A Scoutmaster's Blog

Boy Scout patch blanket

When you have been involved in Scouting for as long as I have (over 32 years) you end up accumulating a lot of patches. Some are earned by simply attending a Scouting event. Others are earned by being on staff for an activity. Others have requirements that must be completed before being awarded. And finally, there are those that you buy just because they look cool. There is a lot of truth in the saying, “A Scout (or Scouter) will do anything for a patch.”

I probably have nearly 200 Scout related patches. For many years I stapled them to a four foot by four foot sheet of paneling and hung it on the wall. The patches were placed in rows, by year in the order I received them. I was fun to be able to view all the patches at one time. It was a colorful item used in some of the Scouting displays I would place around town during Boy Scout anniversary week in February.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, I ran out of room on the patch board. I had teased the Boy Scouts that when the board was full it would be time for me to retire from Scouting. The last patch was stapled to the board in 2005. I remained as scoutmaster (until the end of 2011) and currently serve as a committee member. I guess you could say the board really did not have any say on when I would retire from the Scout program.

I now have a problem. I have a lot more patches that need a home. I also need wall space to hang photos, art prints, and other items. It is time for the old patch board to come down off the wall, but I really have no place to store it. It may be time to do something I have wanted to do for a long time. It is time to create a patch blanket. Or two. Yep, definitely two blankets.

Several Christmases ago my sister gave me a Scout blanket as a present. A few years ago a couple Eagle Scouts gave me another Scout blanket as a gift. Last year I received a third Scout blanket at another Eagle court of honor. I guess I have enough blankets to make this work.

Tonight I began taking patches off the board and started placing them on the first blanket, which happens to be a Boy Scouts of America 100th anniversary design. I am placing more patches on it them I originally thought I would be able to place on it. I think it is going to look pretty sharp. I am far enough along to see that I will need two blankets for all the patches.

There is one major problem with my plan. I do not sew. I hate sewing. I am not good at it. And I do not plan to get good at it. I think I will use some Badge Magic to hold the patches in place and take them to a person in town has a sewing business in her home. I realize it will cost me some bucks to have this done put I think it is going to be well worth it. I plan to ask her if she can put a couple loops at the top of the blanket so that I could hang it on a wall or rod. This way I could continue to use it as part of Scouting displays.

What do you think about my first blanket? Do you have a patch blanket? I would appreciate hearing your comments.

Here is what is left on the board yet.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about patch blankets since the last blog post. In fact, I took out my two Scouting blankets over the weekend to see if they would work. I received both blankets as gifts, one from my sister for Christmas, the other from a couple of Eagle Scouts at their court of honor.

As I looked at them I thought that if I did start sewing patches on them I would not want to cover up the center logo or the writing on the edge of the design. However, I could put quite a few patches between the logo and border. That could look pretty cool.

The next thought was that I would not want to turn both of them into a patch blanket. The one with the white frills on the edge would have to stay as a throw blanket. So, I would need another one or two if I was to put all my patches onto blankets. I began looking online and found several Scouting themed patterns that could be used as a blanket. However, I did not find the fleece pattern for these blankets any longer. I could just use a red or green surplus army blanket. But this would look much cooler.

The next thought was how would I display it when it was done. I thought a loop sewn into the top of the blanket would allow me to hang the blanket by sliding a closet rod or dowel into it, like I saw in a picture recently. Or maybe just a few small loops instead of one full length one.

My last thought was why am I making this such a tough decision? I still do not know what I should do.

I have collected a lot of patches during thirty years as a Boy Scout leader. The council shoulder patches are alphabetically arranged in a three ring binder. So are the Order of the Arrow lodge patches and the patches from the 2001 National Jamboree.

The patches I have collected from attending Scouts camporees and other functions have found a place stapled to a four foot by four foot sheet of paneling that is hanging on a wall in my basement family room. (This can be seen in one of Buttons’ videos.) I have used this colorful patch filled sheet in displays set up around town for Scout Anniversary Week.

I few years ago I ran out of space on the sheet so the patches have been accumulating in a couple places around the house. I was thinking about starting a few more binders but they do not display as nicely as the paneling. I would like to be able to display them well but yet store them away easily.

It may be time to start a patch blanket, or two, or three. The reason I have not started one in the past is because I do not sew. I have tried sewing a few patches onto my uniform and discovered I am lousy at it, and I do not like doing it. Thus, I am a fan of Badge Magic.

There is a lady in Melrose who lives about three blocks from em who has a small sewing shop in her house. She has sown several patches to my uniform and was very reasonably priced for her service. I do not know what she would charge to sew a hundred patches unto a blanket. It might be a little costly, but I have to do something.

I have a few questions for those of you who read this blog. Where is a good place to find a reasonably priced blanket for this purpose? What kind of blanket should it be? Fleece or wool? What is the best size? I appreciate your suggestions and comments.