Mass Production

Last month, I discussed designing a patch for Makers Local 256, a makerspace I belong to.  When I passed around the patch I'd made, there was quite a bit of interest in it, so I decided to produce a number of them.

I made three different varieties --  sew on, velcro-backed, and iron on.  I obtained 3" die cut velcro circle and that set the size for all of the patches.  As before, the fabric I used was denim left over from making a pair of jeans.

I cut all of the circles with my Cricut maker.  This ensured that the circles were all perfectly round and exactly the right size.

My local Husqvarna dealer, S&R Sewing And Vacuum had some specialty materials for making patches.

I used a 6"x9" hoop so I could fit four patches in each hoop to use the heavy duty water soluble stabilizer efficiently.

It turned out to be most effective to line up the patch fabric on the sewn die line by looking at the underside of the clear stabilizer.

After the patches were sewn out, the stabilizer was removed by washing in hot water and then the patches were hung up to dry.

Finally,the iron on material was added to the iron on patches and the velcro backed patches.  In the case of the velcro backed patches, it was used to stick on the velcro circles.

The patches are a big hit!  While making them didn't involve a laser cutter, members like them.  It's a different set of materials and techniques than most of them use.  Makers Local 256 has a lot of diverse projects going on and I'm happy to add to that diversity.

Come back next week for more fun with a sewing machine!