Iron-On Embroidery Patch

This is one of my first attempts at making patches like this and had so much fun throughout the process! NOTE: I focused on assembling the patch rather than the embroidery itself in this instructable

Embroidery Hoop

Embroidery Floss

Scissors Needle

Fabric Adhesive backing like Heat n’ Bond

Stabilizer Paper

Place stabilizer paper and fabric into the hoop to make sure it fits. Trace the hoop outline to know the workspace borders.

Get your image and trace it onto the stabilizer paper. Place fabric and stabilizer paper into hoop and note that you will be embroidering the mirror image of what you see on the stabilizer paper.

Embroider your image. I recommend having no empty spots (the blue) for a more finalized look and all-around same thickness. The butterfly pictured is mostly filled in and could also work well, however the beetle would not be considered "filled in" because of its legs and antennae.

Cut out the patch. I recommend cutting or tearing some of the outside/excess stabilizer and cutting out a rectangle leaving a thin border of fabric all around it as pictured.

Cut out the heat n’ bond the same shape. Iron on according to instructions, mine was iron with no steam and a buffer fabric, paper side up. Peel off the paper backing. WARNING: adhesive will get on the ironing board if there’s exposed heat n’ bond.

I decided to add an embroidered border onto mine at this point for security. I used a whip stitch all around (covering the starting tail) and ended it by weaving extra thread under stitches (pictured).

Alternatively, if you don’t have thin, protruding embroidery (like the legs of the beetle) and it is mostly solid (like the butterfly and bee WITH the blue background), no border could also work.

The final step is ironing on the patch to the desired material. I found that using steam and a buffer fabric helped, but it might be more helpful to also follow your adhesive’s instructions.

About the Creator:

Hi! My name is Coralie and I am a student assistant at EXLAB Atlanta. I love to do projects where I make something and include a more artistic element whether it be embroidering a shirt I modified or recreating a board game with my own artistic twist.