How to Remove Boy Scout Patches

When someone says, "Scout's honor," you may conjure up images of a loyal, trustworthy Boy Scout wearing a neat collection of patches on his uniform. The Boy Scouts of America is very specific on how the scout uniform is worn and how patches are placed. If a patch is incorrectly placed on a uniform, you need to remove it and reposition it. Sometimes, the Boy Scouts will issue temporary insignia that are only meant to be worn to commemorate a particular event. Once the event is over, you need to remove the insignia. Fortunately, removing Boy Scout patches is a relatively simple task.

Place a clean, lightweight cloth on top of the patch.

Heat your iron on a medium setting. Iron the cloth over the patch for about a minute, then try to peel the patch off. If the patch doesn't immediately loosen, you may have to repeat this process one or more times.

Wipe away any remaining adhesive using a commercial adhesive remover. Launder the clothing.

Spray the back of the cloth to which the badge is stuck with adhesive remover. Let the adhesive remover thoroughly soak through the clothing.

Peel the badge off gently, working from the edges.

Remove any remaining adhesive residue. Place a folded paper towel on the adhesive stain, and turn the clothing over. Soak the cloth with adhesive remover, spraying the solvent onto the side of the fabric that is not covered with the paper towel. The remaining adhesive will stick to the paper towel.

Let the clothing dry before putting on any new patches.

Remove all patches on the clothing by dry cleaning it. Make sure to put the clothing in a bag to catch the patches as they fall off during the dry-cleaning process.

Flip the clothing over to reveal the stitching on back of the Boy Scout patch.

Pull out the threads using a seam ripper. Work carefully, ripping out every few stitches. Make sure not to pull or tear the fabric.

Remove the stitching with a pair of small scissors or tweezers if you do not have a seam ripper. Carefully cut the stitches on the back of the patch, then pull them out using tweezers. If the stitches are loose or fairly large, you may be able to easily pull them out by hand.