Embroidered patches can be used to bring some color to your colors. Back in the day patches were just pieces of fabric used to cover up a tear. Now iron on patches have become a fashion icon.
Patches are quite popular amongst Motorcycle Riders. Bikers as we call them like to have patches on their leather vests. The vest tells the story of the Biker. A 1981 Sturgis patch on a vest is not too rare to find on some Old Skool Bikers. Every rally a Biker goes to, he makes sure to to put a small patch in memory of the good times had. And every now and then he might come across some large patch that deserves some precious room on the back of the vest.
Remember once you get a nice vest going each year as you add more patches to it, it's going to be harder to get a new replacement as you start to become attached to your vest full of patches and memories. You want to make sure not to crowd up your vest with 3 different patches from the same event. I've seen a lot of new Bikers do this in the past. They get two different Daytona patches of the same year sewn on opposite sides of their vests. Well maybe you liked the two designs so much, but guess what, 20 years later your vest could use that room for other rally patches you ride to. Sewers won't tell you that though, they just want to sell you more patches and get a nice tip for sewing them on. Take it easy on patches. If you had a good time in a motorcycle rally than get its patch. Who cares if it was just a Poker Run. If its worth remembering its worth putting the patch on your vest.
Be sure to get a good quality vest. Sure a plain vest with soft thin leather can be as low as $19.99. But do you think that vest is going to hold up for years? Is it worth putting on a $30 large patch on it when you know the patch is going to outlast the vest before it starts to shred on you. You know with the amount of money you spend on patches, you want to make sure you get something that is going to last you for decades.
Moving along to other to other uses. Iron on patches look great sewn on plain blue jeans. You know most designers will go ahead and add a small patch on the back of a $30 pair of jeans and sell it for $100. You can save yourself money by buying plain clothes and adding a small touch to them with one or two patches. Nothing excessive although I have seen people decorate the full length of their jeans with all sorts of small patches.
Patches can also be used to make a plain old hat look cool all of a sudden. You can iron on any small patch to a cap. I would really have it done at a flea market than iron on with a regular iron at home. A hat press comes in handy for these situations.
And lately I thought it was a great idea to sew a patch on my suitcase so I can tell it apart from all the other same suitcases. Worked great, but just be careful some funny patches I have may make baggage handlers give your bag a special slam dunk treatment.
Whether you are a vendor traveling the road setting up tents at Bike Weeks, or a store owner who sells plain shirts, patches are a great way to add value to your store. America loves custom work. Make a decision today to try some patches, buy them retail or wholesale at my online patch store The Cheap Place.
