We offer embroidered patches for both small and large orders. We recognize that it is difficult to find shops that will do patches for quantities less than 50. Most customers who call us about patches are seeking a small run of patches of between ten to twenty pieces.
Small orders of patches are fulfilled in-house using our top of the line embroidery machines. The process, like almost all embroidery jobs, requires a set-up charge for the first order to cover our costs of working with the client to ensure that we are meeting the client’s graphic standards. The outer edges are created by including in the digitized design a border that more or less saws through the patch backing material. Small runs of patches are priced at $1 per 1,000 stitches. A patch such as the one pictured to the right, which is about 3″ tall, required 13K stitches.
Large orders of patches can be much more cost-effective for our customers. The reason is because there are specialty patch producers that work with embroidery shops on a contract basis. We still work with our clients on the front end to prepare the logo to the client’s specifications, then we send the design and the thread color specifications to the patch house for fulfillment. The specialty houses are set up to run patches all day long and to merrow stitch the edges with a true merrow stitch sewing machine, the function of which is to reinforce the edge of a piece of fabric. The outcome is about the same, but the price per patch is typically 50% less than what we would charge to do them on our equipment.
We have a blog post about custom patches that gets into the nitty gritty a bit more, if you are interested.
If you have further questions or simply would like us to talk with you about the design you have in mind, please use our Contact Us form and upload your art file to start a conversation. We look forward to hearing from you!