I’m designing some swag for a group I work with. One of the products is a colorful patch. People have been asking for it in “subdued” colors, like this. I wasn’t familiar with the use of subdued patches so I had to look it up. It seems to be used by the military or police for various reasons, including use with camouflage.
My question is whether there is a normal non-military use for subdued patches. I have never seen anyone going around wearing one, neither in urban areas, rural areas, or among hunters. It is a paramilitary thing or do regular people use them for some reason?
Bonus question, one person asked for a velcro patch. The only use I see for that is among the military. Is there some other use for velcro subdued patches?
Nobody wants to sew a patch on to anything. They want to stick it on a backpack or something with Velcro. So if you’re going to do a patch at all–full color or subdued–you’ll want to put Velcro backing on it. Some people who collect patches will have a large Velcro board on their wall, and they will just stick patches all over it. Similar to patch collectors of yesteryear who needed to pin everything down. Velcro holds down the entire patch, so it looks nicer when displayed.
Subdued patches just look nicer to some people. Someone who has one back back, but wants to put several patches on it to display his/her interests or support, may prefer to keep a single color scheme. Subdued patches will all match each other. Full color patches on the other hand, when combined with other full color patches on a single canvas, won’t match. Lots of mismatched, busy colors. Subdued patches will all match, and with the Velcro, you can mix and match all your different patches whenever you want. Whatever you feel like putting on your bag that day/week/event.
Thanks for the replies. It makes sense now. Apparently I’ve been out of the fashion loop for way too long! It still seems weird to me that people would want to dress their baby in camo.
Velcro doesn’t save you from sewing — you still have to sew the velcro on (in fact you have to sew it into both sides).
What velcro gives you is the ability to switch them out for other patches when you wish to do so. Especially if you have several the same size.
Me, I have two different COVID-19 patches (“Operation Enduring Clusterfuck”) one in bright colors and one in subdued. Which fits, given the military-inspired language on the patch.
Such an odd thing to say. If you buy a patch with Velcro, then you don’t have to sew the Velcro on it. That’s the whole point. If the OP provides Velcro-backed patches, then the recipients will not need to sew anything to use and/or affix the patch. That’s why one person already asked her for one with Velcro. That person does not want to do any sewing. That person is likely among the majority of people who would find the OP’s patch swag useful. The objects they intend to stick the patch to already have Velcro on them–designed specifically for patches. Hats, back packs, car seat covers, wall display panels, etc.
Yes, but if you buy a patch without Velcro and wish to use Velcro instead of sewing your patch directly on — which was exactly my situation — you have to sew Velcro onto your patch, and also to the surface you’ll be attaching the patch to.
As to Velcro or no, it sounds like the OP’s challenge is that their source for patches only sells them with plain backs. So any Velcro would have to be attached in a second separate step by the OP, or by the folks the patches are given to.
