Cub Scouts cross over into Boy Scouts in the spring. Boy Scouts go to camp and trade council patches and other event patches. This photo album can be used to scrapbook photos, or keep a patch collection. It also makes a nice gift for an Eagle ceremony. To make it you will need
- Three ring binder
- Tan shirting material
- Fabric that is similar to the troop’s neckerchief
- Spare patches
- All-purpose glue
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Thin batting or felt
- Spray quilting adhesive or a glue stick
- One-inch wide red grosgrain ribbon
This is a good way to recycle the old binders your children used for school. If the binder is still in working order, but just has a worn cover, or lots of doodles on it, it can be recovered with fabric. The cover can be made from new fabric, or by cutting apart an old uniform shirt.
Cut a piece of tan fabric that is one inch taller that the height of the binder, and one foot longer than the length of the binder when it is open and laid out flat. Make a rolled hem on the two short sides of the rectangle. These short sides will be folded over to make pockets. Center the binder on the fabric, and use pins to mark the sides of the front cover.
Cut two triangles of fabric that are seven inches long and four inches wide. Make a rolled hem on the two seven inch sides. Pin the triangles to the front cover, overlapping and pleated, so that they look like a neckerchief. Match the four inch sides to the cut edge of the tan fabric so that it will be caught in the seam. Sew the triangles in place on all three sides.
Cut two right triangles from tan fabric that look like a collar. Turn under the cut edges, and sew the triangles over the top of the neckerchief, also matching the top cut edge with the bottom fabric so that the edges will be caught in the seam.
Cut a two-inch piece of red, one-inch wide, grosgrain ribbon. Turn under the cut edges and pin it to the right of the collar, like an epaulet. Sew in place.
Use a patch or a piece of ribbon for a neckerchief slide, and sew it over the spot where the two triangles overlap.
Cut a pocket from tan fabric, or recycle a used uniform, and sew the pocket to the left of the neckerchief. Sew another patch on the pocket. Add the troop number or quality unit patches to the spine of the binder cover (if the binder is wide enough) placing them according to the sleeve of a shirt.
Place the tan fabric right side up. Lay the binder open on top of the fabric. Fold over the two short sides to make pockets that wrap around the binder’s front and back covers. Pin the fabric in place. Remove the binder, and sew the side seams of the pockets. Trim the corners, and turn right side out.
Use spray quilting adhesive or a glue stick to hold a piece of thin batting or felt to the back side of the tan fabric. The batting should be a little bit smaller than the cover of the binder.
Put a thin coat of glue on the binder cover. Slip the ends of the binder into the pockets. Use all-purpose glue on the edges of the pockets to stick them to the binder. Fold under the cut edges of the fabric along the top and bottom of the binder and glue them in place.
To make photo album pages, use clear presentation sleeves that can be purchased at an office supply store. To make a patch collection album, use pocket pages that can be purchased at the Boy Scout office, or the binder sleeves used to hold 3 ½ inch floppy disks.
Comments