Embroidery & sewing
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- How To Sew A Patch On A Backpack: A Comprehensive Tutorial for Beginners
- Best Commercial Embroidery Machines
- How To Start An Embroidery Business [Our How To Guide]
- A Guide to Creating Your Own Custom Patches: In 6 Simple Steps
- A Guide to Easily Sewing a Patch onto a Hat for a Customized Look
- How To Remove Embroidery With Backing: [8 Must Use Tools]
Backpacks are a fantastic place to exhibit your favorite patches with whichever outfit you decide to model that day. It doesn’t matter if you bought your patch or made it yourself.
You can transform your worn out backpack into a trendy accessory by reading this patch-sewing tutorial. Learn to accessorise or fix your backpack and make it look like new again!
Post 1 of 6 in the Embroidery & sewing
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Depending on the patch type, there are various ways of attaching it. You can either iron glue your patches or sew them on.
For hand sewn patches, you will need the following items and tools:
- A sewing needle or a sewing machine
- A thimble (optional),
- Safety pins
- Scissors
- A clothing iron
- A press cloth
This is a more time-consuming option. But for old school lovers, this is a fun way to beautify their backpack.
Design or buy a patch
Many stores and online shops offer patches. If you happen not to like any of them, you can design one yourself. You can even order custom patches without the trouble of making one yourself. After all, it is all up to you and your creativity.
However, if you wish to design your custom patch, remember to select the proper patch type.
Choose a spot for your patch
Decide where you want to sew your patch. We recommend avoiding areas with seams because of their thickness. This is because you’ll have trouble stitching through them. Nonetheless, it isn’t impossible, so go for it if this is your wish.
Examine the type of your patch
Determine whether the patch’s backing can be heat-activated. A patch doesn’t need adhesive to be sewn on. But why not improve the strength by combining the adhesive with stitches?
Prepare your backpack
Wash and dry the backpack. Spread it on a flat, hard surface, such as a table.
Also, this is a perfect time to put your sticker on the previously chosen spot on the backpack to make sure this is the place you want to sew it on.
Cover the patch area
Use cotton fabric to cover the area where you intend to sew your patch.
Iron the cotton fabric
Preheating your iron to a cotton setting. Press the iron on the fabric and heat up the backpack fabric.
Place the patch on a backpack
Remove the cotton cloth and place your patch on the heated backpack material.
Drape and iron the patch
Overlay the previously heated cotton material over the patch.
Push directly on the patch using a scorching iron for about 1 minute.
Remove the iron
Raise the iron to check if the patch stuck thoroughly on the backpack.
If it is loose, cover it with a cotton fabric and iron that area again.
How To Sew A Patch On A Backpack By Hand
This is the most time-consuming, but most original way for sewing on a patch. So we are going to explain how you should do it in this step-by-step guide.
Pin your patch
After choosing your sticker and preparing the backpack, secure the patch using one or more fabric pins. Stick the pin through the patch and the backpack material and back through both again so that you can see the head of the needle and its point on the other end.
Although most patches have glue on the back, you can always move it when using the safety pins, making this a much safer option.
Choose the thread color
There are no rules when it comes to the color of the thread. You can pick the matching or contrasting color, depending on your liking. You can even choose the same color or use a different shade, it’s entirely up to you.
Prepare the threaded needle
Take one end of the thread, stick it through the eye of the needle and pull it to two even thread tails (the length of the tails depends on the size of the patch).
Take the thread tails and put them towards the back of the needle, and grab the connection spot with your thumb (you should basically make a circle of thread).
Take a thread, wrap it around the needle four times and pull it under your thumb. Hold the needle and drag your finger to the end of the thread – now you’ll have a knot at the end of the thread.
You can cut everything on the other side of the knot, so you wont have to do it in the end.
Sew your patch on a backpack
We highly recommend using a thimble when hand sewing as a matter of safety!
To start sewing, take the point of the needle and put it on the inside part of the backpack. You will have to gauge where your patch is on the front to push through the other side. Stitch back to the inner side, and so on, until you have sewed the entire patch.
This is essentially called a running stitch.
Try making a straight stitch along the patch border, if you can – we recommend sewing through the inner edge of the patch. A great thing about hand sewing is that you can always pull the needle out and get the right position for your stitch.
Make a simple overhand loop
When you have covered the entire edge of the patch and made sure that the patch stays sewed onto a backpack, go ahead and flip it to the inside of your bag – you should see the outline of your patch.
Make an overhand loop at the end of your stitch in a few steps:
Leave a small noose on the inside of the bag;
Get the needle through the loop from the outside of the bag;
Pull tight;
Repeat the process 3 to 4 times.
Final touch
Cut the rest of the thread.
Now you are done hand sewing your patch on a backpack!
How To Sew A Patch On A Backpack Using A Sewing Machine
If you happen to have a sewing machine at home and don’t want to glue your sticker, say hooray! In the next part of this step-by-step guide, we explain how to sew a patch on a backpack using a sewing machine.
Pin your patch on a backpack
Place your patch on the desired location on your backpack and secure it using fabric pins. You want to pin the patch to one layer of the backpack.
Leave the head of the pin to the right, so you can pull them out easily while sewing.
Setup your sewing machine
You will want to use a zig-zag over a straight stitch when sewing a patch. This way will secure your patch in place.
Make sure to adjust the width of the stitches so that they are not too wide for your patch size.
Make sure you are using a B foot when machine sewing.
Start sewing
Now that you have your stitch set and your B foot on, you are ready so sew.
Before making the first stitch, you should put your presser foot down.
Use a foot pedal to sew your patch.
Adjust your stitches
If you feel like you have to adjust the direction of your stitches, make sure that the needle is still in the backpack fabric when you move.
This will probably make your patch pop somewhere, so make sure you are still stitching through only one layer of the bag.
Stay close to the edge of the patch as much as you can – it is much easier to sew on a patch that has a straight edge, but anything can be done if you invest your time and energy a bit.
Make a back stitch
When you have finished sewing, make sure to make a back stitch – this way your patch will be strongly attached and without loose ends.
Trim excess thread
Most modern sewing machines have a cut option/button, but if yours doesn’t have one, there is a simple way to trim excess thread. Simply put your presser foot to its highest position, pull the thread and cut it off whit a pair of scissors or a cutter.
How To Iron On A Patch To A Backpack
Clearly this method doesn’t entail any form of sewing, but we thought it is worth a mention, as not everyone can hand sew or use a sewing machine.
You can tell if the patch is iron on by examining the back. If there’s a layer of coating, that’s the adhesive that is heat sensitive which causes it to go stick once heat is applied.
Consider the material of the patch and the backpack, because materials such as nylon easily melts. Have your iron on too high and you risk ruining either you patch or backpack (or both).
This video demonstrates how easy it is to iron on patches. Although it doesn’t shows the process being done on a backpack, the process is exactly the same!
Watch this video: How To Fix Patches On Without Sewing [05 mins 57 secs]
Remember though, relying only on adhesive means the patch will eventaully fall off due to the flexing of the fabric. A solution is to sew it on after it’s stuck in place. Not only will this give it added strength, but the patch will not move around while the sewing process is taking place (either by hand or machine).
Expanded Responses to Frequently Requested Questions
How can you attach a patch on a backpack?
There are 3 options: You either glue your patch onto a backpack or sew it using thread and needle or a sewing machine. The choice is all yours!
What stitch is best for patches?
Depending on how you plan to attach your patch onto a backpack, you can use two types of stitches.
If you go with hand sewing your patch, you should probably use a straight stitch because it will be easier for you to sew. On the other hand, if you want to machine sew your patch, you should go ahead and make it more secure with a zig-zag stitch.
It is important to keep your stitch close to the edge of your patch, no matter the sewing option.
Where should you sew patches?
It doesn’t really matter where you should sew patches onto a backpack. You can put them on the inside of your bag; you should only be careful and don’t make your loop visible on the outside. You can easily avoid this if you hand sew a patch onto a backpack because it’s much easier to control the backpack and patch movement while working.
Should you put a patch on a new backpack?
If you don’t like your new bag because it is too plain, you can always make a couple of stitches and attach some cool patch onto it. We don’t recommend gluing anything on a new backpack because you can’t take it off later; You can always cut the stitches off without anyone noticing!
What to do if the patch is too thick?
If you have a problem hand sewing your patch because it’s too thick, you can ether glue it on a backpack or use a machine to sew it on; If there is no glue on the back of the patch, and you don’t have a machine at home, try reaching someone who possesses one, or going to the tailor to ask for help. Try not to waste your time trying to hand sew the thick patch onto a bag, because you will have trouble to push the needle through both the material and the sticker.
Selecting The Right Method For You
Having various ways of attaching a patch to a backpack is handy. It gives you a choice of discovering which manner suits you best.
Using a sewing machine will create a more refined and tidy finish, not to mention being able to complete the job quicker. Sewing machines are great for saving time and therefore perfect for larger jobs. However, not everyone knows how to use them, which is why some people opt for the hand sewing option.
On the other hand, iron on patches are the quickest of methods for adding patches, but they do not last as long and come loose sooner than the two sewing on methods mentioned on this article.
I would even go as far as to say to try all three methods (if you can). Pick what suits your requirement so you can give your backpack a fresh new look and personalize it to your own unique style!