DIY: How To Make Your Own Patch The Easiest Way

A DIY punk guide for making your own patches by Solovei Mudak. Learn how to make a do-it-yourself patch using just a label paper and acrylic paint for fabric.

By DIY Conspiracy
punk vest back

Patches have evolved from their original purpose of covering holes in clothing to become a prominent fashion statement within punk culture. Punks around the world have decorated them with provocative images, political statements, and band logos, turning patches into some of the most recognizable symbols of the DIY punk subculture.

This practice eventually led to the creation of the battle jacket, a garment extensively covered with patches. While the term was initially associated with jackets displaying band or political affiliations, it is now used more broadly for all kinds of patch-covered jackets within different subcultural scenes.

How to Make Your Own DIY Punk Patches

Solovei (The Nightingale) is a friend from Moldova who creates awesome DIY punk and antifascist art for bands, collectives, and anti-authoritarian projects across many former Soviet states, including both Russia and Ukraine.

While some punks use spray paint and stencils, Solovei’s method requires nothing more than a computer screen, full-sheet adhesive label paper, and acrylic fabric paint.

This brief tutorial shows how to make your own DIY patch for a shirt, pair of pants, or battle jacket using the same technique.

What You’ll Need

  • Full-sheet adhesive label paper
  • A design to trace
  • Black fabric or cotton canvas
  • Black and white fabric paint
  • A precision craft knife and cutting surface
  • A small brush or stencil brush
  • An iron for fixing the stencil and heat-setting the finished patch

Safety note: Precision blades and hot irons can cause serious injuries. Work slowly on a protected surface, keep your fingers away from the blade, and follow the paint manufacturer’s instructions for drying and heat-setting.

Useful Supplies for Making Your Own Patches


For the stencil
Full-Sheet Adhesive Label Paper
Blank 8.5 × 11-inch sheets give you enough room to trace and cut larger designs.


For painting
Black and White Textile Paint
A compact fabric-paint set with the two colors used throughout this tutorial.


For cutting
Precision Knife and Cutting Mat Kit
A craft knife, spare blades, ruler, and self-healing mat for cutting the stencil safely and cleanly.


For the patch base
Black Cotton Canvas Fabric
Sturdy cotton canvas that can be cut into patches and sewn onto jackets, bags, or trousers.


For detail work
Small Fabric and Stencil Brushes
Useful for dabbing paint through narrow openings without flooding the stencil.


For heat-setting
Mini Craft Iron
A compact option for pressing small stencil areas and heat-setting finished patches.

You do not need to buy everything new. Old black jeans, canvas bags, workwear, and other tightly woven fabric can all be cut up and reused as patch material.

Step-by-Step DIY Punk Patch Tutorial

Here is how to make your own punk patch from start to finish.

  1. 1

    Prepare the Label Paper and Design

    Start with a sheet of adhesive label paper and the image you want to turn into a patch.

    Full sheet of adhesive label paper used to make a DIY punk patch stencil
    Black-and-white punk design displayed on a computer screen for tracing

  2. 2

    Trace the Design

    You do not need a printer. Place the sheet over the computer screen and carefully trace the design by hand without pressing hard against the display.

    Adhesive label paper placed over a computer screen for tracing a punk design
    Hand tracing the outline of a punk patch design onto label paper
    Completed traced stencil design on adhesive label paper

  3. 3

    Attach the Paper to the Fabric

    Once the design is traced, peel away the backing and stick the label paper firmly onto the fabric.

    Traced adhesive stencil attached to black fabric

  4. 4

    Press the Stencil

    Press the paper onto the fabric with an iron so that it stays flat and does not lift while you cut and paint. Use a suitable heat setting for the fabric and paper.

    Iron pressing an adhesive paper stencil onto black fabric

  5. 5

    Cut Out the Stencil

    Now for the hardest part: carefully cut away the areas of the image that will be painted. Take your time around narrow lines and small details.

    Precision knife cutting the traced punk stencil on fabric
    Partially cut adhesive stencil revealing black fabric underneath

  6. 6

    Apply the First Layer of Paint

    Apply a layer of black fabric paint over the cut image. This creates a dark base and helps seal the stencil edges.

    Black fabric paint being applied over the cut stencil
    Stencil covered with an even layer of black fabric paint

  7. 7

    Add the White Paint

    Once the base is ready, apply two thin layers of white fabric paint. Thin coats usually produce cleaner edges than one heavy coat.

    White fabric paint applied over the punk patch stencil

  8. 8

    Let It Dry and Remove the Paper

    Allow the paint to dry completely before peeling away the paper. In this example, the stencil was left for around two hours, but drying times vary, so check the instructions on your paint.

    Drying painted stencil before the adhesive paper is removed

  9. 9

    Heat-Set the Finished Patch

    Once the stencil is removed, the patch is ready. Heat-set the paint according to the manufacturer’s instructions so it holds up better when the patch is worn or washed.

    Completed black-and-white Deviation punk patch on fabric

That’s it: your handmade patch is ready to be cut to size and sewn onto a jacket, shirt, bag, or pair of trousers.

About the Band on the Patch

For those unfamiliar with them, the band chosen for this DIY patch tutorial is Deviation, a legendary political punk rock band from Belarus.

Deviation formed in Grodno in 1993 but played their first show in February 1996 at an antifascist festival in the capital, Minsk. They later became the best-known Belarusian punk band, inspiring many other projects both musically and politically.

I believe Deviation called it quits in 2009. The last news I heard about them concerned their bassist, Andrei Pachobut, being arrested after taking part in an unauthorized demonstration supporting the rights of Belarus’s Polish minority.

More DIY Punk Patches by Solovei

Below are more DIY patches and punk accessories created by Solovei using the same technique.

Looking for designs? You can find thousands of band, political, and subcultural stencil templates through AnarchoStencilism.

DIY Conspiracy

Articles published by the editorial team of DIY Conspiracy.