diff --git a/apatch b/apatch
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 342ad5d..e8b8584
--- a/apatch
+++ b/apatch
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
+startdir="$PWD"
+patch_exists=0
+
 [ -f APKBUILD ] || ( echo "please run this in a package directory"; exit 1 )
-[ ! -f "$1" ] || ( echo "patch $1 already exists"; exit 1 )
+[ -f "$1" ] && patch_exists=1
 [ "$1" != "" ] || ( echo "usage: apatch <patch name>"; exit 1 )
 
 abuild clean fetch unpack prepare
@@ -13,6 +16,7 @@ abuild clean fetch unpack prepare
 cp -r src src-old
 (
   cd "src$builddir"
+  [ "$patch_exists" -eq 1 ] && patch -p1 < "$startdir/$1"
   $SHELL
 )
 busybox diff -U3 -r "src-old$builddir" "src$builddir" | sed "s|src-old$builddir|a|g;s|src$builddir|b|g" > $1