Luftwaffe Luft tabs Question

[Gary B]

Hi,

Ok this might seem like a silly question but how were tabs made/sewn? I dont think they were hand sewn...were they sewn by a machine that was run by an individual? Was there a machine that automatically sewed them?

Any help?

Gary B

[Paul R]

That is actually a very good question... I thought that they were hand sewn.

[Gary B]

Paul,

When I was stationed in Korea, there were shops downtown that emboidered flags for soldiers. They were sewn by people who operated a special sewing machine. Pressure on a foot pedal operated the up and down of the needle. The more pressure the faster the needle moved (just like a regular sewing machine) . Additionally, there was a bar near their knee which controlled the side to side movement of the needle. Greater pressure would increase the width of the needle arc, less pressure created a narrow arc. The Koreans operated these machines making hundreds of these framed Regimental flags for people. All were done by hand (without the assitance of a diagram on the cloth). I have always wondered if tabs were sewn using the same method.

By hand sewn do you mean with a persons hand and no machine assistance? Possible but given the number of tabs that would have had to have been made that would have been a serious undertaking. Were tabs made the same was as other TR patches? if so how were they made, was there a template that a machine could follow to mass produce them?

Hand sewing would account for the great number of variations encountered even among matched pairs.

Puzzled,

Gary B

That is actually a very good question... I thought that they were hand sewn.

Edited January 30, 2006 by Gary B

[Laurence Strong]

http://www.germanmilitaria.com/WaffenSS/photos/S15153.html

This explains a little about the proccess.

[Gary B]

Thanks, Laurence. So do you believe all of the Luft tabs were made using one of these templates?

I am trying to figure out why there is such a wide variety of positioning of gulls/wreaths and details even when a pair is a "matched set". It almost appears that sometimes they did not use a template but freelanced it.

Opinion?

Gary B

http://www.germanmilitaria.com/WaffenSS/photos/S15153.html

This explains a little about the proccess.

[Laurence Strong]

I have a feeling there was more freelance than templates which I can see for something like an eagle. As the wreath's would have so many leaves per side, and the gulls so many stiches, they are a little simpler to make

Edited January 30, 2006 by Laurence Strong

[Paul R]

It is my opinion that they were done by hand without the use of a template...early on.

I agree that there are many variations... even on tunics. I tend to think that tas the LW grew, they could have been done by a type of machine as mentioned above.

The quickest way I can see these being made is to have a sheet of the waffenfarbe material and have many of the rank insignia embroidered onto that sheet. Next, each individual insignia would be cut off in measured blocks. Next, a light adhesive would be applied to the reverse of the insignia. Finally, the embroidered cloth would be wrapped around the backing material where the edges would be folded and secured to the back.

Could you imagine the job satisfaction involved in making these all day long... every day?!!? I would go crazy!

In this case, my definition of hand sewn was; "sewn by a machine that was run by an individual". I could not imagine these being done literally by hand...

[Gary B]

Dear Laurence and Paul,

I think this was a good thread and although we dont have a definitive answer, I do like what we discussed.

Perhaps one day I should buy a crappy tab and take it apart just to see if I can get any more insight to manufacturing techniques (kinda like the evil twins have done for ribbon bars).

Thanks again.

Gary B