From someone very secure in his manhood. 
All silliness aside, back in the day we used to wear shirts, mostly chambray, with pictures and designs embroidered on the back, the cuffs, and the collar. Eagles, pot leaves, peace signs and like that. I still think they look pretty cool. So, I’ve been looking for the iron-on patterns to put the designs on my shirts but having no luck at all. Plenty of place mats, pillow shams, and the like but no hippy designs.
I’m hoping someone out there in SDMB land can fight my ignorance and lead me to a site that offers such things.
Peace and love
mangeorge
I printed out a pattern on our ink-jet and took a shot at ironing that. It worked. I’ve done it several times, now. I never did a very intricate pattern, they were all black, and I’m not sure if it will work for everyone’s ink-jet. But it’s worth a shot, right? You can’t get much cheaper.
Have you tried going to a head shop? They have all sorts of interesting accents there. If you don’t see any laying around, ask if perhaps they have a book of patches/iron ons for sale.
The hemp, surfer stuff and (shhh! headshop) store on Main in downtown Ventura (couple of doors down & across the street from the sexy underwear store, closer to the domestic violence thrift shop) had iron-on pot leaf patch-type thingies as well as other “subversive” motifs.
You might check your local head shop or kink store. Fabric & Craft shops usually have the best selection of personal decor, but I think JoAnns and Michaels caters more to Soccer grand-moms than hippies. Although the one in north west Vegas did have one flaming skull left when I went looking for Pansy patches last saturday, so they MIGHT be worth a trip, depending on your patience level. 
Any iron-on pattern can be used on a shirt–just because it may say “Pillowcase Sham” on the package doesn’t mean it can only be used on a pillowcase sham. I used to do quite a bit of the embroidery you’re talking about, and I was always snipping little bits and pieces off transfers and ironing them into position to get just the effect I wanted, a daisy here, a vine there.
Anyway, there’s an article here on making your own iron-on transfers with clipart. And another article here.
That’s a thought! Sorry for the douple post, but . . .
Basic embroidery isn’t very hard. Skein of floss, needle, iron on design (most printer inks will transfer), a little time, and you’ve got your peace signs, doves & pot leaves. Can you thread a needle?
I’m suddenly looking forward to teaching you embroidery by email. I might even be motivated to search through my boxes of patterns & designs.
(yes, I’m bored. Unemployment sucks. Email me – username @gmail)
Wow – you’re really taking me back. I did a pile of those shirts for friends of mine in the '70s. Sometimes I’d use the Aunt Martha transfers from the craft store. There weren’t a lot of real hip ones of those, but they did have some pretty flower transfers. I did roses for one guy – yellow roses because he was from Texas – and probably used an Aunt Martha trandfer for that one. Also did one shirt with Indian designs – it has a thunderbird design on the back, I remember. That may have been an Aunt Martha, too. It was pretty intricate and must have been some sort other brand of professional transfer, if not Aunt Martha. And I did at least one shirt with an eagle – again, so intricate I must have used a transfer.
For simpler designs (peace signs, zodiac symbols – I actually did a couple shirts with zodiac signs, if you can imagine) I just got a picture of whatever I was planning to use and had it copied on thin paper. Then flipped it over and traced the lines with a transfer pencil. then I could iron it right on the shirt just like a professional transfer and embroider over it like with all the rest.
I used to ‘sign’ them with my initials in teeny stitches on the left front yoke.
You could always buy one of these
I’m tempted.
Secure in manhood? Sure.
Secure in checkbook? Not so sure.
But I’ll be looking for something along those lines. But old.
They actually make printer paper that acts as an iron-on transfer, if you’re interested in doing your own on the computer.
You want hippie patches? I got yer hippie patches right here!
Or this site, which claims to have actual unworn vintage patches from the '60s and '70s.
Even more patches! (Ooh, I want that tree of life one!)