new video at OMLpatches.com
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Merrowing Custom Patches
Why OMLpatches.com is better than the rest.
WHAT EXACTLY IS MERROWING?Merging is a standard addition to most custom patches. A merrowed border is a standard option for custom patches and can be applied to a circle, rectangle, square or triangle. The merrowed border option will give your custom patch a finished, professional and polished look. This border is 1/8″ is that overlocks the patch edge. This option also prevents unwanted frayed edges. Merrowed Border will give your patch long lasting durability. At OMLpatches.com, we have modified our Merrow Machine so we can merrow the velcro right on to the patch itself - no sewing the velcro on afterwards like most companies do. This is one of the reasons that Omlpatches.com is better than the rest.
Here are some more information on the history of merrowing, taken from the Merrow.com website:
The Inventor of Merrow Machine Company
Merrowed Borders and custom patches compliment each other beautifully. It’s hard to believe that if it weren’t for one man, merrowed borders would have never been created. Joseph M. Merrow was born on June 24, 1848. Mr. Merrow was born and raised in Mansfield, Connecticut. In 1938 the Merrow’s family business was established. This small family business started out as a manufacturer of knit cotton goods. This business would not last long, a small fire would destroy their whole factory and would change the appearance of patches forever. Merrow Mills was soon developed and the first industrial overlock sewing machine was created. Today, Merrow Machine Company is the leading merrow machine manufacture and is the oldest manufacture to produce sewing machines in The United States of America. Merrow Machine Company is the only company in the entire world to produce a machine to do patches and emblems. its one of a kind!Merrowing Process
The process of merrowing a custom patch using the merrow machine is very difficult, time consuming and takes skill to get it right, especially with tabs. Its a good idea to know a bit about the process of merrowing because it will give you a good idea of one of the many steps that we use for custom patches and what goes into producing them. Our production team goes through each custom patch one by one and uses the merrow machine to do the merrowed edge border one at a time. This is a time consuming process, where every patch is done individually. When it comes to custom patches, there is no such thing as mass production. It takes time, patience, and talent. But it makes for great patches that are made to last.
Yep, above is a merrow machine. Its kinda funny looking and reminds me of a very old fashioned sewing machine. It is of course very different from a sewing machine....it only does one thing - the edges of patches and nothing else.
Advantages of Merrowing a custom patch:
- Merrowed borders makes patches more durable than any other patch borders
- Protects against frayed edges
- Gives the patch a polished professional look
- Looks better and cleaner
- Gives the patch a decorative edge
- Makes patches stand out
- Holds on to the velcro, and will never let go.
- Looks great on any patches - play around with colors and match the merrowed border to the rest of the patch
- we have the same colour thread for the merged edge as the embroidery, so patches will look put together and completed properly
- subdued colors if needed - so no bright edges unless that is what you are looking for.
- merrowed edge matches the camo or solid coloured background
- The smallest size for a merrowed patch is 1.5”x1.5”
- limitation on what patches you can marrow, but we find most patches can be merrowed.
- Available for rectangle, triangle, circle and shield shapes (simple basic shapes only)
- Can only be used on smooth borders
- time consuming, requires still and patience and hours of work to do properly
- needles are stupidly expensive (well that has nothing to do with you, i just get mad when I break a needle)
OMLpatches.com
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
High quality materials make high quality patches
At OMLpatches.com, we only use the best materials, sourced from the USA.
FABRIC BACKGROUND MATERIAL
Our multicam material is made from real Rip-stop straight from the manufacturer - no middlemen. It is the same high quality material that the uniforms are made from. If we were to use the cheaper, ever available crappy knock-off multicam material, the patches would fall apart. We accidentally got send some of this material, and we threw it all out because we could not even cut the material with sharp scissors. Does anyone really want that for their patches? Nope. When you search patch images online, if you zoom in, you can see the quality of the materials used in creating the patches. If the patches don't have the Rip-Stop lines on them, you know that it is second rate material. Its a good sign that the company is using low quality cheap materials, and in turn making low quality cheaper patches that will eventually fall apart. Of course, not all of the camo and solid colour materials come in Rip-Stop by design, but we know that multicam does, so that is a good place to look. Multicam also comes in different camps - Multicam Black, multicam arid and multicam tropical. We of course bought all of that material directly from the same manufacturer, Duro Textiles in the USA.
THREAD
Believe it or not, thread quality makes a big difference. We only use the best thread, Madeira Threads and have carefully chosen the perfect colours to match the background fabric. I have seen that some companies use less quality threads, and it shows in their work. The thread looses colour and frays easily. That doesn't make your patch last longer. We also use the same thread for merrowing the edges - making the marrow and the thread match perfectly and also keeping with our high standards of quality materials. The thread keeps its colour and doesn't fray at all. Some merrowing threads fray the minute you touch it to the fuzzy side of the velcro, and that is why we use the more expensive but higher quality embroidery thread for merrowing (the merrowing is the thick outside edge stitching on the outside of the patches, as shown below)
VELCRO
As discussed in the last blog, velcro makes a big difference for patches. You can have an awesome patch, but if it falls of in the field because the velcro is cheap, what good does it do you? Not much. We only use Velcro Brand Fastener, the best of the best, and we only get it directly from the manufacturer in the USA. Sure, we could use an off brand velcro and save a ton of money, but its not worth it for quality. The hook Velcro on the back of your patch is the only thing holding your patch on! If it is going to fall off, its just not good enough. the Velcro is virtually guaranteed to stay on the fuzzy size of the velcro - the "velcro real estate" on most uniforms, gear and bags is meant for this purpose - to hold on to the patches and keep them safe.
SO THE QUESTION IS, WHY SETTLE FOR LESS THAN THE BEST?
Sure you can get patches for $1.75 or $4.00 but you really get what you pay for. When you pay a little bit more for the high quality professional patches that are made to last, that is exactly what you get. I have friends that are still using their patches that we made 8 years ago - the patches have been out in the field, in different climates, sand, rain and other inclement weather and they still look good! Can anyone else say that about their patches? I doubt that.
GET THE BEST PATCHES WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET.
CUSTOM MADE TO ORDER, CUSTOM MADE TO LAST.
OML
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Halloween Patch Sale
USE COUPON CODE HALLOWEEN AND SEE THE SAVINGS PILE UP!
Sale good until October 19, 2014!
25% for all TV/Movie Patches, Seasonal Patches and Video Game Patches.
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