Iron-on clothing patches
 

Lately the jeans I wear to work got some holes in them, from me snagging them on equipment. We're not supposed to wear them with holes in them, but I decided that I didn't want to bother with ordering any more right now, and I don't care that much what they looked like anyway, so I would just get some iron-on clothing patches and cover the holes.

I went to Wal-Mart and they had some patches that were more than big enough, they even had a couple different shades of blue denim--but when I got home and ironed the things on, they just barely stayed. I thought they didn't seem to have much plastic stuff on the back side (judging from other insignia-type patches I've ironed on to jackets) but now I am sure. After the patch had cooled off from ironing, I saw that one corner had not stuck real well. I grabbed it with my fingers and pulled just a bit, and the patch easily peeled off. I doubt it would have lasted more than twice through the washing machine, even in cold water.

So,,,, where can I get good ones? Or is there some other way that will work, that is still usefully flexible, and that won't come apart in the washing machine?

There's a craft store in town and I didn't get the chance to get there yet, they may have something. If I could just get more sheets of the hot-melt plastic, that alone would be great.

Right now I wonder if milk-jug plastic would work? It is thermoplastic. Ideally it would be a "screen" texture, but maybe filing it up into little shavings and sprinkling that on would work?

I thought that this is kind of a survivalist issue as well, because in dire circumstances, you're not going to be free to go buy new clothes. An iron-on patch is a pretty easy repair to do, if you only could get patches with enough plastic-stuff on them.......

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Re: Iron-on clothing patches
 

You have to sew them on if you want the patch to stay on.
(Maybe your iron wasn't hot enough for the iron-on patch
but even then they don't last long.)

Re: Iron-on clothing patches
 

I just bought some patches at Wal-Mart too, but haven't put them on yet. Maybe tomorrow. I also iron them on the inside of the jeans. That way the patch isn't as obvious.

As OHL mentioned, iron temp will be important. Did you follow the directions? It's also important to allow the patch to completely cool before you tug on it.

I wouldn't try the milk jug technique, unless you want to ruin your clothes, the iron, and possibly the ironing board all at once.

A sewing/fabric shop should also have some iron-on patches. Perhaps a better selection/brand than the Wal-Mart version.

Re: Iron-on clothing patches
 

They didn't have any instructions, but they were cotton, and the jeans are cotton, so I used the cotton setting. I waited until it cooled before pulling on it. The plastic/glue melted, I could see that--but there just wasn't enough of it to hold very well.

It's too late, I already did.
I can't help it. Sometimes when I get near an ironing board and pick up an iron, I get a little bit crazy. (hangs head in shame)

http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcim...k01grinder.jpg

The first pic above shows how I ground it up, using a die grinder with a rasp bit. The die grinder is hooked through a speed controller and run on its slowest speed, so it's only turning around 3-4K rpms or so. I expected it would fling the sawdust around so I used a big pan, and some of it still got away. The cardboard shield on the die grinder is to block the air coming out of the engine--that was blowing the sawdust around badly.

http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcim...k02sawdust.jpg

The above image is the same except with the pan tilted, showing how much I got. About two tablespoons, after picking out a few big chunks.

http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcim...3spreadout.jpg

The pic above shows the dust spread out under the area the patch will cover. I used the same patch that peeled off before. I also used another piece of cotton over the top, to iron it all.

http://www.norcom2000.com/users/dcim...k04failure.jpg

Last pic above: failure. The milk plastic did start to melt, and did slightly stick the cotton over-fabric to the jeans. The pieces of white stuff you see are the "strips" of the congealed plastic I peeled up from around the patch, but it didn't really hold the patch down any better at all. What did melt did not liquefy at all, it only stuck to itself, so it was not really up to its working temp (milkjug plastic has a working temp of up near 350-400� F or so, and the iron didn't reach that on the "cotton" setting).

I tried ironing on the patch directly but that didn't seem to make a difference. Some bits of the plastic did get on the iron and start to "ball up", but it will all come right off after the iron cools. Thermoplastic won't stick to non-pourous surfaces after it cools. It can look like a horrible mess when it's hot and smeared all over, but you wait until everything cools, and it just peels right off in one big chunk.

A heat gun would definitely melt the plastic but that would also run the risk of scorching the fabric too.

I think if you could find some white/translucent low-temp plastic, this would work perfect. I don't known any way to get it aside from buying it from a specialty supplier, and it's rather expensive for this use.

Oh well.

I already ordered some more jeans.
Maybe tomorrow I'll go around and see if any place has better options for patching.



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