Patch Jackets

Over the summers between my degree years I worked on personal projects to keep my creativity flowing. 

My first project was my black jacket, made between my 1st and 2nd year. This was 5 months of badges, patches and the beginnings of hand stitching. Over the span of its production I slowly learned how to hand stitch my patches down and gradually moved towards stitching my own designs. At this point I was unaware of any proper stitch processes, even the basics such as back stitch. However, I still enjoyed making it and found a lot of expression through wearing it.

In the space between my 2nd and 3rd year I began working on my green jacket. Every patch on this jacket is hand stitched and designed by me. The illustrations vary from my own ideas, to imagery from my favourite shows and bands. Over 3 months I covered the majority of the space, using it as a wearable sketchbook. The production of the jacket shaped my final year massively as it pushed me to explore embroidery further and became the main discussion point of my dissertation.

 Patch culture is hugely important to me as a form of expression. As a maker who struggles with verbal communication it is incredibly reliable for self expression. Watching my progression between the two projects has been really encouraging and I am excited to keep improving my embroidery skills with each patch I make.

You can view my patch process over on my Instagram.