Hi Sewing Friends! Did you know that you can reuse a Uniform Patch? I didn't, until my friend asked me to sew on some patches for her onto new uniform shirts. I wish I would have known this when my own kids had to wear uniforms. It would have been such a money saver. Plain uniform shirts are a fraction of the cost of uniforms that you have to buy through the school. You can check with your school to see if they allow it but honestly, if the color of the shirt is the same I don't think anyone would notice because they look so good!! I'm going to show you how easy it is to sew on an old uniform patch. Follow along!
How to sew a used Uniform Patch
1. Cut off the old patch.
First you have to cut off the old patch. Just loosely cut around it well away from the stitches so you can get it off of the shirt. Most patches that have been embroidered directly onto the shirt have a stabilizer of some sort under the stitches as shown in the photo on the right below. This gets cut off as you cut close to the stitches in the next step/
2. Carefully cut around the uniform patch.
Take a pair of sharp scissors and cut around the embroidered patch close to the stitches leaving just a little of the original fabric. If you cut much closer than this, you will end up clipping the stitching and the patch will unravel. Flip the patch over to check to make sure the stabilizer is cut as well and trim just the stabilizer a little more if necessary so it wont be sticking out around the patch. You will need a pair of sharp scissors to cut into those inside corners.
3. Iron the uniform patch flat.
Using a warm iron, press the patch until it is flat. Start with a low to medium iron, you can increase the heat as needed. The embroidery thread is most likely polyester and can melt if you start with an iron that is too hot.
4. Baste the uniform patch to the shirt with a glue stick.
Use a simple school glue stick to temporarily hold the patch in place. Use a photo of your own school shirt for reference so you know where to position the patch.
5. Set up your machine to expose the free arm.
Most modern sewing machines have a free arm that is open underneath that allows you to sew items with a small opening. Your machine may have a larger flat surface that needs to be removed in order to access this free arm. To access mine I have to slide the flat table off to the left so I can access the free arm. Also load a thread onto the machine that matches the color of the patch's outermost stitching. I used black for my top thread here and white for the bobbin.
6. Stitch around the patch.
Slide the shirt onto the sewing machine and position it so that it lays as flat as possible around the patch and the shirt fabric is not stretched. Starting at the bottom of the patch, stitch around the outside of the embroidery stitching.
Remember to backstitch when you get back to the beginning.
You can even reuse a uniform patch on a shirt that is different than the original color. Here's an example of a patch cut from a gray shirt used on a blue shirt. I think it still looks great.
There you have it! Hope that helps save someone some cash. I know people in the sewing world don't always love helping their neighbor when they have a sewing need (have you seen those 'yes I sew, no I won't hem your pants' shirts?). But I personally love to use my sewing knowledge to help someone, within reason of course. I always learn something new to stretch my sewing skills. It's a bonus when I can teach them how to sew it themselves!! Will you try sewing an used uniform patch? Let me know in the comments.
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