Killdozer patch or iron-on.

September 11, 2006 9:13 PM

I just got back from the Touch n Go party in Chicago and I very badly need a Killdozer patch for a jacket of mine. Did anybody ever make one? Maybe I can create my own, high-quality iron-on? If so, how?
posted by NoMich to media & arts (5 comments total)

eBay is often the best place to look for these things, and a search for "killdozer patch" shows that one has never been listed.

It looks like you have to go the DIY route; iron-on patches don't really work properly in my experience [nearly 20 years of heavy metal patches on denim] and need sewing on so there's no reason to care too much about the irony bit. There's always the option of painting something directly on the jacket.

Note that Google searches like "custom iron-on patch" bring up lots of results, with prices in the $2–5 range for orders of 50. I would have thought that ordering the minimum number from one of those places and flogging the surplus on eBay would probably be cost-effective. This would clearly involve trademark infringement, but it's hard to see anyone caring. You could always ask permission.
posted by nowonmai at 8:31 AM on September 12, 2006

Or "none has ever been listed"?
posted by nowonmai at 8:32 AM on September 12, 2006

I've made my own black on white patches. Basically all you need is a bottle of "Transfer glue" from an arts and/or crafts store. Then you:

1. Print out the image you want mirrored (if there is text)
2. Run it through a high-contrast mode so there is as little shading as possible (you want thick, bold lines)
3. Paint the front of the image with transfer glue (cover the black image)
4. Put your plain light-colored cloth on top, smooth it down to avoid folds or air bubbles
5. Put some scrap paper on top for insulation, place a heavy book on top of that
6. Wait a few days
7. to get the paper off the cloth, dip it in water and rub the paper away.

You'll have the photocopy glued to the cloth!
posted by cowbellemoo at 9:24 AM on September 12, 2006

Clarification: you want to run the printout through a photocopier in step 2.....ink doesn't transfer but toner does!
posted by cowbellemoo at 9:26 AM on September 12, 2006

If you've got the image you want as an eps (or sometimes TIFF) you could take it down to a place that does shirt and hat embroidery and ask to have it put on a piece of denim that you could then cut out and sew on. They sometimes have a setup fee that would really bump the cost. Alternatively you could go down to a sewing machine store with the art, if it's slow they might help you out.

You can buy the iron on stuff for cloth but as nowonmai said I've never had any real luck with it lasting.
posted by Mitheral at 1:52 PM on September 12, 2006