Embroidered Badges
Embroidered badges are used by all sorts of organisations such as car racing, rescue services, schools, clubs, scouts, guides, adventure groups and many more. There are a variety of names for embroidered badges, they are sometimes known as embroidered patches, custom badges, uniform badges, iron on badges, sew on patches, cloth badges or patches to illustrate a few. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, they can be laser cut to an intricate shape, cut to a regular shape, or finished with an overlocked border. You can create your own bespoke design and turn it into a work of art. All you need to do is come us with the ideas and our designers can work it in to a quality, durable, well presented emblem befitting your organisation.
Comparing Embroidered and Woven Badges
If you require a lot of detail in your design you may wish to consider a woven badge.
A Woven Badge is distinct from an embroidered badge because the design is woven in to the actual fabric. An embroidered badge is where the design is stitched on to a piece of fabric so the stitching is raised above the fabric.
A woven badge is flat and slightly more flexible. It is usually finished with an overlocked (merrow) border to stop the edges fraying.
Badge Fabric
Mostly badges are made on poly/cotton twill fabric which is then cut to shape and overlocked with a matching or contrast border. Blazer badges for schools are often made on a felt fabric. There is a very wide choice of fabric colours available and can be matched to your shade.
Select a type of backing
Iron-on or heatseal backing is a good option as it saves sewing, however you need to be careful about the fabric on which it is going to be applied, can it stand the heat of a hot iron? Depending on the washing cycle they will stay attached for up to 80 washes. Heatseal doesn’t work with nylon or synthetic fabrics.
Sew on badges are self explanatory and can be easily sewn on by machine or hand. They are a bit more flexible than other badges with a backing.
Velcro (hook and loop) can be supplied as one part or two part. Some uniform already has one of the parts (loop) to receive the badge. A two part hook and loop badge – obviously the receiving part of the system has to be sewn on to the garment. These are used when there is a frequent change of badge for a particular uniform or costume.
Self adhesive backing is a non-permanent option and is usually used for a single event. It is a strong adhesive but won’t survive a wash cycle. For a permanent application sew-on is the best solution.
Edge Finishing
The two types of edge finishing most commonly used are laser cut with no border or an overlocked edge sometimes known as merrow which is a stitching to finish off the cut edge to stop it fraying. This is usually 3mm – 4mm wide. Usually a sew on badge is stitched on to the garment through the overlocked border.
Have in your mind’s eye the end result! We are available to help you every step of the way. You can email, use the chat or phone for assistance 0333 320 2259. We are always glad to help.
Here is a quick overview of the ordering process:
Fill in the online form
We send you a quotation
We design your badge and send you a proof for approval
On approval we put your order in to production
When complete we despatch via tracked courier
Once you have decided on fabric, backing and edge finishing, it is then a question of getting the design in to a format that we can turn in to a finished visual. If you have an existing badge or artwork, that makes it more straightforward and you can upload this on the online form.
Otherwise you can just simply sketch out what you require, indicate the colours and we can do the rest. Just take a photo or scan and upload through our form.