If there is one piece of clothing that makes a huge statement on its own, it is the leather jacket. Even the smallest leather jacket can have a slightly intimidating effect on many folks. How then can you make an even louder statement with a leather jacket? Simple – add a few (or a lot of) patches.
What are Leather Jacket Patches?
Usually, a patch is described as a piece of material used to strengthen or mend a weak or torn part of a different material or cloth. This is very different in this case. Patches here refer to decorative or commemorative pieces made from different materials and used for different purposes ranging from simple decorative use, identification and more. They are usually made by embossing, embroidering or printing an inscription or design on a piece of leather material or even a piece of metal.
There are different ways that these patches can be made so what we described above is not an exhaustive description.
Types of Leather Jacket Patches
These patches can come in different forms and types. This is different from the actual inscriptions on them. First, there are two main types you are likely to find. These two classifications, howbeit unofficial, mainly have to do with how they are attached to the piece of clothing. These are: Sew on and Iron on.
Sew On
The name is very self-descriptive. Patches that fall under this category are attached to the cloth by sewing. You will require at least a needle and thread or other sewing materials to get it attached. You could as well simply give it to a professional to get it done for you.
If however, you are interested in doing the sewing for yourself, you can follow this guide here.
Iron On
The name here again is very self-descriptive. Unlike the ones that have to be sewn on, these types of patches can simply be ironed on to the jacket. This is because the glue has been applied on one side of the patch. Though this glue is dry, you can usually tell that a patch is an iron on the type (has glue on one side) because the back part will look shiny and feel a bit like soft plastic.
When you place this shiny part on your jacket and apply high heat on the top part, it dissolves the glue, allowing it to attach to your jacket. It’s a simple process, far simpler than having to sew on the patch.
Aside from these two main types, there are many different variations of patches that can be found around. For these, their differences lie mainly in how they were made.
Let’s look at a few of these:
Embossed
This is a popular type of patch. This involves the stamping of a design on a material. The stamping is done with a solid surface that has the design engraved on it. When the grooves of this design are pressed with a lot of force on the material, the design is basically etched on that surface.
Another thing that can also be done after this process is to add some paint designs to the embossed patch. Below is an image of an embossed and painted patch.
Embroidered
These types of patches are quite common. They can, however, be very time consuming to make if you try to make them by hand. If you know anything about embroidery, you will understand the process which involves painstakingly threading the design. Thankfully, not many people rely on hand embroidery as there are now machines that get this done faster. A lot of biker patches are made this way.
Sequin
This is almost the same as embroidery in that in both cases; patterns are drawn. The difference, however, is that while threads are used in embroidery, sequins are used for this type of patches. Given the type of material used here, they are usually very shiny.
Metal on Leather
When a police officer flashes his or her badge at you, what they are flashing is a metal on a leather patch. You will find a lot of these types of designs around. A metal is molded into any design and then attached to a leather piece. This makes it easier for this patch to be attached to your leather jacket without damaging because an attempt at attaching a metal design directly on the leather jacket might.
Monogram
This is a type of design made with a combination of two or more letters to form something like a logo. This then can be used for a patch. This monogram can be embroidered, embossed, sequined, etc. This is another common one because a lot of people love the idea of customizing either their initials or other popular acronyms into a monogram patch.
Things to Know Before Placing an Order
There’s no doubt that these lovely patches can help you make a much louder statement with your leather jacket. However, there are a few things you need to be aware of before placing your order.
In a YouTube video, a biker was seen telling another guy that he shouldn’t wear the “Sons of Anarchy” vest he was wearing. According to the guy, he had not earned the right to. This brings us to the significance of some of these patches.
We will quickly look at some things you should be aware of as you prepare to get and show off those lovely patches. Remember that one of the things patches are used for is identification. Gangs use it to identify themselves, biker clubs, law enforcement agencies, and other groups use patches. So how do you know which is which?
There are three common groups you may need to identify. These are MCs (Motorcycle Clubs), RCs (Riding Clubs) and LEs (Law Enforcement). You can usually tell which club a person belongs to by looking at the little rectangular or square patch that is usually worn on the vest’s back. This is sometimes called a cut.
One very important thing to note is the significance of the “1%er” sign on a patch. This is a sign that is linked to criminal or outlaw clubs that refer to themselves as the 1 percent or bike riders who do not live by the society’s rules.
You certainly do not want to be wearing a 1%er diamond patch by mistake. You can read more about this here: https://www.mysanantonio.com/g00/news/local/article/The-anatomy-of-motorcycle-club-patches-explained-6273222.php.
Thankfully, you have a very huge selection of safe, beautiful, witty and inspirational patches to choose from. Choose the patch(es) that really expresses what you feel inside and proudly make that statement to the world.