Refashioning with Vintage Patches (2024)

I’ve had a love affair with vintage patches for as long as I can remember. It probably goes back to my days of Brownies or Girl Scouts and earning all those badges! But even in college, I’d spend my mad money on patches from the Army-Navy Surplus Store to decorate my beloved denim jacket.

But all these years (decades!) later, I’m still drawn to vintage patches when I see them at antiques stores.

Heck, I even made patches from scratch as a project in my book, “Crafting with Flannel”!

I love pawing through old patches, looking for curious ones that I can use. Usually, I make vintage patch hats with them, but sometimes I use them on shirts, too.

Either way, I thought it’d make for a fun blog post if I showed you how I used vintage patches these days!

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Saving Old Work Shirts with Vintage Patches

Besides making vintage patch hats for myself, I’ve also been saving some of my husband’s old work shirts.By “saving”, I mean “getting more mileage out of them”.

You see, he has a LOT of these golf shirts from a firm he no longer works for. The name is embroidered on the shirts (blurred out for blogging purposes!), but he hasn’t been able to wear them for a while now.

The thing is, he LOVES these shirts and he never wanted to give them away. But I realized that I could, perhaps, make them wearable again if I covered up the old company logo with fun patches.

So, I hunted for some vintage patches (on Etsy and on eBay) that reflected things he enjoys AND were the right dimensions. And since he works in IT, I focused on anything computer or video-game related, like this Nintendo patch.

First, I laid the work shirt flat, focusing on the side with the embroidered logo that needed to be covered up. Then, I slipped a small hard cutting board under the logo, further protected with a piece of aluminum foil.

Then, with the shirt flat and smooth, I applied a thin coat of fabric glue to the back of the patch, using a small foam brush.

Next, I laid the patch over the logo, paying attention to the angle/tilt of the logo on the shirt. That way the patch followed the exact same angle/tilt, right over the embroidery.

This way, when he wears it, it’ll sit right against his chest, as if it had always been what the shirt sported. And no one will ever suspect there’s a competitor’s logo embroidered underneath!

Vintage Patches to the Rescue!

From there, I laid some books over the patch and let the glue cure overnight.

Lastly, I used a needle and thread to additionally stitch the patch to the shirt through the merrowed edge. Doing so ensures that the edges won’t “flip up” over time, which could happen with multiple washings.

Some of you probably recognize that vintage teapot pin cushion, eh? I still use it for small sewing projects, even after all these years!

And that was it! I’ve done this to a couple of his old work shirts and he is SO EXCITED to wear them again. Plus, the vintage patches are fun conversation starters around the office or at networking events. Everyone wants to know where he got them!

Of course, I’m still making vintage patch hats for myself. I collect vintage patches through my antiquing (and online shopping) and love pairing them up with the perfect cap.

See? How cute is that? I made this vintage patch hat many years ago and it is such a hit with the right audience!

Only Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers recognize Boone’s Farm, honestly. Since I live in North Carolina, younger folks assume it’s a winery in Boone, NC!

Refashioning with Vintage Patches

I just LOVE creating unique accessories for myself with vintage patches. And since I wear hats all the time (due to thinning hair), vintage patch hats are a staple in my closet.

Hunting down (or stumbling upon!) unusual or nostalgic patches is part of the fun. And on several occasions, I’ve purchased new baseball caps and covered up the logos with vintage patches!

For instance, that blue cap above was a “Dad of the Year” cap I purchased on clearance after Father’s Day one year. It fit me well and the embroidered logo was easily covered up by an old Keebler patch.

Same goes for this maroon cap- it, too, had a logo I didn’t care for, so I covered it up with a vintage US Postal Service patch that I found!

I just have a lot of fun with these and love how friends and strangers respond to my vintage patch hats. Always an ice breaker and conversation starter wherever I go.

And, of course, I have plenty of patches in my collection to work with in the near future…

Such a fun way to get more mileage out of work shirts and caps with logos you don’t care for anymore, right? Definitely a different kind of upcycling, but hopefully this gives you some ideas for things in your closet that you haven’t worn in a while.

And if you enjoyed these ideas for vintage patches, then you may also appreciate how I pieced together this reusable tote bag, as well. Both pieces started as thrift store finds!

Craft on!

S

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