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Forums > Tutorials / How To / Where To

Factory Unfinished Patches

Morbid_Welshman
Sun, 05/07/2020 - 11:08

I've recently bought quite a few patches from the 80's which left the factory unfinished, with no backing or border. They seem like they'd be quite fragile without these, and I intend to use most of them on jackets, so does anyone have experience in adding these? I have plenty of solid scraps of denim to use for backing, but have never attempted to make a border, anyone done this before?


Morbid_Welshman's picture

I thought the description was self-explanatory, but ok, I'll do that. By the way, how are they managing gigs in your homeland with the current ongoing crap?

MorticiA's picture

Ehh, I know there are sewing machines that can do this, and I'm sure some people wouldn't mind doing it for a fee.

But! A good way is to roll the edge over underneath and pin/sew it into place. I know there are a variety of glues out there to help prevent unraveling, but generally rolling it under making sure the needle goes through both layers should do fine. I'd add extra stitching just to be sure, and where the needle hasn't run through. So, in this case, the more smaller stitches you have the better.

Tom Kyle's picture

I had the same Idee, itโ€˜s the best way. I did it in the same way and it works.

Morbid_Welshman's picture

Cheers, I'll give that a try. Do you mean by machine or by hand? I have access to a sewing machine, but never tried it

MorticiA's picture

Technically both; if not one, then the other.

The machine will probably give better results, but before you try I'd check to see what the capabilities of your machine are by doing some research on the Model and Manufacturer. A lot of modern sewing machines have all kinds of built in gimmicks like stitch presets, but if you have just a standard one (no frills) you'll want to see some videos or tips online on how to apply a border with a machine with limited settings. Also, if your sewing machine feels really sturdy and not cheap/crappy, save it, even the sewing machine world has been hit by low quality garbage from top-end manufacturers (like Singer.) Also, before doing any sewing make sure you test it out first so you can get a hang of the nuances of the machine, try to use material similar to what you're trying to use or even just layered scraps. But, definitely see vids on how they operate and general trouble shooting (like needle-foot tension, feed-dogs, bobbin winding and such,) these will help you avoid fabric and stitch deformation due to too much tension or not enough.

As for doing it by hand, there's probably a lot of different methods and I recommend which method works best for you.

Morbid_Welshman's picture

Wow, you certainly seem to know your stuff! Thank you :)

MorticiA's picture

Noooo prob, glad to help.

frankie530's picture

Never made a border on one of these, but I have one of these on my vest that I sewed on and it looks fine, just make small stitches on the edges of the patch

Morbid_Welshman's picture

That's what I did with the WASP and ZZ Top patches on my blue jacket, and it looks fine, but that one has a much easier life than my main jacket, and not sure how well they'd survive on there

JohnHD's picture

I acquired some patches with unfinished edges also. I picked up a roll of iron-on backing, put it on the patch, put patch on vest then sewed it in place. No issues yet.

GoreGrinder666's picture

If you were to sew the edges by hand, the stich is called a Satin Stitch... Just make them really close together

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