All you really need is a little plastic thing of needles ($1), some pins ($1), thread (varies but even good cotton thread isn’t that much), scissors (where you might actually consider investing a little - do not use these scissors for anything else, and consider a rotary cutter if you really get into it), and fabric.
Fabric might seem like the pricey part of the equation, but consider how much a thrift store is going to charge you for a duvet or a pile of t-shirts! I have something like 30 t-shirts I spent maybe $5 on several months ago, and I’ve been working through that pile for a while.
You can turn a t-shirt into a pillow, a reusable bag, use the scraps to patch clothing, make dolls, quilts… The bits that get to be so small to be unusable for a scrap quilt you can use to stuff things.
It takes a lot of time compared to machine sewing, but it’s an activity that can be done while watching a tv show.
Iron on patches are your friend for areas like this. Curved needles as someone else suggested also work.
But because I hate my hands, I almost always just unstitch the pocket and lining, sew the patches on, and then reconstruct the pocket and lining. Probably don’t do this, I get hyper fixated on projects and do things the long way round.
These all are iron on, actually. The glue was because the adhesive that was on most of them sucked. The Trash Club patch was great; but it’s been 5 years and it’s starting to peel.
Yeah, you’re pretty out of option for an older iron on patch. Curved needles are your best bet if you’re comfortable using them. I hate using them personally, another reason I’ll unstitch and hand sew it back together. I’ve got a machine to do some of the heavy lifting, though