I've been nothing short of OBSESSED lately with all things motorcycle-related; I LIFE image-search through pictures of Hell's Angels and I regularly find myself typing phrases like "LEATHER FRINGE AMERICAN FLAG VEST" into late night eBay searches. This was all bound to find its way into my craft projects sooner or later, and, lo and behold, it happened this weekend when I made a bald eagle patch - reminiscent of old school biker jackets - for my friend's birthday. I can't take credit for the design (it's one of the MASCOTS for his band, DC-based New Rock Church of Fire) but I CAN take credit for the execution, just as you can take credit for YOURS after plowing your way through this tutorial. Patches of this kind are a bit of a time investment, so settle in with a rainy day and a few movies to bust this out. This project costs almost nil, as embroidery floss is cheap and you can use pretty much any scrap fabric you've got hanging around - but my favorite thing to do is hunt for big bags of mixed floss at thrift stores. I can't tell you how many I've scored over the years for a hundredth of the cost that you'd pay at the craft store. Yes, I'm cheap, and YES - I plan on making a lot of friendship bracelets this summer. But I digress. Here, in 5 easy steps, is exactly how to DIY your own patches. Have fun affixing them to your denim jacket (or your leather fringe American flag vest):

1. Gather your supplies. You'll need a thin piece paper (printer paper or tracing paper work well) and a pencil, an embroidery hoop, tweezers, a needle with an eye large enough for embroidery floss, scissors, scotch tape, some sturdy scrap fabric to use as your background (I've used everything from an old sheet to a medium-weight dishtowel), and a rainbow of embroidery floss. Or at least the colors you'll need for the task at hand.

2. Plot your design. Again, for this project I chose to use Terrence, the cardboard eagle that New Rock Church of Fire puts on the wall during their shows. I re-sized and then traced from my computer screen a hi-res photo that documented Terrence in all his glory. Keep in mind that the larger your design, the more hours (and hours, and hours) this will take to accomplish - but if you've got some time on your hands there's really nothing cooler than a big huge back patch. My eagle ended up being about 6" x 4" and took roughly 5 hours altogether.

3. APPLICATION. Once you've got your design drawn, cut off any excess paper (leaving yourself a good amount of border), and scotch-tape it right into the middle of your fabric. Plunk your embroidery hoop on, lock it up tight, and you're ready to go.

4. EXECUTION. You may be wondering when I'm going to get to the detailed, step-by-step process of how to embroider. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't have one. I've been embroidering for years without any FORMAL TRAINING, and while I can definitely point you in the direction of Sublime Stitching or any number of embroidery/craft books, that kind of thing just isn't in my ouvre. My method is to just think of my thread as a colored pencil or paint brush - you can get gorgeous results from just following your lines, making shapes, and pulling your thread tight through your paper and fabric. There are, of course, a FEW hard and fast rules: whether your stitches go horizontally or vertically, you're going to make your shapes and fill space by lining them up as close to each other as you can. Always start from the underside (pushing the needle up from the back; work in small sections; leave at least an inch or two of thread when starting or ending on your floss - you'll want to be able to go back and tie them off later, and until then use your scotch tape to keep them out of the way. Keep your stitches to less than an inch in length - the longer your stitches are, the greater chance they'll look floppy when you take off your embroidery hoop, and you don't want that. All you need is patience and a penchant for doing things with your hands - you'll be smooth-sailing in no time. And now, some time lapse photography:

5. THE END. Several hours later, when you've exhuasted your Netflix queue and your dog is staring at you for her walk, you will be finished. It will feel amazing. Go back and tie up your loose ends, maybe give the whole thing a nice outline - in your color of choice - to clean up any messy edges. Use your tweezers to remove any bits of paper that are poking up through your stitches. Remove the embroidery hoop and trim your background fabric, leaving a nice big border. When you apply your patch you'll want to fold the border under to make nice, clean edges, and FINITO! Look what you did!

 Do YOU have any DIY emboridery or patch tips that you've gleaned or discovered over the years? Pass them along - and include photos! - in the comments section...