How long do custom patches take to make?

The honest answer has two parts, and the part most people forget is the one they control themselves.

The timeline

2 to 3 weeks in production, then 3 to 5 days in transit on tracked shipping.

So from approval to patches in hand, plan on three to four weeks.

The clock starts at proof approval, not at order

This is the part that catches people out, and it is worth stating plainly because it is the difference between hitting a date and missing it.

Ordering does not start production. Approving your proof does.

The sequence is:

1. You order and pay.
2. Your artwork is digitised — redrawn as stitch paths, matched to real thread colours.
3. You receive a proof.
4. You approve it. Production time starts here.
5. It is manufactured and shipped tracked.

If a proof sits unapproved for a week because it went to someone who was away, that is a week added to your delivery date. Nothing is wrong; the clock simply has not started.

We do this deliberately. Nothing is manufactured until somebody with the authority to say so has signed off, because a run of 100 patches with a misspelled motto is not recoverable.

Planning backwards from a date

If you need patches by a specific day — a course graduation, an exercise, a competition — work backwards:

• Delivery date
• minus 5 days transit
• minus 3 weeks production
• minus however long approval realistically takes in your organisation

That last line is the one to be honest about. If the design has to be agreed by three people, budget for it.

For most groups, ordering five to six weeks out is comfortable. Four weeks is tight but workable if approval happens quickly.

What makes it slower

• Slow proof approval. By far the biggest factor, and entirely within your control.
• Changes after the proof. A revision means a new proof and a new approval. Better to get it right at that stage than to change your mind after.
• Artwork that needs interpretation. A clean file goes to proof faster than a photo of a sketch. Both work; one is quicker.

What does not make it slower

• PVC versus embroidered. Same lead time. The mould is cut inside those weeks.
• Quantity. A run of 25 and a run of 500 take about the same time on the floor.
• Backing choice. Hook-and-loop, sew-on and iron-on are all the same.

Reorders

Faster, because the digitising is already done. Your design is kept on file against your order ID, so a follow-on run goes to production without redrawing the artwork or re-approving what has not changed. Place one from the resupply page with your design code.

Shipping

Free tracked shipping on every order, including to APO, FPO and DPO addresses at no extra cost. The tracking number is emailed when the parcel goes out. We do not currently ship outside the United States.