How to Make Patches With an Embroidery Machine

Creating really clean, slick embroidered patches almost requires professional equipment. Quality base cloth, fusing and laser cutting equipment are key concerns for professional machine-embroidered patches, but it's an expensive proposition if you only want to create a few patches for special projects or occasions. There are much more economical options using your home equipment with simple steps and preparation.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Embroidery machine Embroidery pattern Thread Stabilizer Base fabric or patch blanks

1. 

   First decide if you want to use a machine embroidable blank patch or your own base cloth.
   Blank patches can simply be attached to adhesive stabilizer for machine embroidering the central image. Since the blanks are pre-cut with an appliqué border, no specialty cutting is required.
   Using your own base cloth works very much like embroidering any normal material, but you'll want to stitch an appliqué border around your central image, and you'll have to be very careful cutting away excess material beyond the border. If a rustic/primitive edge fits your design and purpose for the patch, a bit of excess material around the border can actually work. If the correct colors are used, some camouflage may allow for some excess material as well. For a truly clean cut around patch borders, laser cuts are best; some online patch companies do provide laser-cutting services for home-embroidered patches.

2. 

   Cut "tear away" adhesive backing material/stabilizer for your hoop size. For simplicity in hooping and for patch blanks, self-adhesive tear away backing/stabilizer is highly recommended. By using self-adhesive stabilizer, you can hoop the stabilizer without having to hoop the base cloth.

3. 

   Hoop the stabilizer and peel away the adhesive paper.

4. 

   Place the fabric or patch blank on the hoop and press to the adhesive stabilizer. Make sure to use the marks on your hoop to center your patch. This is especially critical for alignment when using patch blanks. Pin the fabric or patch blank to the stabilizer to further secure the position.

5. 

   Raise the presser foot on the machine and place the hoop into position.

6. 

   Select your embroidery image; lower the presser foot and allow the hoop to center to position on the machine. Press the "Go" button to begin stitching.

7. 

   When the pattern is complete, lift the presser foot, exit the pattern, move the hoop position out and remove the hoop from the machine. If the machine doesn't do this automatically, you may need to cut the thread from the needle.

8. 

   With the hoop removed, trim strings as needed and remove pins. Remove the hoop from the adhesive backing material/stabilizer, and remove the backing material from the fabric or patch blank.

9. 

   If you used your own base cloth, send your patches out to be laser cut or use good quality scissors to cut the machine embroidered patch from the fabric taking special care not to cut the thread/stitches. Once cut, you may choose to use your fingers or a foam tip to apply fabric glue to prevent unraveling.

References

• Blank Patch Company
• CDClocks & Other Unique & Custom Gifts

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Blank Patch Company
• Beacon Fabric - Blank Patches for Embroidery
• Allstitch -- Machine Embroidery Blanks
• Brother Home Sewing Machines and Embroidery Machines
• Sulky Stabilizers