Index
Guides
Everything published here, newest first. Placement guides name the publication they were checked against and the date it was checked; everything else describes conventions.
How to design a hat patch that still reads on a cap
Design Designing a hat patch is mostly about taking things away. A cap front is small, curved and split by a seam, so a logo that looks crisp on a business card can turn into a blur at two and a half inches. Here is how to design your own hat patch so it still…
Snapback, trucker or dad cap: which patch suits which hat
Caps A patch that looks right on a stiff snapback can look wrong on a soft dad cap, and a heat-seal patch that holds on a foam trucker front will not hold on the mesh behind it. The crown decides the patch. This guide goes cap by cap: which patch suits it, what size, and…
Patches for beanies and bucket hats: size, type and how to attach them
Soft hats Beanies and bucket hats are the two hats people most often get wrong with patches. Neither has a stiff front, both move and stretch as they are worn, and the iron-on method that works on a jacket tends to fail on them. Here is what size, which patch type, and how to attach…
Cub Scout uniform patch placement, sleeve by sleeve and pocket by pocket
Placement · Scouting Cub Scout uniform patch placement follows one official layout, and it is simpler than it first looks: two items on each sleeve, rank on the left pocket, temporary patches on the right. This guide sets out where each patch goes on the Cub Scout shirt, position by position, with the changes that…
Patch shapes: which outline suits your design, and which border it can take
Guide · Design The shape of a patch is the first thing anyone sees, before the colours and long before the lettering. It also decides which border the patch can have, how cleanly it sits on a curved surface, and how much of your artwork survives. Here are the common patch shapes, what each one…
Fabric glue for patches: what to use and how to make it hold
How-to · Attaching Glue is the answer when a patch cannot be sewn and will not iron on: a nylon backpack, a leather jacket you do not want to puncture, a hat with no way in for a needle. It works, if you choose the right glue and accept what it can and cannot do.…
Iron-on patches for jeans: how to make them stay on denim
How-to · Denim Denim is the fabric iron-on patches were made for: heavy, tightly woven cotton that takes heat without complaint and gives the adhesive plenty of fibre to grip. Most iron-on patches that fall off jeans fail for one of three reasons, and none of them is the patch. Here is how to put…
How to make embroidered patches, by hand or on a machine
Making An embroidered patch is a stitched design on a piece of fabric, with the edge sealed so it does not fray. You can make one by hand with a needle and floss, or on a home embroidery machine. This guide covers both, step by step, and where ordering makes more sense. Short answer. Hoop…
How PVC patches are made, from mould to finished patch
How PVC patches are made: moulds, liquid PVC filled colour by colour, heat curing and backing — plus 2D vs 3D PVC and why PVC costs more.
How to put a patch on a hat (sewn, pressed or Velcro)
How to put a patch on a hat: sewing with a curved needle, heat pressing a cap, Velcro and glue, plus the right method for each hat style.
Press cloth for iron-on patches: what to use and why
What to use as a press cloth for iron-on patches — cotton, Teflon sheet or parchment — what never to use, and how to press a patch through it.
Iron-on backing for patches: what to buy and how to add it
Iron-on backing for patches: heat-seal film vs fusible web, what to buy, how to add it to a sew-on patch and which fabrics it works on.
Letterman jacket patch placement: where each patch goes
Letterman jacket patch placement: where the varsity letter, name, year, sport emblems and school name usually go, and how to attach them.
Woven vs embroidered patches: which one to order
Woven vs embroidered patches: detail, texture, thickness, durability and price compared, and which to choose for your design.
Heat press patches: temperature, time and pressure
Heat press settings for patches: temperature, time and pressure for embroidered, woven, chenille, PVC and leather patches, plus hats and fabrics.
How to sew on a patch by hand or with a machine
How to sew on a patch: which stitch suits the patch edge, step-by-step hand and machine methods, and how to sew patches on jackets, jeans and bags.
How to sew on a Velcro patch, by hand or by machine
How to sew on a Velcro patch: which half goes on the garment, how big to cut the loop panel, and step-by-step hand and machine stitching.
How to iron on Girl Scout patches, and why troops sew
Most badges will take an iron, but the councils are candid that they may not stay. Iron to position, then stitch the edge – and here is the quick way to do it.
How to make an iron-on patch, or when to have one made
Fusible web is what makes any patch iron-on. The two home methods, the edge finish that decides whether it survives, and where the arithmetic turns.
How to remove an iron-on patch without wrecking the garment
Heat put it on and heat takes it off. The method, what the adhesive shadow needs, and the fabrics where you should not try.
How the guides are organised
Four areas, and most questions sit in one of them.
Placement — where a patch goes, measured from a named reference point rather than judged by eye. This includes the regulated cases, each quoted from its governing publication and dated. Placement guides.
Patch types — how a patch is built, and what each construction can and cannot do. Embroidery has a detail limit; woven and PVC have different ones. Compare types.
Application — getting a patch onto the garment and keeping it there. The fabric decides the method far more often than the patch does. How-to guides.
Insignia — what a mark claims, and who is entitled to wear it. Insignia reference.
If you only read two
Two pages answer most of what people arrive looking for: which fabrics can take an iron-on patch, because that is the question behind most failed applications, and how patch sizes are quoted, because a “4 inch patch” is not four inches on any edge.
How these pages are maintained
Regulated placement figures cite the publication they come from and the date they were checked. Where a figure could not be verified against a current source, the page says so rather than filling the gap with a number that looks plausible. Anything that has gone out of date should be corrected and re-dated rather than quietly left standing.
Ready to have patches made?
Everything in these guides, produced to order — embroidered, chenille, woven, leather and PVC patches from $0.75 a piece, with a free digital proof before production.