Velcro Rank?

[dedkad]

So for all you hand-sewers, what's the trick to sewing on the patches? The patches are so thick I need a thimble to push the needle through. It's very slow going, and I can't see how younger boys could manage.

[Stosh]

So for all you hand-sewers, what's the trick to sewing on the patches? The patches are so thick I need a thimble to push the needle through. It's very slow going, and I can't see how younger boys could manage.

DON'T sew the stupid plastic! As a hand sewer, I never have used a thimble except the first time I tried doing the plastic routine. All I ended up doing is getting blood all over the place.

 

1) pin the patch in place. You do this by positioning the patch then take a pin, snag a bit of the shirt, coming back up then catch a few threads of the looped edge and then back into the shirt. Now it's anchored to the shirt. Check positioning and then do the bottom. Then for added security do the same on both sides. Now the patch is pinned in place and you have not had to jam anything through the plastic.

 

2) start your sewing about a 1/4th inch under the edge of the patch, going down and coming back up at the very edge of the patch and catch some of the looping. The knot will be under the patch and unseen. Then work your way around the patch about 1/4th of an inch at a time. With square patches do a couple of stitches at the corners so they don't curl. One never sews the "Patch" only the loops on the edges.

 

3) to finish off, do a stitch in the last place, i.e. the original start, but catch the thread loop before tightening down. Do that twice and the knot will hold.

 

This is why I don't like sewing Velcro. 1) if it glues on, it eventually starts to peel, and if sewn on, it's like sewing the plastic on the patch, Velcro has no loops to sew to.

 

Stosh

[TAMScout]

I had never thought to attach sewing through the edging. I'll have to try that soon.

[TAMScout]

OK now that I know I can post something. I have had two reactions to the patch thing lately. First have uniform inspections. Second do it for them. And the do it for them guy sews the pockets shut.

 

In my Opinion, Velcro for ranks is ok you should be earning those sub star ranks pretty fast and you only have to do that tricky pocket sew once. Position patches. In most cases this one should be velcro because positions are temporary, and many of us adults need it just because we have so many hats. Council patches and order of the arrow pocket flap patches. If your council makes a lot of cool parches for fundraisers you are going to want to Velcro so you can show off the cool stuff you have. And last but not least if your troop has a uniform bank and you loan out uniforms then Velcro everything so some parent doesn't ruin a good shirt by melting the plastic backing into the shirt sleeve,

 

Frankly I think the patches would get on the shirt a lot quicker if we presented them with the hook already on.

 

TAM

[NeverAnEagle]

If the rank is Velcro there is nothing to stop angry fellow scouts from ripping the rank off and demoting the wearer.

[King Ding Dong]

If the rank is Velcro there is nothing to stop angry fellow scouts from ripping the rank off and demoting the wearer.

Your right. But then next time they sit down they have bubble gum stuck to their uniform pants.

[Twocubdad]

If the rank is Velcro there is nothing to stop angry fellow scouts from ripping the rank off and demoting the wearer.

"Branded! Marked with a coward's shame. What do you do when you're branded? Will you fight for your name?"

 

I always thought breaking the sword over your knee was pretty bad-assed.

[BartHumphries]

I have hundreds of kids... but if I ever have a kid of my own, every patch on a pocket, and any patch that they might have to change later on will be velcroed on. Sewing on patches? Don't really mind that. Picking out the threads from a patch that was sewed on previously? Rather irksome. Sewing a patch on a pocket by hand instead of getting to use the machine? Only going to happen once per shirt.

[kari_cardi]

I have hundreds of kids... but if I ever have a kid of my own, every patch on a pocket, and any patch that they might have to change later on will be velcroed on. Sewing on patches? Don't really mind that. Picking out the threads from a patch that was sewed on previously? Rather irksome. Sewing a patch on a pocket by hand instead of getting to use the machine? Only going to happen once per shirt.

Taking off patches that are sewn by machine is 1000x easier if a zig-zag stitch is employed. I like to use invisible thread in the top thread, tan to match the shirt in the bottom, and the machine set to a zig-zag stitch that is wide enough to sew from one side of the embroidered edge to off the edge. Not only is it easier to unstitch, the edges never curl and it looks nice.

[walk in the woods]

If the rank is Velcro there is nothing to stop angry fellow scouts from ripping the rank off and demoting the wearer.

Thanks. Now I'm going to regret reading this thread all day. At least until I get that song out of my head.