# Newbie wants to make personal patches, which machine is good for beginner ??



## BobbyS (Feb 8, 2013)

Just about everyone in my family ( myself included ) rides a motorcycle. We all have vests and jackets and love our patches & pins, but recently we decided to make "personal & custom" patches for ourselves and close friends. 
Which machine ( Brother or otherwise ) is a good low to medium cost embroidery machine that we could use to make our own patches without too much difficulty.
And with this machine, would it be good to make patches over time, or do I need a "commercial" machine for the long run....I'm not looking to create a whole new patch business, but would like to be able to make patches for different events and friends over the coming years.
I have experience with printing ( heat press, silk screen, dyesub, etc.)...and extensive knowledge with most art & drawing programs.
Thank you


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## jwcollect (Oct 24, 2007)

I wouldn't get a machine, patches are not easy and really require special machines to do it right. I use a company called Moritz and they are very good. The only hook is the quantity.


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## EmmBroidery (Jan 13, 2013)

Well I cant say I have personally done it, but I know that colman sells patch kits that would get you what you are looking for. 
Patch Kits and Material | Colman and Company

As far as the machine goes, most people on here can probably tell you lots about commercial machines, but not so much about the smaller ones. The brother machines seem to be the most popular, so I would start there. Amazon seems to have decent prices, or you can find a local sewing shop that carries them and they can probably educate you on them a little.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

You can see if you can find a local patch place or embroidery shop that does patches in small runs. That is going to be your biggest problem to get them at a reasonable price. Otherwise you can do them on an embroidery machine but you are going to have to digitize them as well.


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## jwcollect (Oct 24, 2007)

Digitizing is required no matter what you sew, the problem is after you embroider the design you need a special machine, forgot the name the sews a border around the edges. I have a professional embroidery machine and still farm out patches. You could buy blank patches with the ends already sewn and then just embroider the center. That's ok but hard t o find right color combos. If possible go to an ISS show and ask the vendors about doing it. You'll be able to get pricing and be able to check out a lot of machines. If nothing else it will be a good learning experience. Good luck.


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## BobbyS (Feb 8, 2013)

jwcollect said:


> I wouldn't get a machine, patches are not easy and really require special machines to do it right. I use a company called Moritz and they are very good. The only hook is the quantity.


Thanks for the reply.....I had already looked into about 25 different local/online embroidery shops, and they require a minimum in every case, I will continue to do research but I will probably end up buying a machine.
Thanks!!


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## RickyJ702 (Jul 23, 2012)

jwcollect said:


> Digitizing is required no matter what you sew, the problem is after you embroider the design you need a special machine, forgot the name the sews a border around the edges.


a marrower^^ if you wanna make it yourself it's better to buy blanks that has been marrowed out already and fast frame them.


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## jwcollect (Oct 24, 2007)

Check out the Melco Amaya XTS, we use them and love them. Probably run around $10-11k plus $3k for the digitizing software. You should really go to a show before you buy.


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## BobbyS (Feb 8, 2013)

jwcollect said:


> Digitizing is required no matter what you sew, the problem is after you embroider the design you need a special machine, forgot the name the sews a border around the edges. I have a professional embroidery machine and still farm out patches. You could buy blank patches with the ends already sewn and then just embroider the center. That's ok but hard t o find right color combos. If possible go to an ISS show and ask the vendors about doing it. You'll be able to get pricing and be able to check out a lot of machines. If nothing else it will be a good learning experience. Good luck.


Well I have about 5 different types of digitizing software, so I got that area covered, it's just finding a decent machine to cover my needs...I found literally hundreds of tutorials & videos to help me learn more, and I am sure with all the excellent help from you guys I am sure I'll get pretty good at what I am doing. Thank you all for the excellent advice & tips!!!!


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