Hello In Stitches Family! This week let’s talk about another favorite of Mike’s – PATCHES! Patches are one of the reasons we started our business. Our name is In Stitches and Patch, LLC after all!
It’s true! Patches are one of the reasons we started our company! Mike was in the Air Force for many years and he received a lot of patches. Some of them had amazing artwork but poor workmanship. When we started talking about what we wanted our business to be, Mike wanted to be able to supply quality patches to our customers. It’s taken some time to learn what we needed to know and get the right equipment but now we can offer you, our customer, patches that live up to our standards!
We make full embroidery patches, embroidered patches using background fabric (which is the most popular and economical choice), raw edge patches, dye sublimated patches, and leather patches! Let’s take a look at some of our favorites!
Dye Sublimated patches have the added bonus of having a lot of detail that you lose in the embroidered ones.
Embroidered patches on a background fabric are by far the most popular type of patch we sell. They are good looking patches that don’t cost as much as the full embroidered types do because they don’t take as long to create!
As we’ve said, Mike’s newest toy is the laser that enables us to etch leather and that makes some pretty cool patches too!
We also carry special leather that when it is etched, it shows different colors.
Patches work great on jackets, hats, bags and work shirts. The only products we don’t sew patches onto are biker leathers.
How do we create a patch? It all starts with the artwork. That could be your logo or a design you like.
Then we look at what the best technique would be for the patch you want. Do you want a patch that is an unusual shape? We have a laser cutter that we use to cut those out!
Next we do the dye sublimation or embroidery or laser etching.
If you want the edge merrowed, we use this machine to do that:
What is merrowing? Merrowing the patch is adding that nice edge to it. (The yellow stitching in the picture above) We can only do this with patches that don’t have a lot of points since the machine doesn’t turn corners well. Merrowing makes a nice finished edge to the patch.
Now it’s time to apply the backing for the patch. This could be a sealer, both sticky and not sticky, or velcro. (Often the aircrew patches we make are velcro backed so they can be taken off and put onto a new uniform.)
Finally, if you want us to, we’ll attach the patch to whatever you’re looking to have it attached to, unless that’s biker leathers. They are just too thick for our machines!
Thanks for sticking around and learning a bit more about patches today! We are looking forward to expanding our patch business this year so let us know if you have something in mind!
Have a great week!
Mike and Wendy
In Stitches Embroidery and Patch, LLC