19 Patch Jacket Ideas (For Denim, Vintage & How To Style Each Season) - CustomPatchFactory.Com
10% OFF On Your Order! Use Code: SAVE10 DETAILS

Patch Jacket Ideas: Best DIY Denim And Vintage Jacket Patch Designs

Looking to transform a denim or vintage jacket with some unique patch designs? In this blog, we explore various denim jacket patch ideas to provide inspiration and tips for a personalized, stylish look. From bold visuals to more modest embellishments, discover how you can make your jacket truly one-of-a-kind.

Patch Jacket Ideas: Best DIY Denim And Vintage Jacket Patch Designs

Key Takeaways

  • There are many patch jacket ideas that can create a retro or vintage vibe on your outerwear.
  • Consider different themes that express your personality and capture the look you want to achieve.
  • Combine your patched jacket with matching apparel to create your own style aesthetic, whatever you want that to be.
  • We supply high-quality customized patches in a range of materials that can be attached to denim jackets to personalize your look.

Patch Jacket Ideas

Denim patch jackets are experiencing a resurgence in popularity, as the blend of vintage charm and modern style gains pace. Suitable patch materials for ideas include embroidered, woven, and printed patches.

  • Embroidered patches: These offer durability and a textured, high-quality look, though they can be a little stiff.
  • Woven patches: These patches have a smoother finished and more intricate detailing, but they might not be the most robust choice.
  • Printed patches: Perfect for vibrant, intricate graphics, but they are vulnerable to wear and fading.

All these materials and more offer unique opportunities to personalize, and we create custom ones tailored to your needs. Learn how to put patches on denim jackets and consider the following jean jacket patch ideas.

Cultural motifs or patterns

a colorful mandala patch for patch jacket ideas

There are countless cultural patterns and designs that you can use as denim jacket patches ideas. They can be bold and striking or decorative and colorful, and they can make statements or merely add vibrant accents to your outerwear. Here are a couple of suggestions:

  • Mandalas: These beautiful, intricate patterns are a popular choice for embroidered and printed patches. Create one with good symmetry and a pleasing color palette and we can bring it to life in stunning detail.
  • Yin-Yang: This iconic symbol is instantly recognizable, immediately expressing an element of your personality in striking monochrome. It can also be a very meaningful symbol that expresses your beliefs about the world.

Vehicle Patches

a vintage motorcycle patch for patch jacket ideas

There are huge subcultures related to vehicles, and the aesthetic appeal of various cars and motorbikes can instantly enhance your jacket’s appearance. Express your passion for a certain type of vehicle and make your outerwear look stylish and vintage with these denim jacket patch ideas:

  • Classic motorcycle: Whether you choose a vintage Harley or a classic Yamaha, there are many options to choose from when designing your own motorcycle patch for denim jackets.
  • Iconic cars: Brands like Rolls Royce, Asten Martin, Ferrari, and more have world-famous models from different points in history. Create your patch to showcase your favorite and add something stylish to your jean jacket.

Themed Patch Jacket Ideas

Let’s look at some ideas for themed denim jacket patches that you can design with our service Creating a theme helps achieve a cohesive and interesting look for your denim jacket, expressing your personality whilst showcasing a creative burst of color and visual interest on your outerwear. Here are some suggestions for building a theme on your denim jacket as you design your custom patches for jeans.

Music Band Theme

vintage movie poster patches for patch jacket ideas

When you are working towards a music band theme, you are tapping into subcultures that say a lot about your personality. Using custom woven or printed patches, you could incorporate graphics and text that will resonate with others and make your jacket stand out from the crowd. Here are a couple of patch jacket ideas for this pop culture theme:

  • Iconic album covers: Make it vintage by choosing the most iconic album covers from bygone eras. You could create a patch with the cover of Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd or Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix. These are album covers that everyone will recognize and which capture the essence of vintage style.
  • Classic movie posters: Movies are a huge part of the same subcultures that create music band followings, so you could create patches with iconic movie posters instead. This will help establish your personality and tastes in line with your music preferences and display them on your outerwear.

Travel And Adventure Theme

a mountain patch for patch jacket ideas

If you want to follow a travel or adventure theme on your clothing, there are many denim jacket patches ideas that capture this spirit. Create patches that represent certain countries, landmarks, travel icons, or environments. Be mindful of organizing them cohesively on your jacket. You could put larger patches on the back, medium ones on the chest, and smaller ones on the sleeves, for example.

Here are some suggestions for the travel and adventure theme:

  • Mountain patches: Demonstrate your love for mountains or showcase the fact that you have conquered one with a personalized mountain image that features an iconic landscape like Everest or Kilimanjaro. Incorporate rivers, trees, and other imagery for a more beautiful patch.

Landmark patch: Whether you have climbed the Eiffel Tower, scuba dived at the Great Barrier Reef, or walked on the Great Wall of China, design a patch that depicts that famous landmark to show what it means to you.

Cosmic Themes

a rocket ship patch for patch jacket ideas

A cosmic theme can look aesthetically-pleasing on your jean jacket, and there are many patch ideas to create this imagery. Think about different ways to capture the following:

  • Celestial bodies: Nothing represents the cosmos quite like images of stars, nebulas, moons, and planets. Design pleasing images of real or functional celestial bodies with the right colors and aesthetics to match your jacket theme.
  • Retro-inspired rockets: Design a vintage look with a rocket ship based on classic or cartoon ideas of this iconic space travel essential. This will cement the vintage look whilst capturing the cosmic theme.

Want to make a statement with your teamÔÇÖs apparel?

Enhance your uniforms with our custom patches!

Order now and create unique uniforms with our high-quality, personalized patches.

Seasonal Jean Jacket Patch Ideas

Take inspiration from the seasons to design your own custom denim jacket with patches. You have the jacket, and you can create unique patches with our service to capture different seasonal themes. You can even use our Velcro backings to design interchangeable patches that you can swap as the seasons change, ensuring you always look right for the time of year.

Here are some suggestions.

Floral Embroidery

a floral patch design for patch jacket ideas

Floral imagery can be perfect for both the summer and spring seasons. For spring, we suggest using softer pastel colors in your designs, whilst brighter, more vibrant colors work better for the summer. Whether you choose embroidered, woven, printed, or any other types of patches, here are a couple of patch jacket ideas based on flowers:

  • Roses: Take the iconic rose and make it your own, presenting them in pastel colors for the spring theme. You could even incorporate text relating to renewal to represent the spirit of the springtime.
  • Sunflowers: Make them vibrant and intricate to align with the vibes in summer. Sunflowers are one of the most iconic floral motifs for summertime, so design your unique patches and tailor them to your style.

Animal Motifs

a howling wolf patch for patch jacket ideas

As a part of the natural world, animals can be very effective emblems of the seasons. Certain animals are more closely associated with specific seasons, so choose them carefully to contribute to the seasonal theme in your denim jacket patch idea. Here are some possible designs:

  • A wolf howling at the moon: Wolves are associated with cold, snowy environments, so an image of a wolf howling at the moon can work for a seasonal theme. Capture the spirit of winter with a haunting vibe by creating this design.
  • Birds on tree branches: Birds appear all year round, and this idea could work for virtually any season. The tree branch could feature blossoms for spring, vibrant green leaves for summer, no leaves for winter, or brown and orange leaves for the fall.

Patch Jacket Ideas For Kids

When coming up with jean jacket patch ideas for kids, the focus should be on fun and creative ideas. Popular suggestions might include educational patches or cartoon characters, with bright colors and playful designs. We will suggest a couple of alternative ideas, and we recommend that you create them as custom iron-on patches for maximum convenience.

Vintage logos

coca cola logo patches for patch jacket ideas

With their bright colors and vintage vibes, classic logos are an iconic way to personalize a jacket that works well for kids. Be sure to avoid using images that are protected by copyright - here are a few ideas you could pursue for this theme:

  • Retro Coca Cola: The classic Coca Cola logo is one of the most recognizable retro images around. Create your design to resonate with other kids and make the wearer’s jacket really stand out.
  • Classic Levis: Embodying style and an entire culture from the 80s and 90s, the old-school Levis logo can make a great addition to a child’s jean jacket with its aesthetic appeal and association with denim.
  • Sega: Kids love gaming, and a vintage Sega logo patch will hark back to the days when the brand was a leader in the console wars. The logo is closely associated with popular figures like Sonic the Hedgehog and works very well on kids’ denim jackets.

Nautical Themes

an anchor patch for patch jacket ideas

For younger children, a nautical theme can work well. Create child-like images of popular visuals associated with the sea to capture the hearts and imaginations of children whilst adding a playful, colorful accent to their jean jacket with the following ideas:

  • Anchors: An anchor is an iconic maritime symbol that is associated with pirates as well as classic sailboats and naval exploits. Embellish with a jolly roger or other playful imagery to tailor to children.
  • Sharks: These ocean giants tend to be very popular with kids of all ages, and can be depicted as harmless cartoon characters or in more realistic ways. However you create your design, it will look great on a jacket and resonate with children.

Stand out from the crowd with our unique designs

Customize your style with our patches!

Order now and make a statement

make your custom patches

DIY Patch Ideas For Denim Jackets Including Vintage

Popular patches for jean jackets include:

  • Quirky quotes
  • Vintage band logos
  • Retro motifs


Text could express phrases like ‘Say Wild’, or you could incorporate band logos from the likes of The Beatles. It’s important to try and complement the color and style of your denim jacket. You can do this by choosing colors that contrast, yet harmonize with the jacket’s shade. And aim for a good arrangement of your patches, like motorcycle vest patch placement, for a balanced, organized look.

How To Come Up With Patch Jacket Ideas

The most common patch attachment methods for denim jackets are sew-on and iron-on patches. For the iron-on option, you will need an iron and a cloth barrier to protect against direct heat exposure. Alternatively, learn how to sew patches onto jean jackets and use an appropriate needle and thread for the job.


A simple alternative to both is to apply a fabric glue following the manufacturer instructions. You can create custom patches with us and attach them yourself to upgrade the look of your denim jacket.

Add a personal touch with our custom patches

Express yourself with our wide range of designs

5 Ways To Style Patched Denim Jackets

Once you know about sewing or how to iron on patches to jean jackets, you can think about styling ideas. Here are some suggestions:

  • Casual chic: Combine your patched denim jacket with a white tee, distressed jeans, and sneakers.
  • Boho vibes: Layer your patched jacket over a flowing maxi dress with ankle boots and layered necklaces.
  • Edgy edge: Wear a graphic tee under your patched jacket, then wear leather leggings and combat boots to look rebellious.
  • Retro cool: Wear your patched denim jacket alongside a vintage band tee, high-waisted flare jeans, and platform sandals.
  • Classic twist: Dress up your patched jacket with a tailored blouse, trousers, and heels to get the perfect blend of smart and casual.

Frequently Asked Questions About Patch Jacket Ideas

What Are The Best Patch Jacket Ideas?

This really depends on your needs and preferences. You could try cultural motifs, a retro band theme, floral embroidery, or vintage logos, but there are many other ideas to explore.

How Do You Style A Patch On A Jacket?

Patch placement is important - aim for a pleasing layout and even distribution. For styling, think carefully about what you pair your patched jacket with for a cohesive look.

Related articles

Similar Custom Patches

31 sizes available
(3490)
$1.78+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
18 sizes available
(2431)
$0.59+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
31 sizes available
(3278)
$0.60+
18 sizes available
(2431)
$0.59+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
13 sizes available
(4288)
$1.97+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
31 sizes available
(3278)
$0.60+
31 sizes available
(3278)
$0.60+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
11 sizes available
(3083)
$0.50+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+
23 sizes available
(3945)
$0.27+