Are you interested in custom leather and synthetic leather patches but not sure how to go about applying them? Don’t worry! We have you covered right here and will review step-by-step instructions on how to iron on leather patches with your own household iron!
Step 1: Pick your surface! Unlike normal ironing, you want a surface that won’t take away the heat you are applying to your chosen apparel or garment. So avoid the ironing board or granite countertops. (Ironing boards will work if that’s the only safe area you have)
Step 2: Pull out the iron and heat it up. Unless otherwise stated, your iron should be set to “linen” for the application of your custom leather patch.
Step 3: Decide where you would like the patch to be on your garment, then remove the protective paper from the back of the patch and press the adhesive side lightly down to hold it in place. No need to push hard yet – the next step of ironing will do the work of firmly adhering to the patch for you!
Step 4: We strongly recommend covering your garment to protect it from burning – you can use other household items like a tea towel, cover sheet, or kraft paper. Place this protective layer over the patch and garment. Thin is good. Note: Be careful not to burn or melt your item if it is not designed for heat.
Step 5: Applying a patch isn’t like the normal ironing of a shirt! Use your iron like a heat press by pressing and holding the warmed iron to the area for 25-30 seconds before moving on to the next part. You may need to test with different times to get the best adhesion, depending on your iron sometimes 10 to 12 seconds is best to avoid edges and corners coming up.
Tip: Too long, too much pressure, or too much heat can have the opposite of the desired effect.
Put on the pressure – don’t just rely on the heat to do all the work for you. To ensure good adhesion between your custom patch and your garment, you want to make sure to press down on the iron with light to medium pressure (not too much “trying to smash it” pressure). This serves to push the adhesive from the patch down into the fibers of your garment, rather than allowing it to stick to the surface and peeling off.
Tip: Find the hottest spot on your iron and make use of it! Many – if not all – household irons have that one spot that stays consistently hot, while the rest of the surface may vary. Try to find that hot consistent spot and use it to really apply your personalized patch.
Tip: Avoid areas of your item that are uneven (like close to zippers or edges), that will make it difficult to get solid, consistent pressure or heat
Tip: Good adhesion happens right away if all the steps (heat, pressure) are applied correctly, but give it a few minutes to cool before you pick at to test adhesion. Good adhesion happens right away; better after a few minutes; even better after 24 hours.
Step 6: Lift your protective sheet and ensure your patch has adhered. If it peels up with the carrier sheet, don’t be afraid to re-apply again! Just place it back down and repeat the above steps.
Tip: Be careful with applying heat to some materials that you do not discolor or melt them
Tip: Order a few extra patches to give yourself a few tries to find the perfect heat, pressure and time. Too little heat, pressure, time could result in patch not adhering. Too much, could result in same thing. There is a sweetspot in the middle.
We hope you have found these step-by-step iron on patch instructions helpful! Of course, individual irons will vary in their heat based on brand and age, so it may take a try or two to get it perfect, but we have found this process works for most applications of customized patches with a household iron.
If you have a commercial heat press, our patch Heat Press Recommended Settings are on the product page for the item you ordered and vary by patch, but most common for our faux leatherette patches are Temp: 270-285F, Time: 10-15 seconds, Pressure: Light-Medium.
If you are having issues with edges adhering, try less heat and less time to see if that makes a difference.
Enjoy your new and improved garment!!
