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TITLE: DIY Fabric Patches 

GOAL: The creation of custom hand made fabric patches

MATERIALS:
Fabric (I prefer black canvas)
Acrylic Paints (any colors you want for the patch and one that matches the color of the fabric)
A masking material (label paper, duct tape, gorilla tape, etc)

TOOLS:
Razor blade or x-acto knife
Iron
scisors
paintbrushe(s)

PROCESS:
I like to use black canvas fabrics for my patches. It seems to take the paint well while also holding up to rough
treatment but I suspect any natural fiber fabric would work and synthetics may also. So feel free to play around 
and see what works.

I usually start by sketching out a rough design on paper as this will allow me to visualize the design and see
what dimensions the final patch would likely have and also allows me to make changes to better fit the dimensions 
I would like.

Once I have a rough sketch I like, I pick a material for the mask. So far I have used label paper, duct tape and 
gorilla tape. The label paper is nice for sketching finer detail to cut out but is much more difficult to remove 
from the fabric since the paint soaks in a bit and makes it more likely to tear apart. The gorilla tape is not 
as nice for sketching detail or cutting out but does hold together, is easy to remove and gives very nice clean 
lines. The duct tape I used was not worth it. It was harder to cut and had messier lines than the gorilla tape 
but was harder to trace detail than the label paper.

Whichever material you use for the mask, cut out a chunk or strips the size of the patch and apply it to the 
fabric. Leave enough space around your mask that you can hem the fabric if you would like. Then sketch the design 
on the mask and using an x-acto or razor to cut out the design carefully. You want to cut the mask carefully so 
you don't cut the fabric with it.

Once the pattern has been cut out and removed, put down one layer of acrylic paint that matches the fabric color 
to seal the edges of the mask. Then after the first layer dries you are free to paint whatever other colors.

Once the paint fully dries cut it out leaving room around the edge to hem it if you wish to, iron it with 
whatever the highest temp that is appropriate for that fabric. I am not certain how much this helps but I've 
seen several people recommend it and it does not seem to have a negative impact. 

Once it has been ironed it can be used though I tend to hem the edges and sew velcro on the back since most 
of mine are interchangable patches I stick on a velcro sleeve around my waterbottle.