Hot-Cut Border
A patch edge finished by cutting with a heated blade that seals the polyester fibers as it cuts, producing a sharp clean edge without overlock.
Hot-cut borders use a heated knife or blade to cut the embroidered patch out of its surrounding stabilizer and twill. The heat melts and seals the polyester fibers as it cuts, creating a hard sealed edge that does not fray. The visual result is a much thinner, more precise outline than a merrowed border.
Hot-cutting is the standard finish for patches with intricate shapes that merrowing cannot follow: stars, custom die-cut silhouettes, sharp inside corners, multi-pointed designs, and any shape with concave curves. Most modern custom patches with non-traditional shapes use hot-cut borders rather than merrowed.
The edge of a hot-cut patch has a thin sealed lip that is slightly darker than the surrounding twill. To dress up this edge, many shops add a satin-stitched border around the design perimeter just inside the hot-cut line, giving the patch a clean embroidered outline with the hot-cut sealing the actual cut edge.
Hot-cutting is also faster and more automated than merrowing. A laser or heated die can cut hundreds of patches per hour, while a merrow machine is one piece at a time on a manual feed. For high-volume custom patch production, hot-cut borders are typically more economical than merrowed.
Examples
- Star-shaped custom patches
- Die-cut logo patches in unusual silhouettes
Related Terms
- Merrowed Border →
- The classic thick overlocked edge stitched around the perimeter of a patch, named after the Merrow sewing machine that produces it.
- Laser-Cut Border →
- A patch edge cut by a CO2 laser, providing extreme precision for intricate shapes and producing a clean sealed edge similar to hot-cut.
- Twill (patch backing) →
- The woven polyester base fabric that patches are stitched onto, providing a smooth dense surface for embroidery.
- Iron-On Backing →
- A patch backing treatment that adds a heat-activated adhesive layer, allowing the patch to be applied to garments with a household iron or heat press.
- Sew-On Backing →
- The standard patch finish with no adhesive or fastener, requiring the patch to be sewn onto the garment by hand or machine.
Used in our services
Hot-cut and laser-cut patches for complex shapes that merrowing cannot handle.
Custom Embroidered Patches →