D.I.Y. Leather Elbow Patches

DIY Leather Elbow Patches

This week I decided to add my own fashion flair to this perfect sweater that I found at Target. After picking up some leather from the craft store, I was able to cut it out and create these awesome elbow patches for my sweater! By doing this, you can add your own personal touch to any piece of clothing, which is pretty cool if I must say so myself.


What you need:DIY Leather Elbow Patches
• Fabric/leather
• Sweater or long sleeve shirt
• Needle
• Thread
• Scissors
• Tape


Here’s how to make your elbow patches:

Step 1: Using tape, bend your elbows and mark on your sweater where the top and bottom parts of the patches will be.DIY Leather Elbow Patches

Step 2: Using a blank piece of paper (or tracing paper) outline the marks you made with tape along with the width of the sleeve on your piece of paper. After the outline of the area has been created, sketch out your desired shape for the patch: hearts, ovals, squares, circles…so many options!DIY Leather Elbow Patches

Step 3: Cut out your shape from the piece of paper. Place your shape onto the leather, tracing its design around the outer edge. Once traced, cut out leather patches.DIY Leather Elbow Patches

Step 4: Using needle and thread, sew on leather patch. Be sure to use the tape from Step 1 as your guidelines for placing the patch. (shout out to my mama for helping me sew! <3)DIY Leather Elbow Patches

Step 5: Leather elbow patches complete! DIY Leather Elbow PatchesDIY Leather Elbow Patches

This DIY is simple and can help you style your clothes the way you want them to look without spending too much money.

  • Matthew Thompson January 3, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    I like your sweater with the elbow patches on it. It looks very snazzy. Are the elbow patches real leather or fake leather? I am curious. Please answer.

    • Love Vividly January 4, 2016 at 10:07 am

      Hi Matthew!

      Thank you! The fabric I used was faux leather. This way I could put my sweater through the washer with no issues. Hopefully this helps!