You were once in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts in your life, possibly. You may have earned patches for doing certain tasks, which of course are all so different. I myself have a collection of patches, it's something Aaron Draplin does and I thought it was pretty nifty. They are fascinating pieces of fabric and if you are in great need of them, you could plaster them on your clothes with holes (then again clothes come with holes now).
Patches are often badge style designs because it's usually a thing of symmetry and they are aesthetically pleasing all across the board. if you're reading this, do you have any patches in your arsenal?
