Iron-on patch panic and success!

I know lots of you/us like to add patches to our packs and I have read several posts about sewing and gluing and velcroing things to lids and pockets. I have always stitched the forum patch on my pack as an icebreaker and also in case anyone should recognise it/me, but there was another I'd like to add too and today I just wasn't in the mood for sore fingertips from trying to force the needle through the thick patch with gooey glue. So I decided it was time someone tested the iron-on method!

I got my pack - an Osprey Tempest (same as Talon) - which according to the manufacturer's website is made pricipally from nylon and splash proof. It does look and feel meltable ... Then I got my lizard patch out, and it came with instructions. 1) Wet the back, the glue bit. 2) Position as desired and cover with thin cotton cloth. 3) Heat the iron to cotton setting and iron for 10-20 seconds or until utterly stuck.

Easy, right? Fearlessly (are you kidding?) I turned the iron on cotton - which is max! - and positioned my patch. I wanted it on the lid which is a bit oddly shaped, so I put folded tea towels inside it and put another thin cotton cloth over the patch and material. Then, when the iron was hot enough, I tentatively touched the top of the main pack, near the drawstring, under the lid so out of sight and also out of the rain etc, with the tip of the iron. Didn't seem to do any harm to the fabric. I held it there a bit longer until I felt certain that the heat wouldn't just melt it.

Then I pressed it firmly down on the cotton cover cloth, just for a few seconds, and lifted it up to see and feel how hot or gluey or melted things were. All was well. I kept at it in short bursts, and after a while the glue melted and bonded with the material. I did try the edges to see if it would come off again, until it seemed to really stick. I am very happy with it! It is doable without killing your pack. DO test a patch first though and do it carefully and a little at a time.

@Waka : I think as long as you are careful and do a patch test first, lightly touching the iron on the material in a place that isn't too obvious and taking it gradually, you should be fine. Also if you can, it might be a good idea to iron it on from the 'inside', meaning the heat goes more directly to the glue to melt it. I was very pleasantly surprised at the result because my lizard patch had lots of little toes and a tail which looked like a nightmare to stitch on. NOTE I have edited the step-by-step guide above to make it clearer so no one blames me for anything going wrong!

@NualaOC : Thank you! I used to have it (badly) stitched on my pack in a place I could hardly see it and that is no good - it is there to remind me of a friend who will now not be able to walk the camino herself. This way she is always with me and always in my thoughts. The lizard is her favourite animal so I thought this colourful one would suit her. I have now also ironed-on a smiling sun representing another camino friend who is sadly no longer with us. I like having them both with me when I walk.

@NualaOC - that is a brilliant patch! Also like the Pacers!