We certainly hope Sew4Home is one of your top stops for all things machine-sewing-related. But today, we’re giving your hardworking machine a rest. Instead, we’re taking a look at the huge selection of Dritz® Clothing Patches. These fusible wonders are awesome for their definitive use: fixing a hole in junior’s jeans. But, that’s just the start of the inspiration and fun. Dritz offers a huge selection of colors as well as sizes and textures: from twill to nylon to denim to corduroy and more. We spent some time patching our way through pillows, scarves, tees, and… of course, jeans. 

Do you ever wonder how a manufacturer would use their own product when making an item? I figure since they designed it, they should know best how to use it. One of my favorite examples of this (to eat) is the chocolate cake recipe on the side of the Hershey’s tin. It’s always good. The folks at Hershey’s know how to use their chocolate.

Dritz doesn’t have any cake recipes on their site, but they do have something almost as good: lots of fun projects that demonstrate how Dritz would use their own notions and tools. In fact, the images below of the clever “patchwork” on the torn jeans are from their Dritz Make Something Blog – another great option for information and ideas.

We built upon these ideas and put together several of our own ways to use Dritz Clothing Patches. We used the Dritz Petite Press Mini Iron for most of our projects. Its small size made it perfect for working with the intricate shapes and getting into small spaces.

Take a look at our concepts, then make up a few of your own. It’s a great way to extend an outfit’s life.

The classic: holes in the knees made new again

Kids are hard on their pants. Sometimes it seems like holes appear at the knees just a few months in, certainly long before the rest of the pants are outgrown. This is the classic use for Dritz Iron-On Patches, but why not kick it up a notch by cutting the patches into interesting shapes.

Create your own shapes or use the cool Dritz templates. There are two sets of templates from which to choose: one with ten different shapes, like a dinosaur, star and flower; and a second set with the letters of the alphabet.

Simply trace your shape on the surface of the patch, cut out the shape, and fuse it in place. You can even fuse a plain patch on the inside of the pants to reinforce the repair from both sides.

Cover small tears with mini art

Sometimes little hazards can do big damage. Have you ever caught your favorite shirt on a nail you’d never noticed sticking out from the back door? Even a little tear can turn a great top into something destined for the rag bin. Or… maybe not. We cut some of the smaller Dritz patches in half and mixed up the colors to cover up a tear with an interesting block design. On the second tee, we used a standard die-cutting machine to punch out some cute shapes to fashionably cover up a tear. The patches went through the die-cutter with flying colors; even the smallest designs came out sharp and clean. And, the fusible backing left no residue on the cutter’s blades.

Stains disappear under layers

It’s a scientific fact that stains are drawn to new clothing. Especially stains that don’t wash out. Patches to the rescue again. We used a hand cut arrow design to cover up a long dribble, and a multi layered flower to disguise a some salsa splashes.

Turn plain jeans to designer style

The technique here is similar to the repaired jeans above, but this time we took brand new dark denims from drab to dynamite with a few artfully placed patches. The teeny tiny hearts were punched with a standard paper hole punch, proving again what a great, clean cut you can get from the patch material.

A plain tote bag is just begging for a bit of drama

A blank tote is a great surface for a little patch artwork. We used our die-cutter again to create some simple shapes, but don’t forget about the Dritz Template options. Or, use your own imagination. The patches are easy to draw on from the front or back. You can use a regular pen if working from the back (optimum for letters), but use a fabric pen or pencil that will wipe away or disappear with exposure to the air or the heat of an iron if drawing on the front of the patch.

Make some sheer magic for scarves, curtains and more

When working on some of our other ideas, we noticed how wonderfully flexible the Dritz twill patches were. This got us thinking about trying them on a completely out-of-the-box substrate. We cut our shapes and ironed them onto sheer chiffon. It worked beautifully. Try this tone-on-tone technique to create an instant fancy scarf, a pretty curtain panel, even a skirt overlay. As with many of the patch applications, use a pressing cloth to distribute the heat evenly, protect the base fabric, and prevent the patch from developing a shine.

Reinforce a tufted pillow

If you’re working with a lighter weight fabric, a tufted button can be tricky. It’s hard to pull the button tight enough without almost pulling through the fabric. Layering one or more small patches at the pillow’s center reinforces the area and provides an interesting background for the button.

Create a pillow opening with function and flair

More pillow inspiration – this for a button-up envelope opening. We chose the small corduroy patches from the Dritz Iron On Patches Assortment. It was a unique texture to work with. We wrapped the finished overlap edge of our pillow with the patch, then stitched the buttonhole in matching thread through all the layers. As with the tufting idea above, the patches add strength, stability and style.

We received compensation from Dritz for this project, and some of the materials featured here or used in this project were provided free of charge by Dritz.  All opinions are our own.