How to Make Patches With Cloth and Acrylic Paint

Painted patches can spruce up old or worn out clothing or be a form of self-expression. Here is a fast and fun way to make painted cloth patches.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cloth or patch material
• Paint
• Stencil brushes
• Stencils
• Masking tape
• Scissors
• Tracing paper (optional)
• Marker (optional)
• Craft knife (optional)
• Construction paper (optional)
• Sewing kit or iron

1. Go shopping. Buy various types of cloth in a variety of colors and permanent paints. If you do not want to sew on your patches in the final step, buy colored heat-activated iron-on patch material.

2. Choose a stencil or stencil design. If you are designing your own stencil, printing one off of the Internet or printing a non-stencil design, make certain that your choice can be easily transferred directly to your patch cloth or to construction paper to create a stencil.

3. Cut your cloth to your desired patch size and shape. If you are covering a hole with your patch, make certain to cut the cloth approximately 1/2 inch larger than the hole.

4. Tape your stencil flat against your cloth (if you did not buy a stencil in Step 2, go to Step 5 and then return to Step 4 once your stencil is complete). Load your stencil brush with paint, brush it around on a paper towel or cloth until most of the paint comes off and then lightly swipe the brush or twist it in a light circular fashion over the stencil design area. Repeat until you've achieved your desired color density.

5. Print out several copies of your printed stencil design. Practice cutting the design from the printer paper to confirm how the final stencil will look (i.e. be sure that outlines aren't too thin and that all inside stencil pieces are connected and will not break). Once you're certain of the stencil's appearance, place tracing paper between a copy of the design and heavyweight construction paper, trace over every line of the image, remove the design sheet, go back over the traced image with your marker until the lines are clearly defined and then cut out the stencil with your craft knife.

6. Transfer your design directly to cloth if you have chosen not to use a stencil. You can do this by using the tracing method described in Step 5. Once your design is on the patch, paint the design as you see fit.

7. Sew or iron on your patch. If sewing on your patch, use your preferred stitch method. If ironing on your patch, wait a week to allow the paint to dry. Then place wax paper or an old cloth between the painted surface and your iron before heat sealing to clothing or other items. Cloth and acrylic paints can transfer when heated.

Tips & Warnings

• Always allow your painted patches to dry for at least a week before washing and never wash patched items in a washing machine. Paint can and will detach in the wash (moreso in a washing machine) as thicker paint hardens on cloth to a point that it can crack. Also, do not dry clean any painted patch items as chemicals can fade or crack cloth and acrylic paints.