How do you make embroidered patches and appliqué on an embroidery machine?

What is the difference between a patch and an appliqué?

A patch (badge, emblem) is a separate piece: you embroider it on a base, cut it out and deliver it loose for the customer to sew, iron or velcro on. It is the format of team crests, company emblems, scouts, motorcycle clubs and backpack patch collections. The business advantage is big: you stitch in batches, never handle the customer's garment, and can ship by mail.

Appliqué is a piece of fabric held to the garment by the embroidery. Instead of filling a 3 × 3" area with 20,000 tatami stitches, you lay a printed or solid fabric down and stitch only the border. The result is lighter, softer and faster to produce, which is why it dominates baby items, kids' tees and blankets.

Both rely on the same design element: a satin border that covers the transition between fabric and base. In Meus Bordados it lives under Object properties → Outlines, as Satin border, Zigzag border and E-stitch border. See stitch types and settings.

How do you make an embroidered patch, step by step?

Materials

• Base: firm felt (2 to 3 mm), twill or canvas over two layers of tear-away, or patch twill with a heat-seal back.
• Stabilizer: medium tear-away (two layers) or heavy fibrous wash-away if you want nothing left on the back.
• Thread: 40 wt polyester with a 75/11 or 80/12 needle.
• Heat-seal film (double-sided fusible) for the back, if the patch will be ironed on.
• Sharp curved scissors or appliqué scissors.

Steps

1. Digitize the file in three layers, in this order: (1) a running stitch on the exact patch outline, as a guide; (2) the inner design (lettering, logo, fills); (3) the satin border, 2.5 to 3 mm wide, over the outline, closing the patch. How to build shapes is in drawing tools.
2. Hoop the base with stabilizer underneath. To make several patches per hooping, duplicate the design in the editor and spread the copies across the field, 1/2" apart.
3. Stitch the guide outline and the inner design. Stop before the border, if your machine can stop by color (make the border the last color in the file).
4. Trim the base 1 mm outside the guide line without unhooping. This is the trick: the satin border will cover the cut edge, and the patch comes out clean with no fraying.
5. Stitch the satin border. It should land half on the base and half on the stabilizer, wrapping the cut edge.
6. Unhoop, remove the stabilizer (tear or dissolve) and clip any stray threads.
7. Apply heat-seal film to the back with a hot iron and parchment paper on top, if it is an iron-on patch.

Tip: Round, oval and rounded-rectangle patches are easier to trim and to stitch than shapes with sharp points, where the satin border tends to open. If the customer's crest has points, round them by 1 mm.

How do you do appliqué on the machine?

Appliqué directly on the garment has four steps, each as a separate color in the file so the machine stops between them:

1. Placement line: a running stitch on the shape outline, stitched straight onto the hooped garment (with the right stabilizer: cut-away on knits, tear-away on cotton). It shows where the fabric goes.
2. Lay the fabric: cut a piece of appliqué fabric slightly larger than the shape, fuse light fusible web to its back (optional but helpful) and set it over the placement line. Temporary spray holds it.
3. Tack-down: a second running stitch (or open zigzag) 1 mm inside the outline that holds the fabric to the garment.
4. Trim: without unhooping, cut the excess fabric close to the tack-down with curved scissors, taking care not to cut the garment. The closer the trim, the cleaner the edge.
5. Satin border: the last color covers the tack-down and the cut edge. Width 2 to 3 mm on adult garments; 1.5 to 2 mm on baby items.
6. Details on top: name, eyes, inner outlines, always after the border, once the fabric is secured.

Watch out: The underlay of the satin border is what holds the appliqué after washing. Do not switch underlay off to "save stitches": without it, the border sinks into the fabric edge and the appliqué lifts over time.

Which fabrics work for appliqué?

How do you build patch and appliqué files in the editor?

• Draw the shape with Closed shape, Rectangle or Ellipse. Duplicate it (Ctrl+D) so you have one copy per step: guide, tack-down and border.
• On the guide copy and the tack-down copy, choose Running-stitch outline under Outlines, no fill. On the tack-down, reduce the size 1 mm in the measurement bar.
• On the border copy, choose Satin border 2 to 3 mm wide, zigzag underlay and default spacing.
• Give each step a different color in the color palette, even if the thread is the same: the color change is what makes the machine stop so you can place and trim. See colors and stitching order.
• Order them in Objects, in stitching order: guide → (fabric) → tack-down → (trim) → border → details. Click Simulate to check the sequence.
• Save the .bordado and export DST, PES or JEF. Keep the project: the next order with a different shape or size starts from it.

For a name or initial inside the appliqué, add a Text object on top and order it last. Height and font tips are in how to digitize names and lettering.

How do you price patches and appliqué?

Patches are usually sold per unit with quantity breaks: the price for 10 is higher per piece than for 100, because digitizing and setup are the same. Include the base, stabilizer, heat-seal, trimming time (manual, and longer than it looks) and the digitizing fee, charged separately or spread across the order.

Appliqué is priced like regular embroidery, by machine time and by stops: every stop to place fabric and trim is your time standing at the machine. As a rule, appliqué has fewer stitches but more hands-on work than the equivalent fill. The full method is in how to price custom embroidery.

Common patch and appliqué mistakes

• Cutting the base inside the guide line. The border does not cover it and a white edge shows. Always cut 1 mm outside.
• Satin border too narrow (under 2 mm). Does not cover the cut and opens on curves.
• Forgetting to separate steps by color. The machine does not stop and stitches the tack-down with no fabric in place.
• Appliqué fabric without fusible on a knit. Wrinkles after washing; light fusible web solves it.