What is a Camp Blanket?
Camp blankets are used to keep you warm around a camp fire and as an extra blanket to keep you warm at night.
They are also somewhere to keep your badges that you can no longer wear on your uniform.
Camp blankets become a record of your achievements and places you have been.
In the old days Wolf Cubs and Boy Scouts, as they were then called, would also decorate their blankets with ‘woodcraft’ signs.
What Can I Put On It?
Some people collect badges as a hobby. Some people prefer to only put the badges they have earned and badges of places they’ve visited on to their camp blanket. You Choose!
All your Joey badges
If you have belonged to another Scout Group before this one you can also put your old group neckerchief on it.
Cloth badges from places you have visited.
Proficiency badges from swimming, athletics, gymnastics etc.
When you go up to Scouts, all the badges you earned in Cubs.
How to Make It
- You can either find an old blanket or buy a camping blanket (special blanket for use in swags).
- If you make one you should make it big enough to keep you warm when you are older and bigger. We suggest it is about 200 by 160 cm (80 by 60 inches).
- Find the centre of the blanket by folding it into quarters and then cut a ‘T’ shaped slit in the centre of the blanket big enough for you to get your head through. Don’t make this too big, but remember that your head will grow. We suggest it is no larger than 22 cm across.
- Finish the edge of the slit by folding it under and sewing around with blanket stitch.
- If you are worried about it falling off you can also add a toggle or button around the neck hole to help keep the blanket on.
- You might like to cut the corners off and make the blanket an oval shape. This will stop the corners dipping in the mud while you are not so tall. If you do, the edge of the blanket will need to be finished off with blanket stitch to prevent it fraying.
- Sew all your badges on to your blanket - but not the ones still on your uniform! Don’t forget that the top of the blanket is where your head goes, try not to put badges on upside down.
