How to · 3 min read · updated

How to make a custom embroidered patch

A patch is a small hat front with a stitched rim around it. Design for the space inside the rim, simplify the drawing, and it'll come out sharp.

The short answer

Pick a shape (a 3 in circle or square, a 3.5 x 2.25 in rectangle or a 4 x 2.6 in oval), keep your design about 0.175 in inside the edge so it clears the stitched border, and follow the usual embroidery minimums: letters 0.25 in tall, lines 0.05 in thick, up to 6 thread colours.

Shapes and sizes

Every shape comes on black or white twill, the woven fabric the thread is stitched into.

  • Circle, 3 in across.
  • Square, 3 x 3 in.
  • Rectangle, 3.5 x 2.25 in.
  • Oval, 4 x 2.6 in.

The border takes more room than you think

The edge of a patch is wrapped in a thick overlocked rim called a merrowed border. It's about 0.125 in wide, and the design needs another 0.05 in of clearance inside it. So a 3 in circle has about 2.65 in across for your design, and every letter near the edge has to sit inside that.

Text that runs around the rim is the classic patch look, and it's tight. On a 3 in circle, REPLY ALL in a sturdy slab at its smallest legal size uses about half of the top arc. Long names go flat across the middle or split over the top and bottom.

Simplify the drawing

Details that look nice in a sticker are thinner than thread. On Merit Badges, every icon has a sticker version and a patch version: the patch keeps the outlines, fills and solid shapes and drops the little extras like sparkles, steam lines and shoelaces. Do the same to your own art. If a line is thinner than 0.05 in, or two parts sit closer than 0.25 in, thicken it, merge it or cut it.

A fully stitched background, the way real merit badges are made, is fine. It just adds stitches: our badge patches estimate around 10,000 to 14,000.

Two ways to make one here

Merit Badges turns grown-up wins (called the dentist, assembled flat-pack furniture) into badges, then stitches your highest honour as a real patch in a circle, square, rectangle or oval. It only shows layouts that pass the embroidery checker, so if a title can't go round the rim you'll be offered a split or a short word under the icon instead.

The Club makes a fake yacht club for your one problem and stitches its crest on a 3 in round patch, with the name arched on top and the motto or year along the bottom.

Questions people ask

How many colours can an embroidered patch have?

Our patches use up to 6 thread colours from a palette of 15, plus the border thread.

What's the smallest text on a patch?

The same as a hat: capitals at least 0.25 in tall and strokes at least 0.05 in thick. A patch has less room after the border, so plan for fewer words.

Can I choose the border colour?

The rim is its own thread. On The Club it defaults to the lettering colour and can be changed; on Merit Badges it comes with the colour pair you pick.

Can I get a heart-shaped patch?

Printful makes a 3.1 x 2.8 in heart, but our sites don't offer it: a title arched around the rim doesn't fit a heart.