How To Properly Attach Leather Patches To Clothing Or Accessories

The elegant and classy look of leather patches makes these a top-notch option to print your brand or club logo. You can attach leather patches to clothing and accessories, but there are certain limitations since these patches are non-woven kind.

In order to get refined results, make sure to use the best method to attach leather patches to accessories or clothing. This guide will help you use your custom patches the right way. Let’s get started!

When it comes to leather patches, the shift from embroidered, woven, or chenille patches can be challenging. However, with the right aesthetic sense and a great patch manufacturer, you can get the same innovative appeal in leather patches as other kinds of custom patches products.

Before we head into the ways to attach leather patches to clothing and accessories, there are different types of leather patches you can choose from. Stray away from the traditional stamped leather patches and consider other styles of patches for your branding or artwork purposes.

There are a couple of types of debossed patches: traditional deboss (also called stamped patches) and deboss with a burn effect (the stamped print is blackened to create an edgy look). These patches can also be stamped along the edges, as the stamping process is not just for lettering but also for visual elements such as borders. Debossed patches are old-school leather patches and to this date remain the most popular leather patches among brands.

Stitched leather patches are your usual debossed or screen-printed leather patches, finished with a stitched border (or two) along the ages. If you opt to attach leather patches to accessories or clothing when prepared (by your patch manufacturers), the stitched design can be the same as the stitching used to attach the patch onto the surface (we'll discuss sew-on patches further on). However, if you need to order leather patches in a batch (to attach yourself), you can opt to get a stitched border as it is. Single or double stitch border—either works to create a stylish finish for your leather patches.

Another kind of debossed patches are screen-printed leather patches. However, after stamping your design onto the leather surface, the patch experts will add color on top using screen printing. Go single-tone or add as many colors as you need, these patches can be as complex as you need. Make sure to ask your patch artists the maximum limit of color you can choose in order to attach leather patches to clothing or accessories.

Leather patches go well with a variety of surfaces, the most popular ones being denim, leather, and canvas. Therefore, there are various uses to attach leather patches to clothing and accessories, the top choices being:

Leather patches are a timeless option for branded denim, leather, and canvas clothing, bags, and shoes. Leather patch manufacturers cater to small and large brands of clothing and accessories. You may often see leather patches on jackets, jeans, woven fabric shoes, bags, wallets, and so much more.

Motorcycle or biker clubs often use leather patches to brand their uniforms or merchandise. Patch artists process artwork to create small and large pieces for jackets, caps, hats, and more. Likewise, leather patches are also quite popular amongst other types of clubs, such as wineries, as well as used for branding restaurant and hospitality service employee uniforms with logos.

Baseball caps, golf Polo shirts, paintball gear bags, and more—you’ll find leather patches on an expansive variety of clothing and accessories for sports teams. Since leather is a generally durable material, and works well against exposure to sunlight, lasts well on team uniforms and gear—and it is a no-brainer option to attach leather patches to accessories or clothing.

Leather patches are sturdy in varied conditions. However, the way you attach leather patches to accessories or clothing matters in terms of how well these will appear and last. There are two popular ways of applying leather patches.

Custom sew-on patches are perfect for permanent placements, which is why this method is basically perfect for leather patches. From brands adding leather patches to clothing and accessories via stitching works well because the stitch creates a nice, complementing border.

The sew-on method to attach leather patches to accessories or clothing is suited to garments, bags, caps and hats, shoes, and more—especially on textured surfaces. Make sure to get these patches professionally stitched to avoid damaging the leather.

Velcro leather patches are removable and quite versatile, which is why they are an ideal option for uniforms for the armed forces. Since these can be attached and detached easily, Velcro leather patches make excellent temporary patches, such as name tags.

Ask your patch experts to create Velcro backings for you so that these are ready for use to attach leather patches to accessories or clothing. Like with sew-on patches, it is best to get Velcro patches professionally placed onto your preferred surface.

Though iron-on patches work on some lather patches (genuine leather to be specific), it is highly recommended that you keep a hot iron away from synthetic leather patches. Most "leather patches" are in fact vegan leather, and the excessive heat can ruin these. Therefore, it is also wise to avoid using hot water for washing/cleaning garments and other items with leather patches. As for when you want to attach leather patches to clothing and accessories, stick to sew-on or Velcro. Or in rare cases where neither works, use a strong adhesive for applying leather patches.

Patches have to be created with consideration of the wearer. We understand different brands/clubs/organizations’ need for the perfect leather patches, which is why we choose quality materials and backing for all orders for custom patches online. Our leather patches are easy to apply and simple to maintain.

Reach out to ThePatchio today, send us your design, and we’ll get back to you shortly with a great quote!