Which Fabrics Work Best with Iron-On Patches?

Iron-on patches are not an isolated category from customized patches. They basically refer to backing options being applied to clothing by the end user. Iron-on patches need the right temperature, pressure, heat machine, or regular home-use iron for placement. Above all, they need the right fabric as a base for durable and easy attachment.

In this blog, I will discuss the types of fabrics ideal for iron-on or heat-press patches.

Felt Fabric

Felt fabric is made of animal fur, and different types of felt are available in the market, including wool, animal fur, acrylic, or rayon. Felt is the oldest fabric, and there is evidence of it dating back to 6500 BC. Felt fabric patches are pretty popular, and you can make them with your challenging manual embroidery.

Felt material with iron-on embroidery decals looks classy and makes your clothing unique. Hence, this synthetic fiber-generated fabric is scrim and ideal for heat pressing.

Twill

Twill fabric uses the plain-weave technique and has a diagonal parallel rib pattern. The weight of the fabric might vary depending on the quality of manufacturing. However, cotton twill is the most picked fabric for regular embroidery on small-size badges

It’s friendly to heat and does not peel off once pressed at the right temperature. This makes it a standard material for making all kinds of iron-on patches.

Backers

Backer fabric bonds or sticks the iron-on patches to the garments. The fabric backing gives more stability to lightweight materials such as silk, cotton, and chenille and makes the fabric easy to work with for cutting or sticking.

Fusing is the most important baker for both cotton and felt fabric. There are two kinds of fabric fusing.

Plain Fabric Fusing

As the name suggests, plain fabric fusing is not sticky on the back. It is usually used for stitch-on patches, so the border embroidery or channel stitching should be bonded.

Heat Press-able Fusing

Watching closely, this fabric fusing appears with little dots on the wrong side, which are dried stick chemicals only activated when heated. This fusing is used for open border patches as it does not need corner stitching to merge.

Both sticky and plain fabric fusing are not used as embroidery bases because they are flimsy and thin and are just used as additional backers to felt or twill to make iron-on patches scrim.

Here are types of iron-on patches used for fabric fusing,

Sticky Fabric Fusing	Plain Fabric Fusing
Open border embroidery patches	Merrowed edge patches
Double Felt patches	Chenille patches
Hot Kiss/Laser Cut Patches	Woven patches

Only quality fabric and the right material ensure patches are perfect pieces of art. I would suggest buying backer fabric from a reputed brand. Don’t look for a low price because a higher price means the best quality fabrics. My expert opinion in this blog will help you choose the right fabric for the next heat press patch you buy. Happy Ironing!

Blog Author

Majid

I'm a writer and embroidery enthusiast who is passionate about quality craftsmanship. I feel spiritual to share and review custom made products with a wider audience. I love writing SEO stuff for targeted market.

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