American Military Patches, Other Insignia and Decorations of World War Two
Created by Dr. Howard G. Lanham

STYLES OF PATCH (SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA) MANUFACTURE

Felt on Felt Construction

Felt on felt was a common style of manufacture during the First World War and afterwards. It was possible for the soldiers themselves or small operators to make these. They also could be cut out with a punch, cookie cuter like, for mass production. The drawback to this construction was that the insignia soiled easily and was subject to insect damage. It also was cumbersome to use for a complex design and may have require machine stitching by an operator. By the onset of the Second World War felt on felt construction was being replaced by either machine embroidered on wool or felt or fully machine embroidered shoulder sleeve insignia. These newer manufacture types were better suited to mass production and held up better. During the period between the two world wars and during the early period of the Second World War examples of this manufacture style were not uncommon. In addition to shoulder sleeve insignia chevrons were made using this means of manufacture. Many of the examples are no-so patches from the Hawaiian Islands and most were manufactured prior to the Second World War.


44th division 2nd cav. division Hawaiian Division
44th Division 2nd Cavalry Division Hawaiian Division
Phil division Hawaiian Department
Philippine Division Hawaiian Department
on uniform

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