I’ve made it to the chest flap sigil portion of the build process. I know I need a large red sigil for it. What size does large equate to? How does the whole embroidery process work?
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You have two routes you can go for chest sigils for the flap: direct embroidery or a patch.
Directly embroidered sigils often look more the part in detail but unless you carefully plot this out for position it could end up not being centered on the flap. Likewise I’ve seen a fair share of people who end up with the sigil positioned too low in the end because the embroidery person places the hoop in the true center of the flap where it should be biased high toward the collar. For reference the top of the head of the cobra should be no more than a hand width below the collar of the flap (I’d go three fingers vs four personally)
The patch route gives you more freedom in the end to make sure the patch is sitting correctly after all the other sewing is complete.
Depending on your chest size I’d estimate the sigil should be no greater than 8” wide and no less than 6” wide. Keep in mind this would slightly vary based on the human wearing it. The goal is to have that cobra sitting dead to rights in the center of your chest, between your H harness straps.
Hope that helps
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Yea most go for 6" or bigger. It’s kind of personal preference and size of the individual as well.
If you can get the flap made for your bdu top, the easiest thing then is to simply mark where you want it to be for an embroidery shop to add the logo for you.
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I usually start 4" from the top (finished side) and center it that way on an unfinished flap. The top of the head would be at the 4" mark (if I recall correctly). I also make patches 6-6.25"H in any colors.
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It helps greatly! Thank you!
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Thanks! The easier the better!
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Thanks! I will be ordering the Red Left Shoulder Sigil Patch from you shortly!
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May I suggest for the shoulder sigil that you search (Cobra commando patch). This guy has awesome prices on nice patches. They are also the correct sigil (not the happy Cobra). I always buy my red and silver ones from him…and I make patches.
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I got an estimate on the embroidery. Depending on thread count they said it’d be a couple hundred dollars. I haven’t gotten an estimate on the alterations yet. Is that high? If it is high does anyone know someone that has experience doing this before that I can get this done through? If it is about the right price I may need to go the patch route, in which case anyone have a recommendation on who I can get a @7" patch from?
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I would say that seems high to me but every vendor is going to vary in price.
Personally I like the patch route for myself. I felt it gave me a little more control over the orientation of the patch to the chest.
I’d recommend Mike the Patch Czar. Besides being a good guy he’s quick, honest and affordable if you can live with a slightly smaller patch than your 7” Target. If you have your H Harness already I’d throw that on and walk around a bit so the straps find their natural resting place on your body. Then with pieces of tape flanking your straps, mark the inside of the straps on any shirt, pop that shirt off and then look at what that distance is. Again ideally the sigil falls inside those two pieces of tape.
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Thanx for the kind words. Here is a link to my webpage, specifically the Cobra Uniform things I do.
https://mediocreatbest2927.wixsite.com/patchczar2020/cobra-uniform-info
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That seems high, unless they are also creating the image file to do the embroidery for you also, which some places tack on a fee for embroidery if you don’t have a file for the format they need to use with the machine. But either way it seems a bit much.
Decided to do what I should have done in the first place and ordered one from Patch Czar. Thank y’all for the help (especially you Patch Czar!)! That brings it down to just needing to get the alterations done, and purchase the boots, gloves, rank pins, a couple of molle pouches and straps, and a airsoft pistol for the leg holster. I know the pistol is not required but its an excuse to give the wife as to why I “need” to get one! 
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Fantastic work as usual!
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Update: 1) Patch arrived (thanks again Patch Czar! Great Work!) 2) 1 and 1/2 confused seamstresses later and the shirt is in for alteration! The one seamstress looking at the shirts was completely confused, the other one visualizing it in her head got it exactly… until she saw the buttons/fake buttons/zipper already on the front of the shirt that will be covered up by the flap. But after some discussion she finally understood the end goal. So after spending next week with grandkids in NC I can go back and pick up the finished project. VERY Happy with the $30 estimate!
I was also hoping to make it to Tampa this weekend but grandkid arrived (finally) so going to see him trumps all!
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