Hello. My name is Jade, and I’m addicted to buying patches.

No, seriously. I can’t stop. One arrived today that I’d actually forgot about ordering and when you forget you’ve ordered something you know you need to have a little inward assessment.

Patches are back, once reserved for teenagers in the 90s now even ASOS are stocking them and illustrators everywhere are rejoicing because they don’t have to try and sell their creations on the side of mugs or on t-shirts that no one really wants.

I’ve chosen to decorate an old denim jacket of mine that hasn’t been worn much lately with some patches that celebrate things I love. This has involved lots of careful Instagram stalking and braving overseas postage rates to curate a little collection that so far I am in love with.

I don’t iron my patches on, I always find they peel off eventually so I utilised my sewing badge skills that I was taught at Brownies all those years ago (any other Brownies in the house? Represent) and stitch them on by hand. I usually regret this about half way through on the bigger ones.

People always comment on my jacket now but they say they don’t have a clue where to look for patches, so today I thought I’d share some of my fave shops so you can get in on the patch game too. Decorate your jeans and shit.

So, here’s where I recommend you grab your patches from:

La Barbuda 

I stumbled across this shop on Instagram while browsing that explore page. It was a picture of their Adventure Time patch and I had that geeky ‘ohmygodImustpurchasethisimmediately’ moments. The shop itself is actually based in Spain, but their postage is super reasonable, the patches are the highest quality I’ve received so far and they arrived quickly too. They’ve got a huge range, the Chewbacca patch is next on my to buy list.

Pins

alocalshop

Another Instagram discovery, as you all know I love Carol on the Walking Dead so when I came across this pin it had to be added to my collection and was much cheaper than I expected it to be. It says ‘In Carol We Trust’ and is really high quality.

Fairycakes

I’ve shared the Firefly themed patch before in my mid May favourites post, but here you can see it in all its stitched on glory. The Fairycakes etsy shop has a huge selection of pastel coloured, kitsch designs. There’s a Nutella pin I’m currently eyeing up.

Oh My Gosh Cindy 

I bought the Kim K crying pin ages ago, but hadn’t found something to wear it on. Kim Kardashian’s crying face never fails to fill me with joy so it had to be that design when I chose from the shop’s selection of crying celebrity badges. The shop mainly sells cards and prints, which I also recommend you have a browse of – there are some great pop culture inspired designs.

I’m not sure where the Finn badge is from, he was a little gift from Jamie a while ago.

Ferdinand Works 

Arriving all the way from the USA, this Parks & Rec inspired patch is my new favourite thing. I love when someone creates something from a TV show or film you love that you didn’t even realise you needed until it’s right there in front of you and Ferdinand Works has loads of designs that tap into this. Now I’m a Pawnee Goddess and I shall wear this badge with pride.

“I am a goddess, a glorious female warrior. Queen of all that I survey. Enemies of fairness and equality, hear my womanly roar. Yeah!”

Pilfered

I bought this cute troll doll patch on a bit of a whim, after seeing on Instagram that they had been restocked. I’ve followed Jenna Greenwood and her shop Pilfered on the social media platform for a while now. She has a great eclectic style and her house is a thing of dreams. You should definitely follow her on Instagram, she’s great at keeping to a theme!

Jennis Prints 

Hey, guess where I found this shop? Instagram? Yes. Based in Sweden, Jenni creates cool patches inspired by pop culture she loves – namely Buffy and Twin Peaks. I had to pick up this Sunnydale High patch and it arrived super quickly from Stockholm. There’s other Buffy merch in her shop which you should definitely check out.

Other notable shops I haven’t bought from yet:

Punkypins  – amazing X Files themed patches!

Kodiak Milly – super cute animal themed patches.

Mighty Pop – pastel coloured amazingness.

Fradadaland – horror and pop culture pins.

Pop Culture Patches – need their Supernatural Impala patch!

Wildflower + Co – love their patches but shipping is super expensive to the UK!

Danny Brito – Danny creates some amazing patches and pins and I noticed recently that his shipping prices have dropped for the UK!

So my denim jacket is nowhere near full, I have a long way to go, but I’ll keep whoever is interested updated. I usually share new purchases on Instagram, so feel free to go follow me on there: @pugdinosaur

Jade xx