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Sewing Scout patches can be a challenge!
… let alone figuring out where they all belong!
Here’s some information that should answer your questions about where those patches belong, how to sew or iron them on and some ideas for displaying them.
Where do you sew all those patches?
Start with these resources, 99% of your questions are answered in the Official Uniform Inspection guides;
For Cub Scouts PDF Uniform Guide
For Webelos PDF Uniform Guide
For Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts PDF Uniform Guide
For All adult leaders PDF Uniform Guide
There’s also an online interactive guide that shows where to sew patches on the uniform for Cubs, Webelos, Scouts and adults;
If you don’t find the answers you need in those resources check the BSA Uniform and Insignia Guide.
If you still can’t find an answer get in touch with me!
What about Merit Badge Sashes?
Boy Scouts can wear a merit badge sash with their uniform anytime, most choose to wear them only at special events; like courts of honor. There is no special order to placing merit badges on the sash, just start sewing them on in rows of three as they are earned. If you have an ambitious Scout who fills his sash with badges on the front you can use the back as well.
- Merit badge sashes are worn only by Boy Scouts and Venturers who are earning Boy Scout advancement.
- Scouts are not required to wear merit badge sashes, they are optional.
- Boy Scouts may wear only one merit badge sash at a time.
- A merit badge sash is never worn on the belt.
- Merit badges may be worn on the front and back of the sash.
- Temporary patches (no badges of rank) may only be worn on the back of the sash.
- The merit badge sash and the Order of the Arrow sash may not be worn at the same time.
Get over 40 other infographics and helpful PDF documents here
Are Scout Patches “Iron On”?
Short answer; NO!
Some patches have a slick plastic backing that looks a lot like it could be ironed on. I emailed the folks at our National Supply Division and asked if I could iron them on:
I have recently purchased some official patches – they appear to have an iron on backing. Is this correct? If so how does one iron them on? Are there other patches that have iron-on backing?
They replied:
“Our emblems are not iron on – the plastic backing is to keep the emblem from rolling up. You will need to sew them on or use badge magic adhesive.”
I have used both of the products below personally, and I like them. They are pretty permanent, so I would not recommend using them for patches that will be replaced (like event patches). You can remove the adhesive, (well kind of), with adhesive removers or by dry cleaning.
Badge Magic Adhesive
The iron-on option if you don’t want to sew patches. It’s been around for a few years now and it does work well, especially for small patches like unit numbers, arrow points and square knots. I think the cut-to-fit freestyle sheet is the best deal.
Some folks don’t like badge magic, but it does actually work really well if you follow the directions!
Badge Magic Cut to Fit Freestyle Patch Adhesive Kit
Therm O Web Peel’n Stick Fabric Fuse
I’ve used Therm O Web Peel’n Stick Fabric Fuse to adhere patches to our troop neckerchiefs and it works very well, it will do an equally good job on uniforms.
Therm O Web Peel’n Stick Fabric Fuse is a washable double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive specifically designed for fabric. No sewing or iron pressing necessary. Simply press-on and go! Machine washable and dryable, do not dry clean. Use to permanently attach patches, felt shapes and other appliques to sashes shirts and more! Great for scout badges, ribbon, and appliques. Safe and non-toxic. Before using Fabric Fuse Adhesive, always PRE-WASH all material without using fabric softeners (in washer or dryer). Always pre-test adhesive on sample materials 4.25″x 5″ 5pc
Therm O Web Peel’n Stick Fabric Fuse Available at Amazon
Hand or Machine Sewing?
Hand sewing isn’t all that difficult for patches with borders that wrap around the edge. I use masking tape to hold the patch in place, turn the uniform inside out and sew the patch on by stitching through the raised border not the patch itself. You don’t have to force the needle through the patch, just catch the border. You can hide the stitches behind the patch this way and will only need one thread color that matches the shirt rather than the patch.
Machine Sewing means you’ll be sewing through the patch and that will require thread colors that match the patch if you don’t want the stitching to show. I prefer Badge Magic or hand sewing.
What About All Those ‘Extra’ Patches?
Scouts tend to accumulate lots of event and activity patches (camporees, cub weekends, hikes and trips, etc.) We call these ‘temporary insignia’. Scouts can sew one temporary insignia of their choice on the right hand pocket of the uniform shirt. Here’s a hint – if the patch in question is not mentioned in the official uniform inspection guides above it is probably a temporary insignia.
But what do you do with the temporary insignia patches, badges of rank, etc when you remove them from the shirt? Here’s some options:
One option is a patch vest available from Scoutstuff.org This red, acrylic vest may be worn with any official Scouting uniform.
Another way to display patches is on a patch blanket. Any blanket will do but there is one available from Scoutstuff.org – a classic patch blanket. with a gold fleur-de-lis screened in one corner.
A third option is to create a framed display. Scouting magazine has a great article about making a patch display.
Check out my Pinterest board for more ideas!
Follow scoutmastercg.com’s board Scout Patches, Uniforms and Neckerchiefs on Pinterest.
Are There Patch Police?
Short Answer; No!
There are no officials or volunteers who are appointed to go around and tell everyone where to wear their patches!
Occasionally you’ll run into someone who THINKS they are supposed to tell everyone else how to wear the uniform and wear patches. However well-intentioned they may be many of these self-appointed patch police can be a bit rude and self-important.
If your Scout comes home upset that someone told them they are wearing their patches in the wrong place it’s a great opportunity to talk to them about working with difficult people. Then you can use the resources here to sort things out and make changes if needed.
Some Scout units have uniform inspections using the Uniform Inspection Forms I have linked to above, hopefully they have done this in a friendly, helpful, courteous manner that encourages rather than discourages Scouts.
Do yourselves a favor and never, never use badge magic. I have been working with boys and parents for over a decade and I have seen so many mothers with good intentions destroy shirt after shirt. Sewing takes a little more patience, however no matter how bad you think it looks, it’s better than badge magic.
I like to use a sewing machine whenever I have to sew through the patch. Here’s the secret, use the wheel and manually move along the border of the patch. You can match the thread and stitch length with very little practice. I have three uniforms, the wife has one and two of my boys are currently in scouts, I sew all the patches, this really works. About those temporary patches, if they don’t have a loop, add one using a small safety pin. Old or new uniforms alike, the buttons are high enough the pin never shows.
hi i have boy in scout i am having problem adhevied the badges on there shirt wht can i use an if so is there any other where i can get badge majic cheaper than the scout store
There is nothing like a Court of Honor to make your son get out the needle and thread and try to get all of his merit badges sewn on. The new Scout is proud of his 2 or 3 badges on his sash, since he has joined the Scouts that have the sash. Then the Scout ages and gets embarassed about wearing his sash with not-as-many-badges as he would like to have on the sash. Then the Scout ages and he wants as many badges on the sash as he has earned to be on the sash for the Court of Honor so he hunts in his room for the actual patches from the prior Court of Honor. As Clarke Green says often on this website, enjoy the process.
For my two boys (now age 13 and 16), we taught them how to sew on their merit badges at age 11 and insist they take care of their uniform. I echo Walter Underwood’s comment above – “Mom did those”.
The only downside to our parental stance is that I have to sew my badges on my adult uniform in leading by example. So my uniformshirt is not as up to date as I would like. Time to get sewing.
My dad was in Scouting during the 30’s & 40’s and again when I went into Cub Scouts in 1962 until I got out in 1971. He taught me to take the individual unit numbers and use an iron-on patch as a backing, ironing them as close as possible. Then trim around the iron-on patch removing any material visible from the numerals. That works great and is a bit quicker than special ordering combined unit numbers.
“I just listen to my mother.” Now there is some good advice!
I use a sewing machine whenever practical. I use clear “invisible” thread, which is like thin fishing line. This way I don’t have to worry about exactly matching the color. I sew a zig-zag stitch, about 2.5mm wide, right through the embroidered border. This keeps the edges from rolling, and if the stitch length is kept on the small side it will be nearly invisible.
I also do the numbers like Craig Corson suggested. Much easier to line everything up.
ISZ
who ever sell badges for boys scouts should not tell to iron it because it doesn’t work , I spend 45 minutes for nothing , now I sewing those badges and are coming very good and my son is very happy as a single father I just listen to my mother .
My son was sewing on another merit badge before attending an Eagle Court of Honor, and he checked out the stitching visible on the back side of the sash. He noticed how much better he’d gotten at sewing on the patches — the first several are sewed on with straight lines and a few sharp turns, irregular polygons with just a few sides. The recent ones are much better. Then he pointed out a few perfect circles halfway down, “Mom did these.”
@Larry G- Thanks, I didn’t realize the guides were inside the book. Dur- makes sense though 😛
@ WI Scouter- I think that’s what my mom did with my four brothers (They y all advanced from Bobcat to Eagle!). But this direction is actually for my own patches: leadership position patch, and patrol patch, specifically. I have the World Seal (purple) and the Centennial patch (ring around the world seal), the Council patch (shoulder) and unit number already stitched on… Maybe that’s a good thing- as an adult leader, I don’t earn advancements, so I don’t have as much sewing to do!
I tend to use a small piece of badge magic to hold the badge on and then stitch the patch on myself. Any scout can learn to tack a badge on and should do his own badges after all he earned them!!
Hi Lovin
Find a Boy Scout handbook. It’s inside the front and back covers. Templates for sleeves and front shirt pockets. If you don’t have a BSA Handbook, you should.
I was recently tapped to be the Assistant Scout Master over the new scouts (11-year olds). It’s been a while since my brothers were in Scouts (youngest brother is 26), so I don’t quite remember where all the patches go. I’d love to be a good example to my boys, but your links to your PDF, etc are broken- I keep getting the “404-File or directory not found” error.
Could you fix this so us noob leaders can access and use the resources available? Thanks!
I am a fairly new cub scouting mom and used badge magic the first time around. It is very easy to use, but I found that it didn’t stand the test of time. After less than a year the edges of the patches are curling up, which ruins the clean & well kept appearance every scout aims for. Now I will break down and sew them on. Thanks for the tips!
When I was a kid, I sewed my patches on with my mom’s machine, using a straight stitch. Now, I hand stitch them with a simple zig-zag running stitch, up through the patch and down through the shirt.
Instead of stitching together numerals, order custom unit number patches. They are cheaper than the individual patches and the minimum order is 12. You can also order them with the veteran unit years on the patch. Way easier than lining up numbers. The whole troop with thank you.
Does it matter what stitch we use when sewing? I would like to use a blanket stitch.
Thank you,
Sue
Blanket stitches would work fine, you’ll have to sew through the patch though, I like to just catch the border; it’s easier.
Thank you other Tiger Cub mom….now if only my 1947 Singer could zig-zag.
Finally a site that suggests using a sewing machine! I am a Tiger Cub’s Mom and I have no desire to hand sew badges. That is what my fancy sewing machine is for. Thanks for the tips, especially for sewing together the numerals to make them one
Hi,
Right after you are talking about doing this yourself, here comes a wife (me) wanting to know where to sew the scoutmaster badge for my husband…
A further suggestion on unit numerals. Use very sharp scissors to trim numeral borders ‘just’ to the embroidered edge before using a zigzag stitch (matching thread color) on the sewing machine to “assemble” the overall numeral before applying to the shirt. Also, the numerals are sometimes not exactly the same size, and it can benefit by carefully selecting a set that are well-matched for the numeral edge height dimension.
My wife taught me how to use ‘the machine’ after our cubmaster, a guy who loved any/all technologies, showed up with a faultless “patch” job on his uniform.
I grew up sewing on my own scout patches, so I split that task with my wife now (she’s better on the machine than I am).
The plastic-backed patches are hard to sew by hand and feel like armor plate on your uniform. I wish we had Jacquard patches like Scouts in many countries. Those are lighter and more flexible.
Time for me to get sewing — replace that SM patch with ASM, and add a couple of knots.
Hello Clarke,
I staple my patches on, then sew them on by hand, for the most part. After the sewing is completed, I carefully remove the staple. I never knew how to sew until I started as a Scouter and felt guilty about asking my wife to do it. I get immense pleasure out of knowing I did it myself.
A future area of growth is to get my wife to teach me how to use the machine.
The sewing came in handy when we had to replace a pack belt buckle in the Philmont backcountry and had no clip to secure the end of the waist belt. I sewed it then covered it in duct tape. Everything held the remaining 40 miles of the trip.
I encouraged my older boys to sew on their own patches. They did; the patches weren’t perfect, but they did it.