouting (w/ help from my mother) taught me to sew. I'm better at it than my wife. My son (wolf) helps sew on every patch he gets for his red vest. I think they patches for standing upright now, been in cubs for 2 years and dang near needs a 2nd vest! By the time he's a Webelos, I will no longer sew a patch on his uniform for him - its all up to him. However, if sewing is a merit badge, then there should be a repeal of the paint-ball ban and paint-ball should be a merit badge! Teach them to do it safe and it mitigates the risk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bungyhil Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Oh Brother, Come on Gang. Tailoring Really!. Look, what ever happend to simplicity? Does everything we do need to be a challenge or can we actually have Merit Badges to teach some of lifes basic and very likely necessary skills. The general knowledge of Sewing should be an essential requirement for ALL Boy Scouts. All Boy Scouts should have the knowledge of how to sew on buttons should they come off of their uniform or sew on any of their advancement or position patches. Okay so maybe it doesn't need to ba a Merit Badge but at least a requirement at some point along the advancement trail. I would love to see scouting get back to basics in other areas too. Like trapping, cooking and eating wild animals in order to survive. But I will leave that alone for another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerscout Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Agreed! Some sewing tech could be part of Textiles, some a part of Wilderness Survival or Backpacking (else why is a sewing kit most always listed in gear list?) and there could be a fabrics fabrication option within composites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IM_Kathy Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 GS-CS_leader ever since I started in scouts be it Girl or Cub I always got them a small something(s) for the holidays. When my son and 2 of my former cubs and 1 other boy decided to swith troops we had a final "4 some campout" where I gave the boys the neckerchiefs their new troop used as well as the correct numberals... I then handed each of them a seam ripper and they removed their old numerals, I then handed them a needle and thread and they sewed on their new numerals. 1 boy did an excellent job that his needed no touch up, another boy got them on pretty good but were a bit loose and lost 1 of the numbers after about a month, and the other 2? well lets just say if it were for a merit badge they would probably still working on it LOL My son got his thread going in and out all wrong and so thread was going in and out of sleeve... when we got home I fixed them with him watching me and seeing how it is suppose to go. But even if they struggled those 4 boys took real pride in their work regardless of how well it turned out. Now my son "can" sew, but he still isn't the best at it and prefers his patches to look "great" on his shirt and sash so I do them, but only when he stays and watches and continues to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eghiglie Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 The SM of my troop when I was a kid taught us how to sew. He learned to sew when he was a kid and used the skill when he was in the Korean War and had to fix his uniforms and other gear. I'm going to see if my troop would like a sewing lesson, they might learn something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoutfish Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 A sewing Badge is a great idea. While I in no way claim to be a tailor, I have sewn my sons patches on by hand. I can fix a button and repaired a zipper. Fixed a pair of pants while at work and fixed a coat during winter while in a boat in the waterway. Wether or not it sounds girly may completely depend on the light it's shown in. You ever see the first Rambo movie? Rambo pulls out his trusty survival knife and (with thread and nedle) sews up a 5" gash in his arm, and then sews a shirt out of canvas to keep warm. How he lost his shirt in the winter - I can't remeber! You never know when you might need to fix ( or should I say "darn") you pants while camping, fix a sleeping bag or tent. I say go for it! Even if they don't get the badge, they might still learn something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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