After a couple years of frequent use, my favorite western shirt from Engineered Garments started to show some wear and tear around the elbow areas. I first considered doing a single patch piece for each sleeve, but the high button plackets would have made the placement look awkward – so instead, I took some inspiration from Junya Watanabe’s recent collections and patched up the areas with several different smaller pieces.

Starting the work on the patches using a sewing machine. The fabric was sourced from a local store in Ballard, Drygoods Design, which is a great place to find interesting materials for small DIY projects like this.



One of the two trouble areas. If not patched now it would have quickly become a much larger hole.


Testing the patchwork placement before sewing them down.


Attaching them one piece at a time, late into the night. Some handwork was needed for when the sewing machine would not easily do the job.


And the finished results.




Related post: Maintenance and Repairs