I’m toying with the idea of getting into embroidery, and I’d like to make my own sew-on patches. What are those things called and where would I be able to buy them?
I know nothing about making them, but they’re more often called “patches,” if that helps your search.
Generally canvas which is attached to heavy fusible webbing, often with a heckofalotta sizing (starch) in it to keep it stiff. But if you’re making your own patches, any woven material will do fine. (Nonwovens will probably twist up on you and be a pain in the butt, but if you’re determined, you could make it work.)
If you want to make your own patches, you can find fusible webbing at the fabric store. Find the fabric you like for the patch, cut, sew, embroider, etc. as you wish, and peel the paper off the webbing to stick it onto the fabric. When you’re ready to apply it to a larger item, you iron it on first and then sew it - the iron melts the webbing and sticks in in place so it’s easier to sew without shifting on you. Technically, you can probably get away without sewing it at all, but I never trust webbing too far.
You can also use interfacing, which is similar to webbing but usually not peel and stick. You can iron it or sew it onto your patch to make a backing, but then you’ll have to pin the patch in place before you sew it.
Fusible webbing and interfacing come in many thicknesses and stiffnesses, from light filmy stuff suitable for swimsuits all the way to stuff nearly as thick and stiff as cardboard, and a huge range in between. So if you want your patch stiff like a Boy Scout patch, you can do that, or you can make a flexible patch that will move with the fabric you put it on.
I was a scout, and had a very kind Mom that sewed them on, but didn’t iron them.
I can tell you that the scouts that had Moms that ironed them on, but didn’t sew them, ended up needing new badges, when their’s fell off.
During the '80’s they had tons of glue poured on the back to keep the embroidery from falling apart, and some folks thought that meant they were iron-on.
The generic term is “patch blanks”
A couple random picks from a Google search:
If you visit your local Scout Center, where they have the Store Of All Things Scouty and Nerdy, you’ll find patrol badges with dozens of various animals and objects. They usually have a blank patch also (tan or green, with green, brown or red stitching around it).