I really adore leather elbow patches – which is why it’s kind of weird that I’ve only done one project so far with elbow patches. Really weird. I thought that should be rectified during the sewalong. So Briar with elbow patches here we come!!
Ready, set, sew…
If you want to sew the patches on with your sewing machine, it’s best to do it before you sew up the sleeve. That way it’s nice and flat.
To keep it all in place, I used my favourite applique trick – Steam A Seam. It rocks. I cut the same size piece and basically fused the leather patch to the right spot with the iron (being careful to iron on the wrong side of the fabric, not on the leather).
Place your elbow patches a little off centre – you want them closer to the back of the sleeve than the front. Since our sleeve is symmetrical, just make sure that you make your sleeves mirror images (like in the picture above). How far down the sleeve you place them will depend on your proportions.
Then sew around 1/8″ from the edge all the way round. I recommend using topstitch thread and a leather needle – go for a longer stitch length than normal, and you’ll find the whole process easier. Do not skip the leather needle peeps. If you don’t have topstitch thread handy, you can do what I did – find the colour you want in your stash, then use the triple stitch function on your machine. It’ll go slow, but since you’re basically sewing each stitch 3 times, it’s sturdy and makes the thread stick out more.
Then construct the rest of the sweater as per usual!
This would also work really well with fleece or sweatshirt fabric, or basically any cute scraps you have lying around. Hey, there’s an idea for using up those tiny scraps you can’t bear to get rid of!! (or am I the only hoarder of tiny pieces of fabric?!)
LOOKING FOR MORE BRIAR POSTS?
- How to sew the curved patch pocket
- How to sew the square patch pocket
- How to sew a neckline band
- How to sew a neckline binding (the Megan Nielsen way)
- How to sew a neckline binding (the traditional/standard way)
- The easiest knit neckline around
- Inserting the sleeves & sewing up the side seams
- Hemming
- Variation: How to draft elbow length sleeves
- Variation: A Valentine Briar sweater
- Variation: Centre front seam
- Variation: Side pocket Briar (by MadMim)
- Variation: The easy way to go sleeveless
- Variation: Leather elbow patches
- Variation: The dress
- Variation: Leather shoulder patches
Don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNbriar and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!
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