unofficial patrol patches

[Smithgall]

I ran across the site for patchtown.com and they have all sorts of fun patrol patches. they state that they are not official patches. are there "official" patrol patches or can we use some of these fun ones. I think we have about 12 boys on the roster but really only 5 show up on any regular basis and they are all between 11-13. Thought these young guys might like to consider some of these fun patrol names and patches but didnt want to present it if its not allowed. cant find anything in the handbook on this one way or another

[SSScout]

I think you'll find that a Patrol is a Patrol is a Patrol. The boys should name their Patrol whatever they please, "in good taste" of course. Beware the double entendre, intentional or accidental. Our Troop has regular names (Cougar, Moose, Wolf, Eagle) but the patches are ordered from Canada. Much larger, fancier patches. There are "official" BSA Patrol patches and names, but you won't find any rule about requiring these and no other.

I have seen C-17 Patrol, Rocket Patrol, many other original names. Give guidance, but Let the boys choose.

 

[Eagle92]

Also remember that you can custom order patches via national and others. had to do that for the White Tiger Patrol

[SMT224]

Our older Scouts formed a new high adventure Patrol, the "Dancing Bananas", and got patches from the Patchtown web site. Another Patrol, the "Phoenix" Patrol, got some neat phoenix patches from the Class B web site. The Adult Patrol have "Dutch Oven" patches from ClassB as well. They all work fine. We have three other Patrols that have the regular BSA patches.

[gcnphkr]

We've had the Holy Cows with a completely custom patch design they came up with. Right now, 1 in 6 are using a BSA patch, all the others are from third parties.

 

Our first years came up with Trojans. No intended double entendre so I let is go. I really didn't want to explain to a bunch of 10 and 11 year olds why they might get snickers from older scouts. Plus you can do a lot worse than having Hector as a role model (okay, like having Paris as one). So far it has not been an issue.

[Pack212Scouter]

Any custom patrol name/patch is legal pretty much. The patch requirement for uniform wear is that the patrol patch must be on a khaki background, have khaki merrowed edge, and use no more than three thread colors.

[SSScout]

Pack212: As they say: "Where does it say that?"

 

And, also, my 20 pound unabridged doesn't list 'merrow'. And my wife seamstress doesn't know the term. What kind of stitch is that? Just curious.

[Mr. Boyce]

I think on something like this a good amount of leeway is fine. The Boy Scouts are the military. Best to keep it tasteful and something Mom can see.

[Mr. Boyce]

. . . I meant to say NOT the military. I think some folks get overboard with uniform exactitude.

[Lisabob]

Hey since we're talking about this, I have a question. Our SPL & ASPL came up with a novel patrol name for themselves. Haven't been able to find a patch to match it. And they only need 2 patches. Any ideas how to do this without paying a ton of money for excess patches?

 

 

[Eagle92]

Lisa,

depending upon their artistic ability, I have seen one patrol buy the blank patches and paint their patrol patches.

[shortridge]

Picture of a merrowed border:

 

http://www.emblemconcepts.com/wax%20versus%20merrow.htm

 

It's basically what we're all used to with most of our Scouting patches.

[BDPT00]

Not that it's any of my business (better I say it than someone else), and it's off the subject, but why would the SPL & ASPL be considered a patrol, and why would they need a name?

BDPT00

[Lisabob]

Yeah I know, BDP, but that's just what his troop does. Of all the things to be concerned about, that one's low on the list for me, and the SPL and ASPL always have a bit of fun with it.

[scoutldr]

Merrowed Edge (also Overedge Stitch, Overlock Stitch or Rolled Edge) - A patch having a protective "molding" of thread all around its edge, often referred to as a "rolled edge" because of its appearance, the original purpose of which was to prevent raveling. Merrowing is an overedge stitch added using a special machine. On loom-made patches, this is performed after a patch has been embroidered and cut; on multihead-made patches, it's done to the pre-made twill "blanks" before they are embroidered. The telltale sign of merrowing is the "pigtail" end that is usually either glued or taped to the back of the patch. Merrowing machines are named after their inventor, Joseph M. Merrow. Although a few patches with merrowing from the 1940s and 1950s have been observed, merrowing of military patches didn't emerge until the 1960s, didn't really "catch on" until the 1970s, and didn't become widespread until the 1980s. Merrowing now seems to be the industry standard, though quite a few are still unmerrowed. It should be noted that because twill doesn't ravel and is often treated, cut-edge patches really don't need merrowing, so nowadays it's usually added because the designer thinks it enhances the looks of the patch. (Definition courtesy of Greg Ogletree)

 

I love Google. - scoutldr