{"title":"How to Make an Embroidered Patch by Hand","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/embroidery/how-to-make-an-embroidered-patch","category":{"slug":"embroidery","name":"Embroidery"},"creator":{"name":"Shmoxd","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7P8EmfKuInuyvWH51YXwTQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLEAnjtx8jQ"},"tldr":"Learn how to make an embroidered patch by hand: trace a design, fill it with floss, add iron-on backing and stitch a clean satin border.","quickAnswer":"Learn how to make an embroidered patch by hand: trace a design, fill it with floss, add iron-on backing and stitch a clean satin border. A medium project. You need 10 things, including six strand embroidery floss, cotton or twill fabric and tear-away stabilizer. The 10 steps start with trace the Patch Design Onto Tear-Away Embroidery Backing, hoop the Fabric and Backing for the Embroidered Patch, fill the Patch With Yellow Straight Stitches and add the Second Color to the Embroidered Patch.","totalDurationSeconds":346,"videoDurationSeconds":346,"difficulty":"medium","project":{"difficulty":"medium","projectMinutes":null,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":null,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["embroidery hoop","embroidery needle","small sharp scissors","iron","pen"],"materials":["six strand embroidery floss","cotton or twill fabric","tear-away stabilizer","iron-on adhesive (HeatnBond)","fray stop glue"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Trace the Patch Design Onto Tear-Away Embroidery Backing","text":"Gather your tear-away backing, a piece of cotton fabric, your drawing, a hoop and floss. Lay the drawing under the backing and trace it with a pen. Shmoxd wanted the design reversed, so the backing gets flipped over before the cloth goes on top. Think about which way your patch should face once it is finished before you trace."},{"number":2,"title":"Hoop the Fabric and Backing for the Embroidered Patch","text":"Put the smaller inner ring under the fabric and backing. Loosen the screw on the outer ring until it slips over everything, then press it down. Pull on the edges of the cloth all the way around until it is tight like a drum, and tighten the screw. A tight hoop keeps the stitches even and stops the patch from puckering."},{"number":3,"title":"Fill the Patch With Yellow Straight Stitches","text":"Start with the color that covers the most area. Tie a knot at the end of the floss and come up from the back. Lay long horizontal stitches line by line, starting at the top and working down. Come up on one side and go down on the other. Trim the tail of the first stitch on the back so it does not snag. A phone light under the hoop shows the lines."},{"number":4,"title":"Add the Second Color to the Embroidered Patch","text":"When the first color runs out or is done, tie it off on the back and cut the extra. Start the next color the same way, with a knot and up from the back. Shmoxd adds red circles for the pepperoni, layering the stitches on top to bottom. The crust switches to vertical stitches so it looks different from the cheese."},{"number":5,"title":"Stitch the Black Detail Lines on the Patch","text":"Once every color is filled in, add the detail lines in black. Start like any other color. Come up from the back a little ahead of where you want the line to end. Then go down through the front where the line starts. Repeat over and over, so each stitch overlaps the last, until all the drips and edges of the design are drawn in."},{"number":6,"title":"Remove the Embroidery Hoop and Tear Away the Backing","text":"Loosen the screw and take the patch out of the hoop. Gently tear the stabilizer away from around the stitching. Shmoxd notes his mistake here: he cut the patch out too early. It is easier to leave the fabric whole for now, add the iron-on adhesive to the back, and cut the patch out after that. It still works either way."},{"number":7,"title":"Iron Heat Bond Onto the Back of the Embroidered Patch","text":"Cut a piece of heat bond roughly the size of your patch. It has a rough side and a smooth paper side. Place the rough side against the back of the patch. Lay a scrap of cloth over the front to protect the floss and the iron. Press firmly, getting into all the creases, and iron both the front and the back."},{"number":8,"title":"Cut Out the Embroidered Patch Close to the Stitching","text":"With the adhesive on, cut the patch out of the fabric. Get close, but leave about an eighth of an inch of cloth all the way around the stitching. That little margin is what the border stitches wrap over. Then peel the paper backing off the heat bond so the glue side is ready to iron onto a jacket later."},{"number":9,"title":"Seal the Patch Edge With Fray Stop Glue","text":"Add a thin line of fray stop glue around the whole outer edge of the patch. Shmoxd uses a bottle with a fine tip and runs a small dab along every side. This keeps the cut cloth from unravelling while you stitch the border. Let it dry fully before the last step."},{"number":10,"title":"Wrap the Patch Edge in a Satin Stitch Border","text":"Come up from the back near the edge. Instead of going around and up from the back again, make the next stitch from the top going down, so the floss wraps over the edge. Stitch over the starting tail to hide it. Work all the way around, side by side and very close, so no cloth shows. Tie off with a square knot, trim, and iron it on."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-11-10T14:43:44.662Z","published":"2026-11-10T14:43:44.440Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}