Do patches come velcro-backed at cons?

May 4, 2019 9:55 AM

I just bought a thinkgeek Con Bag of Holding, which is perfect for me. But I am confused by the velcro panel. Explain.

The velcro panel on the front of the bag is described as being for the patches you get at cons. I don't go to cons. My question is, are patches sold or handed out that already have the hook backing? Or do people velcro them themselves?

I realize this is one of those things that doesn't actually matter. I hope to add some patches to my bag, and none of the ones I'm interested in come with velcro backs, so I will either have to sew them on or add some adhesive velcro. But it is bugging me, so if you are a person who goes to cons, please enlighten me on this one small piece of con culture.

posted by Orlop to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (5 answers total)

I don't know much about con culture, but military and, oh, let's call it military-adjacent folks have something called morale patches that are generally velcro-backed. It appears con folks have something similar.
posted by box at 10:21 AM on May 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

I have used Industrial Strength Velcro for this. The glue is super tenacious, and has held so far on most of my patches.
posted by TheCoug at 11:46 AM on May 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: 100% yes, fandom patches often come velcro backed. You can stick them on your bag's velcro panel or sew on the ones with no backing, so that's a nice feature. This is true for firehouse patches right through to Overwatch patches!
posted by DarlingBri at 11:46 AM on May 4, 2019 [3 favorites]

Have never seen a velcroed patch, but the bag comes with patches so you can arrange those at least.
posted by Iteki at 1:05 PM on May 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

You can get a free annual patch from thinkgeek/nerdist if you bring your Bag of Holding to SDCC. Most indie designer patches that I’ve seen aren’t Velcro-backed, but self-adhesive Velcro is cheap and can be cut to fit.
posted by sleeping bear at 6:43 PM on May 4, 2019