Why To Choose Embroidered Patches Over Direct Embroidery?

A patch can be embroidered onto a shirt in a variety of ways. Basic Direct embroidery and patch embroidery are the most popular ones. What makes a difference? Embroidery Patches have advantages over direct embroidery on cloth for the following reasons.

At Elegant Patches, we strongly support the use of embroidered customized patches. They are not only cheap but also sustainably helpful. They help greatly lower waste generated each year by constantly recycling patches.

Let's explore in detail how to choose embroidered patches over direct embroidery.

What Are Direct Embroidery Patches?

Direct embroidery refers to sewing the embroidered logo directly into items like your sleeve, cap, bag, jacket, etc. The object is sewn into the garment and thus becomes a "part of" the surface it is embroidered on.

Thus, you cannot remove direct stitching and cannot reapply to a different cloth without a time-consuming procedure that risks harming the fabric.

What are Embroidered Patches?

Patch embroidery differs from traditional embroidery because it isn't sewn directly onto the patch. Alternatively, it is laid on the cloth and then sewn or ironed. It means you can transfer that patches from one piece of clothing to another.

Embroidered patches are also more sturdy on a patch rather than a piece of fabric like a shirt. As a result, direct embroidery can have greater detail than patch embroidery. Also, you can easily clean your custom embroidered patches as they are easy to remove.

Embroidered Patches Or Direct Embroidery—Which Is Less Expensive?

Over time, embroidered patches are substantially less expensive than direct embroidery, making them more economical. Unlike direct stitching, where you can't do so, you can reuse your embroidered patch elsewhere.

Therefore, embroidered patches are the way to go if you want to save money and have a patch that is high in many forms of usefulness.

Embroidered Patches Vs. Direct Embroidery – What's The Difference?

Direct stitching causes the patch to get fully embedded into the fabric, becoming "a part" of the piece of clothing. You won't be able to use the patch again or apply it to another item if you choose to insert it via direct stitching.

On the other hand, Embroidered patches are easy to remove and put on anywhere. You can place them anywhere you want or replace them just by buying, pressing and sewing on another piece. Let's see why to choose Embroidered Patches Over Direct Embroidery below:

Benefits 1: Embroidery Patches Are Highly Affordable

Custom patch manufacture is not only affordable, but it also provides savings over the long run. While direct stitching into cloth can cost over $5, the typical cost of a 2" custom patch with embroidery is around $1.57.

Thus, it shows that due to their significantly lower cost—less than half the price of direct embroidery—manufacturers plainly show that they prioritize Custom Embroidery Patches.

Although the price difference may not seem significant for a single purchase, it becomes a significant issue for manufacturers and distributors dealing with big volumes of goods. For instance, direct embroidery may add $3,500 to the price of a batch of 1,000 items!

Benefit 2: Quality Difference Between Embroidery Patches

Direct embroidery does have certain benefits when it comes to quality. Compared to customized patches, embroidery digitizing and patterns typically last longer and offer a better tactile experience.

Direct embroidery's efficiency in terms of cost must be taken into account. Although you could pay more for a better product, the quality does not always increase with the cost.

In the modern world, this becomes very important when you rarely wear clothes for a longer duration.

Retail customers sometimes don't see the benefit of paying the additional cost for direct embroidery. But if they're buying a limited-edition special item with high emotional or sentimental value, they will.

Benefit 3: Embroidered Patches Are Simpler To Remove

Choosing embroidered patches vs direct embroidery has the important additional benefit of being replaceable. You can easily remove them and apply them on different dresses according to your wish.

In professions like car mechanics, gardeners, and manufacturing employees, the ability to swiftly replace custom patches is very useful. They are perfect for uniforms as they need replacement at least once or twice a year.

Instead, uniforms gather in large quantities, and the patches remove from the cloth and re-sew onto fresh sets. It may surprise you that this practice saves industries hundreds of millions of dollars yearly. It should be noted that this is a widespread practice, not just in the United States.

Final Thought

The decision to use direct rather than patch embroidery might be made for various reasons. For instance, you wouldn't want to sew a patch into a pricey golfing shirt. Direct embroidery is what you desire if you don't intend to remove the stitched picture.

So, before deciding, see the Do's & Don'ts of Creating Custom Embroidered Patches to understand more about them.

Direct embroideries may be the greatest option for branding circumstances because these graphics are not removable. Consequently, even though embroidered patches offer numerous advantages, it all depends on the specifics of what you desire.

When seeking to market products, brands frequently choose direct embroidery; but if you're a local brand, you may prefer patch embroidery.

Considering every aspect above, it is easy to identify the winner. Whether simple or elaborate, an embroidered emblem is superior in every way. Direct stitching makes it difficult to upgrade your clothing and give your branded marketing items glitter, but customized patches may.

Because they let people reflect their emotions in their fashion without going over budget, patches have been popular for a long time.

Direct embroidery cannot compare to the Benefits of Using Custom Embroidery Patches regarding cost or usage flexibility. After reading this article, we hope you will feel more at ease utilizing stitched patches.

Elegant Patches make it easy too!

You can now get a FREE quote on your patch design by contacting us through email. Also, you can send us any queries about details, production, shipping, or pricing.