100% Embroidered
Patches
Start Your Free Patch Design
Send your Ideas
Sketch it, upload it, or tell us about it!
Receive your Proof
We'll turn your idea into a patch design!
Approve your Design
Revise until everything looks right!
Stitched across the whole face
On a 100% embroidered patch, thread covers the whole twill backing, or very nearly all of it. The thread also fills the background, so you pick its color along with the design. Full coverage keeps small lettering readable, even in a design with many thread colors. The stitching stands raised from the fabric, so the patch feels thick when you hold it. Where a design should leave some twill showing, 75% embroidered patches cover less of the backing.
When a satellite program opens a new mission, the crew orders embroidery patches named for that flight and wears them on the sleeve straight through launch day. An Air Force squadron and a Civil Air Patrol wing wear fully embroidered patches so the unit is clear before anyone asks. At a fire station the patch sits on the shoulder for every shift, and a rugby club can put one on every jacket in the league.
Choosing the edge and the backing
The edge is the border around the face, and it changes how the patch sews and how the outline reads. A merrow edge is a thick, rolled thread border that makes a patch easy to sew onto clothing, so it is the edge for a patch that will be sewn on. A hot cut edge is a thin edge that can follow a custom shape, which suits artwork whose outline is part of the design. Metallic thread, neon thread, and glow in the dark thread are the thread upgrades, and each can be stitched into the face.
The way a 100% embroidered patch will be worn decides the backing that should hold it where it goes.
- No backing: Sewing attaches the patch to a uniform or jacket that should carry it as part of the garment.
- Hook and loop: You press the patch on and lift it off to move it from one garment to another.
- Iron on: Heat from an iron sets the patch onto the cloth of a jacket you will press in place and leave.
- Safety pin: During a visit or a game, a pin holds the patch for the day and releases it after.
- Peel and stick: On a bag or a case you will carry, adhesive holds the patch at the spot where you press it.
Sizes and timing
Sizes run from two to seven inches, with a custom size available, and the garment should set the choice. A two-inch custom embroidered patch suits a hat or a sleeve, three inches is the everyday size on uniforms and jackets, and four or five inches suits a jacket back. The minimum order is 100 patches, and the pricing page shows the price at each size and quantity. Production takes 3-4 weeks after the artwork is approved, plus about 2 business days in transit, with free shipping to US addresses.
See why customers choose All About Patches
We get pins every year for marching band members. This year it was my job to get the pins done. All About Pins …
Read More from Brian Stott on Google
Very easy to set up. Communication is awesome. Very quick production and shipping
Read More from Dalonte Simpson on Google
The team at All About Challenge Coins are nothing short of amazing! They worked with me through numerous …
Read More from Bryce Slaughter on Google
Unit and
mission patches
A unit or a squadron wears a 100% embroidered patch on the uniform with the group’s name on it. Space and aviation programs mark a mission with the patch, and every person on that crew keeps it on for the assignment. A person who joins the crew later wears the patch the rest of the group already has on.
Department
shoulder patches
On the shoulder, the patch carries a fire or EMS department’s name where other crews can read it during a shift. Medical crews at a hospital wear the patch in that same spot on the uniform they take to a call.
Team and
club patches
Match day puts the patch on the jacket or the kit, and the club name shows when rugby or soccer players line up with the team. Those clubs leave the patch on that gear through the matches of the season.
Ready to create your Patches?
We've got answers
These answers cover the practical questions people ask about embroidered patches, from how much of the twill is stitched to when an order arrives.
100% embroidered patches are embroidery patches whose stitch fills the face, background included, so the twill barely shows. You pick the thread color for that whole field. Small lettering stays sharp because the whole design is stitched.
The two differ in how much of the twill backing the stitching covers. 100% embroidered patches stitch the whole face, while 75% embroidered patches leave part of the twill in view. On the 75% version that visible backing can be the background color, and on the 100% version thread supplies that field.
Custom embroidered patches can be made with no backing, hook and loop, iron on, safety pin, or peel and stick. No backing suits sewing the patch onto a uniform or jacket. Hook and loop suits moving a patch between garments, since it presses on and lifts off.
A custom embroidered patch should measure two to seven inches, or a custom size, matched to the spot where it will be worn. A hat or a sleeve calls for two inches. Three inches fits daily wear on a uniform or jacket, and a jacket back has room for four or five inches.
The minimum order for custom embroidered patches is 100 patches. A 100-patch order covers a whole group and leaves spares for new members.
Custom embroidered patches take 3-4 weeks once the artwork is approved, and transit adds about 2 business days. Shipping to US addresses is free.