subject: Leather And Embroidered Patches [print this page] Embroidered patches are something that have been in existence for centuries; actually they can be dated back to ancient Asian times. Yet not until recently has it been possible to affix them to your clothing using a hot iron and heat-activated glue. In these modern times you don't need a needle or thread to place them to most materials. That's good for your fingers, your patience, and your schedule. But the only problem with this method is that the patches cannot be ironed on to leather clothing - at least, not in the traditional sense.
Leather Does Not Do So Well With Hot Temperatures
Regarding affixing embroidered patches to clothing with a hot iron, what you are actually doing is heating up the glue on the back of the patch until it gets quite soft. That requires a good deal of heat; heat that can damage the sensitive finish of leather.
The surface of leather can get damaged by excess heat, while leather as a material is looked upon as very durable. This presents two problems. First of all, the glue won't adhere to the damaged leather and the patch will fall off. Second, after the patch does fall off you'll be looking at an ugly burn mark left by the glue. You will find other materials like faux leather and vinyl that will also have these issues. In addition, you need to bear in mind that even if you might find a way to heat the patch alone so that it would stick to the leather, if your hand slips at all and the iron comes into contact with other parts of the leather, a scorch mark will be left. That is why you must never have a hot iron anywhere near your leather.
Is There Another Way?
We said earlier that you are unable to use an iron to affix embroidered patches to leather in the traditional sense. We use the expression "traditional sense" because there is a non-traditional method that works well. It involves a specialized glue and an unheated iron. Yes, a cold iron. You'll be using it only as a press.
In order to get this to work properly, you'll have to have special glue; leather is notoriously difficult to work with so you won't be able to use just any old glue. You may find this specialized glue in high end leather goods shops, craft fairs or at sewing shops. It's vital to make sure that you can use this glue on leather and the way to find this out is to read the instructions on the bottle. Failure to do this could signify you're just going to be wasting your money.
To mount your embroidered patch you merely spread the glue on the back of it, adhering to the directions on the glue bottle, and then carefully lay it in place. Next thing you need to do is use your cold iron to press down firmly onto the patch for the quantity of time as stated on the glue bottle. The moment the glue has set-up you'll be able to release the iron and let the patch dry. It's essential that you know where you want to have your patch before you lay it down. You will be left with an ugly stain if you remove the patch after you may have placed it onto the leather.
