How to Embroider Your Own Clothes Patch | DIY Jeans Patch

I’ve always loved the look of embroidered patches – there’s a kind of old school charm about them – so I decided I’d try and make my own from scratch. I like bold eye-catching designs, so I chose a 3D effect geometric shape.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to transfer the embroidery design, how to embroider it using satin stitch, and then how to sew it onto your jeans (or other clothing). It’s a straightforward design to embroider, so is good for beginners, but if you’re an embroidery pro you can create something far more advanced!

I hope you enjoy this project :)

Supplies

Embroidery Floss; I use a few shades of purple, plus a blue that matched my jeans the best.
Woven Fabric – I used calico, but linen, cotton or similar would work as long as it’s not too flimsy. If you're going to be washing the item you're adding the patch too, pre-wash this fabric first.
Embroidery Hoop
Disappearing or 'Magic' Fabric pen
Scissors
Ruler
Drawing Materials/Computer & Printer
Embroidery Needle; I used a relatively fine/sharp embroidery needle because I'm using more tightly woven fabric rather than something like Aida fabric.
Hand Sewing Needle & Thread
Lightbox (or Window) or Supplies For A Different Transfer Method
Clothing To Apply The Patch To
Sewing Pins

Step 1: Transfer the Image

The first step is to transfer the image outline onto your woven fabric. If your fabric is light enough, you'll be able to do this using a lightbox (or window). Otherwise, you may need to use transfer paper or another transfer technique.

You can create your own design like I did, or you can use mine (which you'll find in the images above), or find something elsewhere online.

To use a lightbox, you simply plug it in, put the printed-out design on top, then the woven fabric right-side-up on top of that, and use a disappearing or 'magic' fabric pen to trace over the outline.

Note that I had the full-colour image to hand throughout the process so that I could see where I needed to add each colour.

Step 2: Begin the Embroidery

Separate the rings of the embroidery hoop, place the fabric over the central ring, push the outer ring down on top, and tighten the screw. Make sure the image is centred and the fabric is held taut.

Begin by referring to the full-colour image to know where you need to use each colour of thread.

I started with the lightest colour, so I began by drawing a squiggly line in every area I had to add that colour. This just makes it easier for you to not put the wrong colour in the wrong place.

It's also a good idea to mark the angle at which you want your thread strands to lie within the design. My image is very geometric and has a 3D effect, so it's important that I get the angles correct to achieve that effect. I aimed to have the strands lie within the appropriate plane and be angled towards the centre of the shape.

Then cut an arm's length of thread (or less) from your skein. Split the thread in half so you have 2 lengths - each consisting of 3 individual strands.

Feed one length of 3 strands into your embroidery needle and secure the thread to the back of your fabric. I just do this by making a knot at the end of my thread before I start to embroider.

Bring the needle up through the fabric on the outline where you would like to begin. Then go back down through the outline on the opposite side of the area you want to cover. Then repeat this over and over, always keeping an eye on how you want to angle these threads. This is called satin stitch.

Step 3: Finishing With a Thread

Once you come to the end of a strand of thread, make sure you secure it.

I do this by taking the needle under the back of a few nearby strands, pulling the thread until there's just a small loop remaining, taking the needle through that loop once or twice, then pulling tight. I usually repeat this again to make sure.

Then just begin embroidering with a new piece of thread, as before.

Step 4: Completing the Colours

Continue embroidering with satin stitch, one colour at a time, marking out where you need to add the colour first, as well as marking the angles you need to add the thread strands in.

Make sure the fabric stays taut throughout; you may need to tighten it occasionally.

Step 5: Filling in the Gaps

To maintain the effect of a cube framework design, I filled the gaps between the purple areas with a shade of embroidery floss as close to my jeans colour as possible.

Note that I do this using satin stitch again, and I lined up the strands in straight lines following the planes at the back and bottom of the shape i.e. vertical at the back, more horizontal at the bottom.

If you want to add a border in this same colour (or in a different contrast colour), feel free to do that now. Many traditional patches have an band of colour around the outside to make it 'pop' more. I didn't want to do this because I wanted the effect of the patch to look more integrated into the jeans, and I thought having a border would distract from the 3D effect I wanted.

Step 6: Sewing the Patch Onto Your Clothes

Remove the patch from the hoop and cut off excess fabric around the outside, leaving a border of around 1 cm.

Fold this border to the back, and use a hand sewing needle and thread to sew the edges down onto the back of the patch. Make sure you only do stitches on the back and don't come through to the front.

I used whip stitch to do this.

The aim is to try and hide all of the fabric behind the patch.

Once you've done that, you can attach the patch to your clothing. I initially tried to use fusible web and an iron to 'stick' the patch on first, but I think the patch must be too thick for that to work. So I just kept it in position with sewing pins instead :)

Once you are happy with the position, use invisible stitch (also called the ladder stitch) to attach the patch to the jeans. When you stitch into the jeans, try and do this as close to the patch edge as possible, and when you stitch into the patch, try and overlap with the embroidery very slightly; this will help to ensure the fabric edges of the patch are hidden from view; you don't want a gap between the embroidery and the jeans.

There was one small area I didn't quite manage to hide the edge of fabric, but I'm still very pleased with the result. I think it's effective, if I do say so myself!