Introduction: How to Hack Your Eagle Award

Here's how to hack your Eagle award. Some people might want to do this to show support for a change in policies within the Boy Scouts of America.

Step 1: Cut Fabric

Cut your ribbon. I ordered some 35mm grosgrain ribbon. Measuring ribbon in the US is usually English measure, so I ordered 35mm ribbon from an ebay supplier in the UK. I measured about 80mm in length of the rainbow ribbon.

Step 2: Fold and Stitch

Gently fold, without crimping, the rainbow ribbon in half. Stitch it by hand or with a machine. I used red thread, as that's the standard thread used in the original medal.

Step 3: Flip

Flip the ribbon inside out.

Step 4: Place Onto the Motto

On this medal, the top bar of the medal had a cut in it, which I was surprised to find. I bent it slightly so that I could slide the ribbon back into the medal. Red on the right, as presented to the public. I gently folded at the stitch side, so it was more likely to lay flat.

Step 5: And Make It Nice

Bend the metal that's now in the ribbon back into a straight position. Make it meet up like it did before. Be careful not to bend it too far. It's soft metal.

Step 6: Stitch to Hold the Ribbon

The ribbon needs to be stitched together on the sides to avoid the ribbon from sliding around. If you don't stitch it, it'll fall and slide and make a mess. I continued to use red thread. I machine stitched on a zero length stitch, but in the next one, I'll hand stitch it. Then prep the ring and the medal for re installation.

Step 7: Insert the Ring

Insert the ring back into the bottom of the ribbon. Push the middle of the ribbon (yellow and green) out toward the front to make it lay right. Make sure that the red or purple don't get folded under and get a crimp in them.

Step 8: Final Assembly

Attach the Eagle back onto the ring. Bend the ring back together to close it off. It wasn't soldered at all, just bent into place to begin with.

That's it. You're done. You can stitch it by hand if you want. In fact, the side stitches are better done by hand to assure that it's a good stitch. Well, maybe you're better with a machine. The red thread does look a little weird on the purple background, but it looks just as odd on the BLUE background of the original medal. Again, hand stitching would have made this look a little nicer. I am not patient enough for hand stitching in most cases.