There was a time when embroidered iron on patches were used to mainly cover up holes that might have happened on a garment. But with a little bit of creativity and imagination you can use this patch and add an element of spunk and style to any garment that you choose. It’s not just clothes on which you can use these patches but these iron on patches can be used to dress up bags, shoes, pillows, upholstery, hats…the list is as endless as your imagination.

If you want to make customized patches then you can easily do it yourself. You can get all the supplies that you need easily at stores where you can buy ready to use patches. The biggest advantage of using an iron on patch is that you can spend all the time you want to in making them but have to spend very little time attaching them.

You will need to have your supplies in place before you start making your patch. But before you get your supplies think of the style and design of the patch that you want to make. Once you have the design made to size you have to sketch or trace the same on to the fabric. Make sure that you don’t embroider the design onto the cloth without the hoop so that the finished pattern comes out flat. Now place a tear away backing sheet on the wrong side of the patch and fix the embroidery hoop in place so that the design is taut. You can even use some backing spray to fix your backing paper in place.

Now you can start embroidering your iron on patch. Make sure that your thread is no longer than two feet at one time so that you can embroider easily and don’t have to bother with unnecessary tangles and knots. Now embroider along the design making sure that you start each length of the thread from the back of the pattern so that the knots or extra lengths don’t appear at the front of the pattern.

Once you have finished embroidering your patch take it out of the hoop and remove the backing paper by tearing it off gently. Take some iron on adhesive paper and cut it to the same size of your patch. Now place your patch face down on an ironing board and place the iron on adhesive patch glue side down on your patch. Take a clean piece of cloth or paper towel on top of the sheet. Set your iron on to the low setting and iron the adhesive on to the patch. You can even use the silk setting on your iron. The paper towel or rag will make sure that none of the glue gets stuck to your iron.

Your embroidered iron on patches will be ready to use once you complete this step. Now all that you need to do is peel the paper backing the adhesive behind the patch, place it where you want to put it and iron it firmly in place. Iron the fabric inside out so that the adhesive gets properly activated and keeps the patch in pace.