Embroidered Patches Pioneer Since 1977
Embroidered Patches and how to make money was owner Jim Mickelson’s motto back in 1977. Jim saw then the need for embroidered patches in Seattle and Tacoma. Moreover, Northwest Custom Apparel’s mission was to manufacture woven patches and apply them to caps. Hence, Seattle in 1977 didn’t have a lot of different styles of caps to choose from. Therefore, the high-crown foam cap was the best seller. As a result, we called it our “Elmer Fudd” cap.
As a result, we sold a lot of caps in those days because heavy equipment, fertilizer, and construction companies realized this was an excellent way to promote their product. Their market did not read trade publications. Likewise, think how many Caterpillar caps are out there.
Equally important, at least 4,000 eyeballs will see patches on a cap before it makes its way to the closet. Above all, patches on caps end up as collectibles.
Woven Patches Are In Style
Patches are starting to make their comeback. Their popularity waned around the 1990s because direct embroidery on caps became more popular. In the event of the embroidered patches coming back, Northwest Custom Apparel invested in cap embroidery machines to meet this new demand. Consequently, Embroidered Patches caps took a hiatus for about 20 years until they started to come back.
Popular Embroidered Patches
What is popular now is the trucker patch cap. The trucker patch cap is the old Farmer cap we sold in the early 80s. The decoration on the caps nowadays is embroidered patches or woven patches. Unlike embroidered patches, woven patches will allow more detail into the design. Furthermore, woven patches are an excellent alternative when someone wants them fast and loaded with detail. NW Custom Apparel can manufacture woven patches and deliver them within 72 hours.
Other Options For Custom Patches
In addition to woven patches, we offer a heat seal on the back of patches. Equally important, this is a way not necessary to sew the embroidered patches on the caps. We use a heat seal machine, and the application is very vast.
In other words, we can apply woven patches to caps is to applying Velcro or hook and loop backing.