About Bluebird Patchworks
Bluebird Patchworks is a small fandom-accessories shop based in Sarasota, Florida. We make iron-on cloth patches, themed baby bibs, and cloth headbands, all in our own studio. The shop has been running for over a decade and ships from the same address it always has.
How it started
The shop started at a comic-con table in 2013 with a single set of Doctor Who patches. They sold faster than we expected. The next con we brought twice as many, the con after that we brought four times as many, and somewhere between the third and fourth event we realised we needed a real online store rather than a folding table. Bluebird Patchworks went online the following year and the in-person work shifted to a few cons a year rather than every weekend.
What we make
Three product lines, all using the same in-house print and embroidery work:
- Iron-on patches across our main category list — Doctor Who, video games, superhero, sci-fi staples, and the broad "Everything Else" category for the niche designs (cryptids, vintage cartoons, sports teams, the long tail).
- Themed baby bibs in soft cotton with the same designs scaled and re-cut for bib-sized print areas. Popular with new parents in the fandom community.
- Cloth headbands in matching themed prints, adult and child sizes. Wide and narrow widths. Often ordered in batches by cosplay groups doing themed event days.
How we make them
Patches start as designs drawn in-studio, then either embroidered on a small commercial embroidery machine for the higher-end pieces, or printed on heat-press for the lower-cost everyday designs. Bibs and headbands are cut from cotton stock and either heat-transfer-printed or appliqued, depending on the design's complexity. Everything's assembled, packed, and shipped from the same studio.
The team
Two people, occasionally three when a con season picks up. The shop is small on purpose. The advantage of a small team is that questions about a specific order get answered by the person who packed it, and custom-design requests get answered by the person who can actually draw them.
Custom and bulk orders
The shop takes on custom designs in moderation:
- Personal custom patches — your design or a personal symbol made into a single patch or small set. Minimum order is usually 5 of a design.
- Cosplay group orders — matching patches, bibs, or headbands for a group of cosplayers attending an event together. Quoted by the number of pieces and the design complexity.
- Bulk store-resale — for small comic shops, fandom boutiques, and convention table vendors who want to resell. Wholesale pricing on orders over 50 pieces.
What we don't take on
- Designs using licensed artwork we don't have permission for. Doctor Who and other franchise references are done as inspired-by designs, not copyright-protected art.
- Very large fabric runs (over 500 pieces of one design). Our equipment is sized for small-batch runs; bigger jobs are better suited to a contract manufacturer.
- Embroidery on garments customers bring in (jackets, jeans, etc.). Our embroidery machine is set up for piece-work patches, not direct garment embroidery.
Shipping and returns
Most orders ship within two working days from Florida via USPS. International shipping is available via standard tracked international mail; please allow longer transit times. Returns are accepted on unworn, unironed items within 30 days; custom-design orders are non-returnable for obvious reasons.
Contact
Email [email protected] for order questions, custom enquiries, or wholesale enquiries. We answer within a working day in most cases.