CORRECT FOLDING FOR MACHINE SEWING A HEER BEVO CHEST EAGLE

BeVo chest eagles are horrid things to sew on - but you'll have a great sense of satisfaction once it's done!

I've done a few in my time - here's what I do: to prepare it for sewing, cut away the excess material until you have an excess border of about 5mm or so. Then, fold back the edges underneath and secure with fabric glue. Obviously, it's easier on the straight bits. For the curved bits, cut slots in the excess material, and fold / glue little by little. (In fact, you can do this for the straight bits also, if you find it easier.) Accept that this whole process is going to take some time, but when it's done, you'll have an eagle that is ready to sew on. Given the small size of it, I have no idea how easy it would be to machine-sew. I always do mine by hand. This hobby taught me to hand sew, and it's a fun skill to learn. Over the years I've sewn collar tabs, eagles, tresse, cuff titles, sleeve badges, buttons, etc. It's nice to look at your own tunic and think: "I did that".

It is a lot easier hand sewing things on if you use 'invisible thread' (available at a good haberdashery near you!) as it hides my clumsy attempts at stitching. Essentially it is clear fishing line, but well nigh invisible against the cloth. Being transparent, slippery plastic makes it a bit harder to handle than normal thread but worth the effort imho.

Like Steiner, I wouldn't know where to start machine sewing something as small as a chest eagle.

Cheers
Martin

Machine sewn originals are very often sewn with a zig-zag pattern of stitching.
^^^^^
You get the idea.
Sewing onto an M36 or M40 tunic, be carefully not to sew closed the sleeve/pocket for the internal suspenders for the belt hooks.