pattern & project: school merit badges

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I was never in Girl Scouts or AWANA (although I had a short run as a Pioneer Girl), so earning patches or badges was never really a part of my life. But I love the idea of them. It probably has to do with them being small and cute and something to collect!

Well, I've created some school-themed merit badge designs to embroider and make into little patches or badges! These are the kind of thing that you could stitch up ahead of time and present when the time comes. Rather than being something that inspires a child to do something, I like to think of them as a way to remember fun and important things that happen along the way.



The pattern includes an apple (Meeting your Teacher!), book (Learning to Read!), star (Super Star Student!), bandage (School Nurse Visit!), hall pass (Hall Monitor!), + and - (Mastering Addition & Subtraction!), x and ÷ (Mastering Multiplication and Division!), cursive lettering (Learning Cursive!), 100 (100 Days!), A+ (Great Grades!), and K-5 for starting (or finishing) each grade.

Those are just ideas for how to use them...get creative with your mini awards!

To make the badges, you will need:

Fabric
Embroidery floss
Water-soluble pen or a pencil
Felt
Pins
Scissors
Safety Pins or sew-on pinbacks
Merit Badge PDF



Trace the patterns you are stitching onto fabric, and include the circle to make cutting easier. Stitch the designs however you like, but don't stitch the circle.



Pin the fabric to felt, and cut around the circle.



If you're going to make your badges into pins, now is the time to sew the safety pin or pinback in place on the back of the felt circle.



With the embroidered fabric and felt pinned together once again, stitch around the edge. I used 3 strands of floss and a wide whip stitch, keeping the stitches fairly close. It took two 24-inch pieces to make it around. You could also use a row of running stitch or blanket stitch around the edge.




When your stitching is all done, your badge is ready to present!



I've been wanting to make merit badges for a while, and there are more planned. Be on the lookout for some Christmas designs, plus some for household tasks and more!

Download the School Merit Badge PDF