How to create jacket patches

Ever wanted a certain band's patch to sew on your jacket but can't find one? There's a very simple solution for this: make your own! It's easy, inexpenisve, and adds a unique flair to any garment.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• iron-on transfer printer paper
• denim material (both supplies can be attained at Wal-Mart or Office Depot)
• a clothing iron
• the internet (I assume you have that)

1. Do an image search on the internet for a band you want to make a patch for. For example, if I wanted to make an Ausgang patch, I'd go to google, images, and search for "Ausgang logo". Save any images to your PC.

2. 
    

   Open any images in an image-editing program. Resize them to the size you want your patch to be. You can also place a few "patches" at the same time on one sheet of paper, to save space. (Don't make your images as small as I did in the picture. They turned out REALLY tiny)

3. Once you're satisfied with how the images look on screen, print them out on iron-on transfer paper. (make sure to follow the instructions that come with it)

4. 
    

   Cut out your images individually; that way you can place them wherever you want. Peel off the back of the transfer paper, then place your cut-out images on a piece of denim material (you can also buy denim made-for-patches material at Wal-Mart and other stores). Following the instructions for the iron-on paper, iron your images onto the denim.
   
   Once that's done, you can cut the denim material into square patches. Voila!

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to attach your patches to a denim, cotton, or polyester garment, you can iron them directly to it.
• You also can sew your patches on, but be sure to use a leather needle for leather jackets.
• Safety pinning patches on garments can also be a quick and stylish way to attach patches.
• DO NOT try ironing on leather. It will damage the material and sometimes even cause the leather to melt.
• Don't throw away the white wax-paper like sheet that comes with iron-on paper. It's needed to prevent fabric from ironing itself onto what ever's under it.
• Don't try sewing leather with a sewing machine unless you're absolutely sure it can handle it.