Reference
Patches, measured properly.
Where a patch goes, what it is made of, how to attach it so it survives a wash, and what the symbols on it mean. Drawn to dimension, sourced where it matters, and dated so you can see how old the answer is.
Four things people get wrong about patches
01
Placement
“Four inches below the collar” is not a measurement. Without a named reference point and an edge, two people will put the same patch in two different places.
02
Patch types
Embroidery cannot hold small text. Woven can. Choosing the construction before you look at the artwork is how designs get simplified without your say-so.
03
Application
Iron-on is a positioning aid, not an attachment. Heat-seal film softens every time the garment is washed, and the edges always lift first.
04
Insignia
A badge answers a question — who, what unit, what rank, what qualification. Read it in that order and an unfamiliar uniform becomes legible.
Start here
If you have one patch and one garment in front of you right now, the order of operations is short. Identify the fabric, because that rules methods in and out before anything else. Choose the attachment method the fabric allows. Measure and mark the position from a seam, not by eye. Then attach, and check it on a body before you call it done.
The single most common failure is worth naming on its own: why an iron-on patch lifts after one wash, and what to do instead.
How this reference is put together
- Figures are drawn, not described. Placement guides carry a dimensioned diagram with the reference points marked, numbered so a page can be cited — “see Fig. 3” means something here.
- Left means the wearer’s left. Every placement is described from the point of view of the person wearing the garment, and diagrams say so on their face.
- Conventions and regulations are kept apart. A commercial decoration convention is labelled as one. A regulated figure names the governing publication and the date it was last checked against it.
- Pages are dated. Regulations change and suppliers change their materials. An undated figure is an unverifiable one.
- Guides publish when they are verified, not on a schedule. A placement figure that has not been checked against a current source is worse than no figure at all.
If you are decorating a uniform, treat everything here as background and take the actual figures from the governing publication for that organisation. This site tells you how placement is specified and measured; it is not a substitute for the document your organisation issues.