BOOTLEG BLOG

DIY Guides.

How to make punk styled patches

Note: DO NOT TRY TO SEW ONTO A LEATHER JACKET

Leather jackets can get extremely damaged by needles, if you're gonna do custom designs look into painting it on directly.

Traditional paint/stencil method (better results, for more specific deisgns)

What you'll need:

Scissors

Spare fabric (either fabric from a craft store or use fabric from shirts you no longer wear)

Fabric paint

Hobby/Art knife

Stencil brush

Paper

Masking tape

Printer(optional, especially if you have tracing or art skills)

Stop-fray glue(optional)

Step 1: Pick your design
If this is your first patch I suggest you pick something decently simple, aka, I suggest you avoid black metal band logos until you've done this a couple of times.

Step 2: Print your design/trace your design.
Which ever is easier for you.

Step 3: Cover your design completely with masking tape.
I've seen people call this step optional but if you don't do this your design can very easily rip while making it into a stencil.

Step 4: Take your hobby/art knife and start cutting out your stencil.
If you're a fucking moron like me you can also use your pocket knife, generally a bad idea but it makes you feel reaaaal cool.

Optional step:
When making a patch in this way, it's very possible that the sides of your patch will begin to fray, and if you don't personally like the aesthetic then stop-fray glue should do the trick!

Step 5: Place your stencil on your spare fabric.

Step 6: Put fabric paint on your stencil brush and start lightly dapping your stencil/fabric until it's fully painted.

Step 7: Leave patch to dry (time varies on the fabric paint)

Now you're all done!

Paint marker method (cheaper, for freehanding and simple designs)

What you'll need:

Scissors

Spare fabric (either fabric from a craft store or use fabric from shirts you no longer wear)

Fabric paint marker (acrylic paint markers also work but you'll have to be careful when washing)

Stop-fray glue(optional)

Step 1:
What do you wanna write?

The paint marker method is best suited for patches that're purely just words unless you are confident in drawing with a paint marker. I suggest picking a phrase to express something you're passionate about, be it long and philosophical or short and blunt.

Step 2:
measure patch size/find a spot for the patch

Now before you start writing down your message, think how big your want your patch to be and where you even want it to be, aaaalways think about the spot first.

Step 3:
Cut fabric piece to desired size.

Optional step:
When making a patch in this way, it's very possible that the sides of your patch will begin to fray, and if you don't personally like the aesthetic then stop-fray glue should do the trick!

Step 4:
Write your desired message.

And there you go! A simple but your very own patch!

Uh uh uh fuck I don't know how to sew.

Don't worry I got you.

You'll obviously need a sewing needle and thread of a color of your choice. (You can use tooth floss if you wanna be mega traditional)

Step 1: Pull thread out to desired length and cut it.
I don't have any method to knowing how much thread I need I'm gonna be real I just guess.

Step 2: Take both ends of the thread and line them up next to each other.

Step 3: Now you will thread the needle.
Be patient with yourself as getting the tiny threads to go through the tiny tiny hole on a needle can be very frustrating.

Step 4: Make a knot
There's a couple ways of doing this but the method that's the easiest for me is to make a small loop on the two-headed side then thread the tail through the hole, do this 2 or 3 more times and you'll have a solid knot.

Note: When putting a patch on something make sure to pin it into place so you don't have to constantly adjust your patch while sewing it.

Step 5: Time to start sewing! There's a couple hand sewing patterns you can do but I'll tell you what I do.
Take your needle and go under your patch and whatever piece of clothing you're sewing onto (If you're sewing it onto pants of sleeves be cautious to not accidentally sew both sides of the sleeves or pants together) and pierce it upwards. Remember to start sewing from one of the patches corners.

Now directly across from your starting point and pierce it back into the other side. (I really really hope I'm phrasing all of this right, I struggle to describe movements)

Step 6: Now repeat until you reach either the end of your thread or once the patch is fully sewn on.

Step 7: Once you hit the end cut the end of the thread and make a knot by crossing the 2 ends of the thread then looping it into itself twice.

There you go! Sorry if this isn't particularly coherent, please let me know if this isn't very clear.

How to make charm necklaces

(To be added...)

How to attach chains to a jacket

Fabric piece method

What you'll need:

Left over fabric (preverably something sturdy, like a thicker fabric or left-over shirt seam.)

Thread

A chain with some sort of clasp attached to it

Step 1: Figure out where you want the chain to go.
Use fabric pins to keep track of where you want your chain to go, I'd recommend using your chain of choice as a frame of reference to make sure you have enough space for the chain to dangle in a way you want.

Step 2: Cut your fabric, specifically in a rectangular shape similar to belt loops on jeans.

Step 3: Sew onto desired location, I recommend doing a tight stich.

Step 4: Hook on your desired chain, make sure it isn't too heavy for the fabric.

How to repair jeans

(To be added...)

How to turn a shirt sleeves into leg warmers

(To be added...)

How to make a studded belt

(To be added...)

Other DIYs I found on The WebTM

How to print your own graphic T-shirts at home for less than 5$

Tutorial on making pins without a pin maker.