Did you ever wish you had a eye patch for a special occasion but couldn’t find one? My son wears sticky patches and other than drawing directly on them or sticking stickers on them they aren’t exactly the easiest thing to customize. We decided to make our own cool patches. They are easy to make but we normally only make them for a special occasion like birthdays, football games and holidays.
To start out you are going to need a couple things. There are two ways you can go about making the patch. My favorite is printing on the fabric, it creates a bright clear image or text but you can also color on the fabric with markers. I will show you an example of each.
Lets start with printing on fabric.
For the purpose of making this tutorial I used photo fabric which you can buy at any craft store. This is pretty pricy and If you have the time I would suggest making your own. Below I have posted some other tutorials I have found to print on your own fabric. This will just add a little extra work on your end. (note -I do not have a good printer so my pictures are a little splotchy)
Here are some tutorials for printing on your own fabric:
http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2010/03/custom-bean-bags.html
http://happyhourprojects.com/printing-on-fabric/
http://made-inhome.blogspot.nl/2013/06/printing-on-fabric-tutorial.html?showComment=1372239899990
http://www.thescrapshoppeblog.com/2011/12/christmas-bingo.html
http://hannaslifeiscool.blogspot.com/2008/10/printing-on-fabric-with-your-computer.html
1. Print a design on fabric– I created a couple simple designs to show you as an example. It can be anything from a super hero patch or something for your little one to wear to a Mickey mouse birthday party. You get to choose.
2. Peel the backing off of the printed fabric.
3. Cover your patch in hot glue – Try to make it as even as you can. Its not easy and don’t worry about it too much. I use the simple skin colored patches from a local pharmacy. I don’t like these patches a whole lot because they do not stick as well, if I know I want the patch to stay REALLY well I always go with Ortopad and just cover up a design I do not like. Work fast and don’t burn yourself!
4. Stick patch to fabric – Before the glue dries flip the patch over and stick to the wrong side of your fabric.
5. Cut the patch out- Try not to cut into the patch and use sharp scissors.
NOW YOU ARE DONE! Just chaise your little patcher down and enjoy the fun. You are sure to get some fun comments.
If you don’t want to print your design can always draw on the fabric. If you want it to look a little nicer than just drawing directly on the patch.
Just gather a couple markers and some fabric. Color your design and then follow steps 3 though 5 shown above. This is what I do if I am in a big hurry. Like I wanted something fun for Scott to wear to the 4th of July parade….
*UPDATE*— Find another version of this method using heat bond to attach the fabric to patches. Visit Krafty Patches Australia here: http://www.kidseyepatches.com.au/1/post/2013/09/a-little-extra-fun-with-krafty-eye-patches.html
We tried the Heat Bond on a set of patches recently and it worked AMAZING!!!! Try it. You will love it.
For the heat bond iron on adhesive I just cut out a piece, Ironed it onto the eye patch. (the head does not ruin the sticky) and then I ironed the patch onto the fabric with my design. From there I just cut around the patch! It worked great and holds up amazing! I used a ink jet printer on this round of patches and they printed a LOT better!
These are so much fun for special events and things like PO visits, Birthday parties, Holidays, EUA’s and MORE!
If you are looking for some fun designs check out some of our post where we have free downloadable designs:
Valentines day patch designs: https://eyepowerkidswear.com/valentines-fun/
Thanksgiving Patch designs: https://eyepowerkidswear.com/happy-thanksgiving/
Easter Eye Patch Designs: https://eyepowerkidswear.com/easter-eye-patches-coloring-pages/
Great web site and ideas! I just found out I have to start patching my two and half year old daughter’s right eye to strengthen her left eye. My question to you is HOW did you get your child to keep the patch on? I’m so lost on this. Being a toddler, she won’t even let me get it on her let alone leave it on for 2-3 hours daily. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Farah
Patching is hard! Do you have a facebook? You should add the group little four eyes. Its a wonderful support group and everyone has so many amazing ideas. We try to do fun activities. You can also decorate patches. Krafty eye patches are a lot of fun. You can create a patch tree and hang up the patch at the end of the day. We do lots of bribing and treats for being a good patcher.
Pingback: Happy Thanksgiving : Eye Power Kids Wear
Pingback: Valentines Day Fun : Eye Power Kids Wear
Do you find that the hot glue makes your patch to stiff or thick and then it not stick as well? I tried to print on fabric that you can directly iron on the patch, but it turned stiff and didn’t stick as well.
The hot glue seemed to work fine for me. I tried not to make it too thick, the patch was thicker but still worked great. You can try starting with a stickier patch as well. Krafty or ortopad work well. What I found works best is the iron on interfacing but glue works too!
My nephew is wearing patches now – and my SIL asked my daughter to design some for him. She is super excited. What type of fabric do you recommend? Thanks!!
Personally I just draw on them, I start with a pencil and use various ink pens for defining lines once I have a rough design, then I fill in with colored pencil or basic ink pens (sharpies and other felt tip pens tend to bleed around the portions that are colored). Crayons also work well for basic color schemes and end up looking like pastel or oil on canvas. Once I made a really cool Pirate eyepatch for Halloween because he wanted to be a Pirate, I used eyeliner to create the “Elastic headband” portion of the patch.
Patch-Dad.
Can u plz post a tutorial video of this DIY patch
Plz plz plz
Great idea. I will have to try to make a video.