Patch

A patch, sometimes called an écusson in French, is a small embroidered or woven textile piece made separately, then attached to a garment: sewn, heat-applied or mounted on velcro. It carries an emblem, a logo or a rank, and marks a textile without embroidering it directly.

The patch in practice

A patch is made apart from the garment: the design is embroidered or woven onto its own backing, edges sewn to prevent fraying, then the piece is attached wherever needed. Three attachment methods: sewn (the sturdiest and most durable), heat-applied (press or iron), or on velcro (removable, the standard for uniforms).

That is what sets it apart from direct embroidery, stitched straight into the garment: a patch is prepared in advance, works on fabrics that are hard to embroider directly, and moves from one garment to another. An association that has patches embroidered for its emblem can move them onto different jackets season after season. The trade-off: sitting on the surface, it reads as an addition, where direct embroidery becomes part of the fabric itself.

In everyday language, patch and crest get mixed up: a crest is the design, the coat of arms; a patch is the textile object that can carry it. The word also has other meanings outside textiles (in architecture, for instance); here, it always means the piece sewn onto a garment.

What to remember

• A patch is a marking made separately, then sewn, heat-applied or attached with velcro.
• Its advantage: prepare the design in advance and attach it to almost anything, including fabrics that cannot go through an embroidery machine.
• A crest is the design; the patch is the object that carries it.