Starting a patch jacket!

[UglyMonsterFace]

So I bought a cheap cargo jacket for the purpose of putting patches all over it that represent all the things I love. But I've never done this before, so I have some questions and I'm hoping someone out there has experience with this and can help me out!

1. Is it better to iron or sew the patches? I'm considering longevity here. I want the jacket to last me a very long time and for the patches to stay on with minimal to no upkeep.

2. Is it better to go to a tailor, or attach the patches myself? I'm paranoid that a tailor who is inexperienced with patches will either ruin the patch or the jacket.. but then I don't know how to sew, nor do i have an iron. Lol

3. Where can I get really cool patches? Maybe even custom ones?

Any other advice would be soo helpful! Thanks in advance!

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

Anyone?

 

[Buttonsy]

Oooh, cool! I've never done something like that before, closest was I had a jacket that used to have a pin collection on it. Maybe I should consider having a patch jacket one of these days!

I don't know about the longevity of ironing VS. sewing, but as for the other two questions: I'd recommend looking up a basic sewing tutorial on YouTube and then doing a test yourself (get some cheap scrap fabric and a cheap patch just to try it out), learning to sew might sound daunting but hand sewing a patch onto a jacket sounds like a pretty basic sewing skill and I think it'd be a lot easier to learn to do it than you think.

As for custom patches, have you tried Etsy?

 

[Alienfish]

I'd recommend to actually sew them on if possible, the glue on the iron-on ones can come off easy if it's not that good quality. As for buying them, try specific stores/sites for what you want eg. music, politics etc. and they could have them in store. Good luck!

 

[Warrior]

If this is an ongoing project, I would recommend learning to sew. After all, to attach hundreds of patches would be expensive at a tailor.

 

[Stella-Io]

What others have said, sewing would be better. Iron on items tend to fall off eventually, either with just age or washing. I feel like sewing a patch on will be pretty basic, it shouldn't be too hard.

As for patches, I find them while I'm on vacation and at craft stores. Craft stores probably have all you need; a needle, push pin pillow, threads, storage boxes, ect... Etsy is also a pretty great place to find patches, there's lots of amazing artist there.

What someone else said about practice cloth, I know Hobby Lobby has a little fabric bundle for test prep, sewing fabric on fabric and testing stitches. I think it cost like 10$, came with like 6 or 7 good size prices of fabric of assorted colours, AND yoy can use a 40% coupon provided by the site if they fabric itself isn't on sale in store for 50% (if they do have a sale on fabric items).

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

Thanks guys! I've decided to sew them on! I've been checking Etsy but there aren't too many options for the patches I want but I'm sure I'll find some cool ones! ^_^