Can Iron-On Patches Come Off and Be Reused Again?

  • By: Tiffany Peris
  • Time to read: 8 min.

Iron-on patches make us stand out when among other people. Moreover, the patches are used by people to express themselves. Additionally, the patches can also conceal stains or torn parts in garments. Due to their popularity, people tend to have numerous questions about iron-on patches. One of the commonly asked questions is whether one can reuse iron-on patches.

Iron-on patches can be reused. You can either apply fabric glue on the iron-on patch and stick the patch on the fabric or sew the patch on the fabric where you want to reuse it. However, you should note that it is not possible to reuse the iron-on patch if only planning to use the adhesive initially on the iron-on patch. This is because the adhesive loses its stickiness immediately after it has been detached from a fabric, thus making it impossible to reuse the same adhesive initially on the patch.

Iron-on patches can come off the fabric if you don’t take good care of the patches. To deliberately remove the patches from the garment, you can use iron, white vinegar, nail polish remover, a hairdryer, hot water, or a freezer.

In this article, I discuss iron-on patches and how to reuse them. I recommend that you read the article in its entirety to have a good understanding of how you can reuse the iron-on patch. 

Methods to remove iron-on patches

How To Remove Iron-on Patch And Reuse It

To reuse an iron-on patch, you need to first remove the patch from the fabric where it was initially affixed and then re-use it by attaching it to another fabric. Iron-on patches come off clothes through different methods.

Before you remove an iron-on patch on the fabric, you must make sure that the patch is indeed iron-on. Here is an article on how to identify an iron-on patch.

Let’s now look at the different methods that can be used to remove the iron-on patch on the fabric so that it can be reused on another fabric.

Removing Iron-on Patch With A Hair Dryer

To remove an iron-on patch on a fabric with a hairdryer, you will need a hairdryer functioning well. The purpose of the hairdryer in the iron-on patch removal process is to provide heat that will break down the glue’s bond on the patch and thus make the patch loose.

How to do it

Set your hair dryer to the highest temperatures possible. 

Turn on the hair dryer and direct the heat from the hair dryer on the back of the patch.

Heat the back of the iron-on patch till the point where you feel that the glue holding the patch is starting to become loose and it is detaching from the fabric.

Gently lift the iron-on patch from the fabric. If the patch is still strongly attached, direct more heat on the patch with the hair dryer.

After the iron-on patch has been removed, use an adhesive to make sure that you have removed any adhesive that could be remaining on the fabric.

Removing Iron-on Patch By Soaking The Fabric On Hot Water

The adhesive that makes the iron-on patch firmly attached to the fabric hates the heat. If adhesive comes into contact with heat, the iron-on patch will come off. Thus, when you soak a cloth with an iron-on patch in hot water, there is a high chance that the patch will come off.

How to do it

Soak your fabric that has an iron-on patch in a hot water basin.

Make sure that the section of your cloth that has the iron-on patch is fully immersed in the hot water.

Leave the fabric soaking in the hot water for about three hours.

After three hours, take the fabric out of water and gently peel off the iron-on patch.

After you have removed the iron-on patch, use an adhesive to make sure that you remove any adhesive that could be remaining on the fabric.

Removing Iron-on Patch By Placing The Fabric In A Freezer

Glue is known to lose its stickiness when it is frozen. Thus, when you put a cloth with an iron-on patch in a freezer for some hours, the adhesive that holds the iron-on patch will become ineffective, making it easy to remove the iron-on patch and re-use it.

How to do it

Put the clothing item with an iron-on patch on a plastic bag.

Place the plastic bag in the freezer.

Leave the plastic bag in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

After four hours, take of the plastic bag on the freezer and gently peel of the iron-on patch by using a spoon, credit card, spatula or a blunt object.  

Make sure that you do not use a sharp object to remove the iron-on patch since if you use a sharp object, you are likely to damage your fabric.

Use an adhesive remover to remove any glue residue that might be remaining on the fabric.

Removing Iron-on Patch With Nail Polish Remover – Acetone

In removing iron-on patches on a piece of fabric, you will use acetone. The nail remover is used to remove glue from fabrics since it can break down the glue and sticky residues immediately it comes into contact with the glue, thus making the glue ineffective.

How to do it

Take a piece of clothing or cotton ball and wet it with the polish remover.

Using the wet cotton ball or piece of clothing, gently rub the edges of the iron-on patch and loosen the adhesive.

Continue rubbing on the iron-on patch until you have applied polish remover on all parts of the patch.

Lightly peel off the patch from the fabric.

Once the iron-on patch has been removed, use nail polish remover to remove any glue that might be left on the fabric.

Removing Iron-on Patch With White Vinegar

When white vinegar comes into contact with glue, it breaks off the adhesive bonds, and as such, the glue becomes ineffective. Thus, when an iron-on patch on a fabric comes into contact with white vinegar, the iron-on patch can detach from the material.

How to do it

Mix water and vinegar in a wash basin.

Soak the piece of clothing with iron-on patch in the water and vinegar mixture for at least 12 hours.

After 12 hours, remove your piece of clothing from the mixture and peel off the iron-on patch.

After you have removed the patch, use a nail polish remover to get rid of any glue that may still be remaining on the fabric.

Removing Iron-on Patch With Iron

When using this method, you need to make sure that the adhesive holding the iron-on patch is heated since after the adhesive has been heated, the bonds of the glue will be debilitated, making it easy to remove the patch.

How to do it

Heat your iron.

Place a piece of clothing on top of the iron-on patch.

Place the hot iron on top of the iron on patch for about 15-20 seconds.

Peel off the iron-on patch from the fabric.

Reusing Iron-on Patches

You can reuse the iron-on patch after removing iron-on patches using iron, white vinegar, nail polish remover, hairdryer, hot water, or a freeze. To reuse the iron-on patch, you will need to either sew the patch on the fabric or use fabric glue.

The following are the steps you can use to reuse the iron-on patch.

Using Fabric Glue To Reuse Iron-on Patch

Step 1: Inspect the iron-on patch

After removing the iron-on patch from your clothing, you need to inspect it before you can reuse it. If the patch was damaged when removing it from your piece of clothing, the iron-on patch could not be used. However, if the iron-on patch is in good condition, you can proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Place the clothing you want to affix the reused iron-on patch on top of a craft table or iron board

Identify the exact location where you want the reused iron-on patch to be placed on your clothing. Ensure that the specific spot you wish to place the garment is clean and dust-free. By making sure that there is no dust or dirt on the fabric and the patch, you will ensure that the patch will hold more securely on the fabric.

Step 3: Apply permanent fabric glue on the reused iron-on patch

After confirming that the reused iron-on patch and the fabric where you want to place the patch are free from dirt and dust, you will proceed to apply fabric glue on the patch. Apply enough fabric glue at the back of the patch.

Step 4: Place the reused iron-on patch with fabric glue on your fabric

Place the iron-on patch on the specific spot that you want it to be on the fabric. Hold it for a few seconds so that the fabric glue firmly sticks it to the fabric. Ensure that you do not disturb the patch or the fabric until the fabric glue has dried.

You can use tape or pins to ensure that the patch is held in its place as it dries.

Take note that you will need to use permanent fabric glue. This glue is insoluble once it dries and can withstand many washes and dry cleaning. If you use regular fabric glue, the patch will eventually peel off since normal fabric glue lose its strength as it is washed.

Sewing an Iron-on Patch To Reuse It

This process is pretty simple. Once you have removed an iron-on patch from a piece of fabric, you will sew the patch to attach it to the fabric and reuse it. You can hand sew the patch or use a sewing machine to sew the reused iron-on patch on the fabric.

By sewing the iron-on patch instead of using fabric glue, you will ensure that the patch can last a long time as it cannot come off even when you wash your fabric in hot water.

Sewing A Reused Iron-on Patch With A Sewing Machine

If you are an expert in sewing, it would be easy for you to use a sewing machine to sew the reused iron-on patch on the fabric.

You need to use a sewing thread that matches the patch or your fabric, and then make sure that you are using the appropriate stitch. For example, when sewing the iron-on patch, the perfect stitch is a zig-zag stitch. This stitch is handy and will securely hold the patch on the fabric.

Hand Sewing A Reused Iron-on Patch On A Fabric

Hand sewing a reused iron-on patch is simple and can be done by anyone.

Once you have identified the spot where you want to place the reused iron-on patch, you will temporarily need to attach the patch with pins. After that, thread the needle and use the backstitch to attach the patch to the fabric permanently.

Final Thoughts

Iron-on patches are used for different reasons. If you have a unique iron-on patch that you want to reuse, you can reuse the patch on another fabric.

However, you must make sure that you effectively remove the patch from the fabric without ruining it. If the patch is ruined while removing it from the garment, it cannot be reused.

To attach the patch to the fabric, you can either use permanent fabric glue or sew the patch on the fabric.