Designing for Embroidered patches

Keep Your Cost Lower

CAUTION

NEW MC's READ THIS FIRST

Has your design been approved by your local Dominant Club? (We don't make the rules or speak for any club. However we do know what the rules are and therefore you should too!!!!!!!!!!)

Will your bottom rocker be a State or territory? (Flying a state bottom rocker requires approval from your dominant club, state coalition or confederation of clubs in all 50 states)

Do your colors closely resemble another larger club's colors? (If they do, you need to back up and redesign them)

Always get your colors approved first. The last thing you need or want is to spend your hard earned money on patch sets you can't wear. Don't start your club by pissing off your dominant club. Do yourself a favor and ask first. It's all about respect my friends! It's up to you to do the right thing. If you don't understand the process in starting a new motorcycle club you're not ready to order patches. If you're design hasn't been approved by your local dominant club, please don't waste our time asking for a quote. We don't have time to quote prospective clubs. However, when you are ready, we are too. Again, we don't make or enforce the MC rules of the road. That's up to you!

EDGE FINISH

Patches with detailed sharp turns can't have a merrowed edge as shown in the above image. They can only be cut to shape. If you want merrowed edges your design will need to have smooth edges and be square, rectangle, diamond, round or oval. No inside corners like the image at the above right can be merrowed. Merrowing is ALWAYS better. Cut-to-Shape patches may fray or ravel on the edges over time. This is also commonly called "Hot-Cut" and "Laser Cut" by some other companies.

Fonts (Letters) CLICK
We have over 60 embroidery fonts to choose from. Not all fonts sew well. Fonts with very thin lines don't sew well when they are under 1" in height. No font sews well under 1/4" tall.
You may want ask about your font before designing your patches and rockers. It's always best to use fonts designed for quality embroidery. Not all True Type fonts can be reproduced well in embroidery. Ask first!!!!

Don't Over Design Your Patch

Motorcycle Club patches shouldn't be "In your face" designs. They should convey your message without going overboard. If you over do it, the patch will look very commercial and off the shelf. Look at the big 7 clubs. Their colors are nice, but not over done or all in your face. It's a Motorcycle Club not a flashy ad for something.

Base Color
Keep your base color the same as the fabric to reduce the overall cost/stitch count. You should also know that fabric colors other than black and white can and will vary slightly from dye lot to dye lot. We have no control over this. For example red can vary in hue or tone from one order to the next.

Detail
Small detail can work for back patches in most cases. However if you're going to want the same design in a 3.5" front patch you will want a design that has little or no small detail that becomes nothing or a only spot once downsized.

Design Matters for size too!
Below is a good example of what can be either a back patch or a 3.5"-4" left chest patch.

The patch below makes a great 10" back patch but not a good left chest patch. The detail in the center will be too small to sew as a chest patch.

Embroidery vs. Screen Printing Cost
Embroidery is priced by stitch count. We can embroider up to 16 colors at no extra charge. Screen printing on the other hand is priced by color changes or the number of screens needed to complete your design. Lots of different colors will make your screen printing cost go through the roof. (Doesn't matter with embroidery)You should consider this when designing your patches.

Get the size right

You should measure the smallest and largest vest of your members to see what will work okay both. Most rockers fall between 12" and 15" from outside corner to outside corner and between 2.5" to 3.0" wide. Center patches average around 8" to 12" wide and from 6" to 13" tall. When measuring for you patch sizes. Always remember to measure with someone wearing the vest. Measurements taken with a vest laying on a table will result in patches that are too large in some cases.

Fabric and Edge Colors

Twill Fabric Colors we keep in stock

Black
White
Red
Orange
Tan
Gray
Yellow

Merrowing Edge Colors we keep in stock

Black
White
Red
Orange
Blue
Green
Gold
Lt. Blue
Yellow

We will special order your fabric and merrowing thread if your order is over $150.00.

We use Madeira Thread. It's the best embroidery thread available. Click HERE to see the colors available. If you want us to use certain colors, please provide us with the color number from the Madeira web page.

Quality Made
Our patches are 4 layers thick.
1.Twill/Trigger Fabric
2. Poly Heat Seal (locks fabric)
3. Stabilizer (for stitching)
4. PVC Heat Seal on back (locks each stitch)

Our Base Fabric
We use a 65% Cotton , 35% Polyester Blend Twill Fabric for 99% of our patches. Cotton/Polyester Twill fabric stands up to sunlight better than 100% cotton. 100% Cotton fabric will fade or become dull over time.

BEST

PRICES

AROUND

HOME ----- EXAMPLES ----- CONTACT US ----- DESIGN HELP ----- HOW TO ORDER ----- VENDOR INFO ----- LINKS