Embroidered patches have a long and rich history, which dates back thousands of years to its origin of stitching decorative fabric on clothing. However, in recent years, there has been a huge rise in the popularity of these patches, especially since they can help people make a fashion statement, repair damaged clothes, or show off the opinions on specific cultural topics. In this article, you will be able to read about the process of making embroidered patches. Let’s take a closer look at the steps:
Step 01: The Patch Design and Art
Starting out with quality art will ensure that the manufacturing process is smooth. Some manufacturing companies might offer a free patch design service if their customer needs it. Most of the art received by the companies is rough and it needs to be modified in order for it to look good when embroidered.
Step 02: Digitizing
Skilled experts will use the latest digitizing program to put the finalized art into a form that can be read by an embroidery machine. It is the skill of the digitizing professional that will determine the quality and the look of the embroidered patch.
Step 03: A Sample
Before the company starts mass production, a sample will be sewn out, scanned, and sent to the customer for approval. Once approved by the customer, the manufacturer can go on to the next step which is the embroidery process. Also, various companies specialize in creating customized embroidered patches such as customembroideredpatches.com, that offer a wide range of customizing options.
Step 04: Embroidery
The embroidery process is done on several, modern machines on sheets of twill material. This process can take some time, and will mostly depend on the design and size of the patches.
Step 05: The Backing
After the embroidery process is done, the uncut materials are put through a machine that uses pressure and heat to bond the PVC backing to the fabric used. While PVC is the most common backing, there are other available backings available like heat seal, hook side backing, as well as sticky backings.
Step 06: Quality Checking
After the backing is applied to the patches, the embroidery work is each inspected. If there are any loose threads, they will be trimmed and if any patch has defects, it will be rejected by the person inspecting the patches.
Step 07: Cutting Process
The unfinished patches will be cut from the material either manually or with a laser or heat cutting machine. If needed merrowed borders are applied to the patch by hand with a specific merrowing machine. Companies can also choose to apply satin stitch borders that are embroidered into the patch. After the embroidery, the borders will be cut to the design shape with a laser cutting machine or a special hot knife.
Step 08: Packaging
The packaging will vary from company to company, but, once the previous steps are completed, the company will pack the patches, and send it to the customer.
Conclusion
These seven steps are the process of manufacturing embroidered patches. Keep in mind that they are highly customizable, they can help you with creating your fashion statement, as well as improving the look of any outfit that you wear.
