Last week, Poppytalk turned 20. Twenty years! Time, right?. And yet, in the grand scheme of things, it feels rather— insignificant compared to what’s happening in the world right now. For months, I had been thinking about how to mark the occasion, considering something special, yet more subdued. With everything that’s been going on, it’s been really hard to focus. So much has changed since 2005. Design and crafting have sort of taken a back seat these past two years here. As Astro bestie, Chani Nicholas said the other day, “We have fascism to fight, we have apartheid to fight. We have a lot to dismantle and a lot to push back at. We have a lot to protest, we have a lot to recreate and change”. So it just didn’t feel right to throw a big celebration at this point.
So with that in mind, I kept coming back to the idea of still acknowledging the milestone in a way that felt true to Poppytalk. In true Mercury retrograde fashion I started skimming through past archives—literally thousands of posts spanning two decades—and I came across a DIY project I shared back in 2016. A collection of patches I designed and experimented where I ironed them on (using an iron transfer to create them) to then sew onto things.
So I decided to recreate a few of them with a work anniversary in mind. I thought a 20 year work anniversary patch —a hat tip to the “company pin”—a nod to the years spent building this space, one blog post at a time. And why not share it? So, I put together a few updated designs, and if you’re feeling nostalgic (or just love a good patch), I’ve made them available as a free printable for you too (see instructions below).
But beyond patches and milestones, I just want to say thank you. To all of you who have been part of this journey—whether you’ve been here since the early days or just recently found Poppytalk. To the guest bloggers, the contributors, the collaborators, and the brands I’ve worked with over the years. Some of you have become lifelong friends, near and far.
It’s been a wild ride.
So here’s to the next chapter—whatever that may look like. And in the meantime, I hope these little patches bring a bit of joy, even in the midst of everything. Sending love to you all!
DIY Fabric Patches
To Make:
1) Create your design (or you can find the ones we designed in pdf form here)- making sure your image is mirrored in order for it to transfer correctly onto the fabric. If you don’t know how to mirror, some printers have the mirror option in the settings.
2) Load the transfer sheet into your printer so it will print on the non-glossy unlined side.
3) Print image/design on transfer paper.
4) Cut out each design
5) Preheat iron to the highest setting (do not use steam).
6) Place fabric on a hard surface (I placed a breadboard covered with a tea towel onto our ironing board) and pre-iron to release moisture and remove wrinkles.
7) Place the printed image face down onto the fabric (the lined side will be the ironing surface).
8) Iron by using firm and steady pressure by holding the iron in both hands and applying pressure. Glide the iron very slowly over each area of the entire transfer making sure to cover all areas and corners for approx. 90 – 120 seconds total
9) Remove liner after about 5 seconds by peeling it off.
To make the patches, cut around each patch giving them a few mm allowance so you can stitch the patches on afterwards. Place the patches where you’d like to place them, pin them on to secure while you stitch and then hand or machine sew on.
So easy!
