How To Use Emblems and Patches in Embroidery

October 05, 2009
By Steven Batts, Contributing Writer

Emblems have been a staple of the embroidery industry since…well the beginning of embroidery, most likely. You see them everywhere: military, scouts, government services, clubs and work uniforms. The interesting thing about them is that they are mainly produced by a small segment of the embroidery industry. To the average embroiderer, emblems or patches are a mystery.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Any embroiderer can produce patches or at least add them to their product line. They are economical to produce and can yield high profit margins. They can also open up new doors of opportunity and in this economy, most people need that.

To produce patches, you first need to understand a little bit about them. First, there are two general types that we will discuss: ones that are 100% covered with stitches and ones with less than 100% coverage. Depending on your logo and the shape you want the emblem to be will determine this. The way these two are made can really vary. Emblems with less than 100% coverage generally are sewn onto a heavy twill fabric. The edge of the fabric has an over edge stitch or “Merrowed edge” named for the machine that does it. If you make your own patches, you will need to have an edging similar to this.

There are several ways to make patches. Depending on how many patches are needed determines the approach I take when trying to fulfill an order.

Let Someone Else Do It
If it is a large quantity (i.e., 50 or more), I usually will try to sub the job out to a company that exclusively deals with making patches. They can produce large quantities much cheaper than I can even think about doing them. I can sell the patches, sub out the work and still make money by just processing the order.

Full Coverage
When making the patches yourself, the first thing to look at is the coverage. If the emblem is going to be 100% covered with stitches, the process for making the patch is fairly simple. Just frame 2 or 3 sheets of a good tear away stabilizer and sew the design on in.

When the design is done, simply tear it out of the stabilizer. I then take a lighter and go around the edge of the emblem to melt away the little “hairs” of the stabilizer that are left sticking out to give the patch a nice clean finish. That’s it! Unless you are going to put some heat seal on the back, you are finished. The full coverage patches are the simplest.

Less Than 100%
If a patch is going to have less than 100% coverage, there are several ways to handle it. One is to use blank patches of twill fabric. There are several common shapes sold by vendors (circles, squares, triangles, shields, etc.), and you can embroider on them without having to cut the patch from larger piece of fabric.

To create this type of patch, you will need to use a method that simulates the over-edge stitch around the outside of the patch. This is generally done with a satin stitch. There are several ways to do this. The method I use takes a little longer, but gives the best finish to the edging.

First, frame the twill fabric with a piece of cutaway stabilizer. Then, sew the design on the material. After the main part of the design, sew a running stitch that is the shape that the final emblem will be. Un-hoop the material and cut around the running stitch to make the patch shape.

Next, you will appliqué the material to a single piece of tearaway stabilizer. The satin stitch edge of the appliqué will be the over-edge stitch of the finished patch. As with the fully covered patch, tear off the excess stabilizer and use a lighter to clean up the edges. This gives a nice clean edge and a true over-edge stitch to the emblem.

Back It Up
If you want to make your emblems look a little more professional, you might consider using a heat seal backing when they are finished. You can purchase a heat sealant from virtually any fabric store. It just irons onto the back of the material. Then remove the release paper once the material has cooled. Not only does it give the patch a more professional look, it allows it to be ironed onto a garment.

So emblems aren’t so mysterious after all. They can also expand your product line, which in turn will expand your bottom line.

Steven Batts, a consultant with 17 years experience in the embroidery industry, owns Righteous Threads, Greensboro, N.C., which offers digitizing, embroidery and machine maintenance services. Steven regularly leads seminars at ISS shows and is an industry speaker and consultant. For more information or to comment on Steven’s article, e-mail righteousthreads@gmail.com.

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