How do I sew patches on a vest?
Oh, we went through this when my daughter was in the Navy Sea Cadets. Those patches are painful on the fingers if you hand sew them! But it can be done. I would use a whip stitch to attach them if you have to do it by hand. Pin the patch securely in place, and double check to make sure that’s where it goes before attaching it! Then just stitch it on using a matching thread color. Don’t worry about the back side, but you do want the front side neat and tidy. See sample below for how to do a whipstitch. If you have access to a machine, it’s SO much easier, though! They will be much more securely attached and it can be done much, much quicker by machine. If all else fails, we did glue some, though! But it’s not a very safe way, if you don’t get the edges securely attached. But it will work, at least it did for us, by using glue made especially for fabric. Another thing to consider is to glue the patch in place, then sew it on. Helps keep it steady for the sewing. But if you will need to r
You’ll want to hand sew the patches on–the machine would be FAR more trouble than it’s worth, and not look good anyway. You might want to use a small dab of glue or double-stick tape to position each one. That may be easier to work with than pinning. My Girl Scout badges used to have iron-on stickum on the back–not enough to hold them permanently, but great for positioning them in straight rows. If you need help lining things up straight, fabric stores or WalMart sell special markers that rinse out cleanly with cold water. Or just tell him it’s HIS adventure!
I was a Girl Scout. Boy did I have patches! Thank goodness my mom knew how to sew, and now I do too! So, hand sew them and usually you are going to tack them. Make sure and get thread that blends into the background of the patch or the colored banding around the outside of the patch. You will want to sew the patch on through the backside so that your stitches do not show through. If it’s a round patch you will probably want to tack at 4 places equally spaced around it. Square patches you can do in 2 of the corners. I might be wrong, but I think the patches can also be ironed on. Not sure but there must be another mother that can help you out. My suggestion is iron them on and then tack them for added security.
