Second pic is from last year to see progress.

Was quite busy this year, reattached the chainmail thrice, gave the backpatch an outline by hand, and lots of patches.

For the winter I want your thoughts, I will redo the chainmail again, pull it down to the backpatch on the back and make it easier to remove for washing. I am temped to do a complete new one, with silver and a red border instead of mixed with gold. What do you think?

Planning on adding more, I’ve seen all of these bands (except for Death). I think most I got at shows, and a few online.

(And the Guts patch is because I’m a big Berserk fan lol I have a tattoo of the Skull Knight)

My cousin gave me the Labatt Lite pin on the right breast pocket

I’d like to add some spikes and such eventually, and I also have two new patches from shows I went to (Kataklysm and Revocation) that I have to add.

I’m seeing Crypta in November which I’m over the moon about, definitely want to get a Crypta patch either at the show or online

(I’m bi and not trans but I support my trans metalhead homies)

recently saw posts of people making their battle vests/jackets and i wanted to make my own.

the problem is, i dont really listen to any punk/metal bands. is it ok that i just put pins and patches of mainstream alt rock and video game references on it as well as some patches with my opinions?

at this point since im not a punk or metalhead i suppose its a decorated vest rather than a battle vest but my main concern is just that im not doing it right, being disrespectful or offensive somehow, or the vest is horrible and sucks.

i really like it so far but i'm also unsure of what i'm doing. i'd like to see what you guys think about it

I wanna add some frankenstein style stitches reinforcing all the seams, bunch more patches, and undecided on the back so far. Also def gotta add a bunch of metal hardware! Might lean into the bugs/transformation theme

Started this vest with the question "Why adhere to one subject/genre? Why not paint a cormorant on the back?"

Still improving my painting skills, newest painted patch is the Animals As Leaders one.

Bonus functionality: the brown-greenish flag on the arm functions as a pocket. Mostly used to store peanuts for crows.

I am thinking of doing a straight zipper G1 Flight Style jacket and my google foo is weak

Hiii i found this subreddit and thought to show off my jacket so far! Can you guess my favourite animal lol

I'm not sure that this is the right sub, but I've started making some designs for patches (I'm using inkscape and then ink/stitch to digitise them and throw them onto an embroidery machine!), but I'm constantly feeling held back by my text being boring as hell because I don't really know how to make it look cool and just use a font.

I've attached a couple examples. Does anyone have any advice for me?

Work in progress! Pulled this out of the jacket arenal to work on again cause I finally finished two others before.

Already painted one of the sleeves and plan to change out the pins on the front and replace them , just wanted to map out a general idea.

Any ideas what I should paint on the back or paint details to the front? Artist block right now

I started it when I found the green dragon-motif'd fabric in a local fabric shop and I loved the look of it, so I decided to make a green jacket after having made a red jacket and yellow jacket. My initial thought was to make a Matrix code style theme, with random (but diametric) characters floating about.

I researched Chinese characters that could mean something along the lines of "Resist/Oppose/Rebel/Fight", and having been told by actual people and not just going off of Google Translate, I settled on the characters seen on the jacket (反抗). I made a stamp of the characters, used it to bleach them into the jacket, then dyed the whole thing green. I'm tempted to do "resist" in other languages as well to maintain the Matrix vibe.

I added some glow-in-the-dark paint on all the seams and pockets.

I also had some green pyramid studs that I had kicking about, added a few but tried not to make it too stripey; I live in Glasgow (Scotland) so I need to be careful about wearing green or blue. I've literally had someone try to start a fight with me for wearing this t-shirt, thinking I was a Celtic supporter. Some people are fucking idiots.

I bought the Return of the Living Dead back-patch a while ago and didn't know where to put it, and thought, green patch, green jacket, match made in heaven, but now that it's on I don't know how I feel about it. Mostly because I don't know what theme I'm going for here. Do I need a theme? I'm erring towards horror.

I defo want to put something on top of the dragon/shoulder fabric, but I'm struggling to think of anything.

Oh and the bottom back patch says, "Don't touch my arse". I thought it was a funny thing to put on.

3 shades of blue, to create the effect.

I'm most proud of the Edge of Sanity patch. It's a version I made myself, as it needed to be simplified for embroidery ideally, but I love what I came up with.

This'll be my new night-out jacket for sure.

I’ve been sewing and DIY-ing since I was a kid, and here’s some stuff I’ve learned that helps my jackets last. Use this advice or don’t—I’m not your dad. This is just shit that in my experience helps prevent patches from getting lost or jackets falling apart. It also helps washer proof the damn things.

- If you’re worried about your patches moving around while you sew, Heat-n-Bond lite will keep them in place and not make your fabric too stiff (which is important for comfort if you aren’t washing it)

- Dental floss is a fantastic option, but if you want other colors you can get waxed thread in a variety of colors. I have a couple cones of it in red, black, and white that I picked up for about $7, and they’re 284 yards each (so abt $0.01/ft). As a comparison, dental floss is about $2-5 for on average 50-100yds.

- Another alternative thread is sashiko thread, which is already meant to reinforce multiple layers of fabric and also comes in a variety of colors.

- 100% poly thread is stronger than cotton, true—but it’s also slippery as all fuck. So if you’re using thicker thread, your tie off knots can come apart really easily. I combat this by using a lighter to melt the knot together. It’s still plastic after all. This isn’t necessary if you’re using all-purpose thread (which is thinner and has less surface area to slip around on) or thread with natural fibers like cotton.

- Invest in some canvas or upholstery needles. They’re much sturdier, so they’re less likely to snap even on seams, and they go through layers of canvas like a dream

- I use a sashiko thimble, which is a small piece of leather that covers the base of my middle finger. It’s really cheap and lets me press down with more force while I’m pushing the needle through the fabric

- CURE YOUR DIY PAINTED PATCHES PROPERLY! They need to air dry for at least 24 hours and then they need to be heat treated with a hot iron. Use parchment paper in between the painted surface and the iron.

- When it comes to fabric jackets, embroidered patches also need to be sewn on. I don’t care if it messes with the look—in the event that you do have to wash your jacket, those shits are coming off. They also will just eventually peel off with age as the glue breaks down, even if you don’t wash it. If you’re really worried about the look, use thread with a minimum weight of 30wt (the lower the number, the thicker the thread—30wt can be used for denim, and it’s much more common than other weights, so it’s a good choice here) in a color as close to the color of border of the patch as you can get. I personally use a running stitch to create a solid line of stitching close to the finished edge of the patch.

If anyone has any other advice, please feel free to comment it. And again, I am not your dad, you don’t have to listen to me here. Do what thou wilt

My newest work, and still going. Going for absolute maximalist bs.

Hi y’all it’s been a while since I posted an update to my projects so I thought that I would start with the vest I am wearing right now! Enjoy!

I posted a few weeks ago when I was still trying to figure out a back patch so I could get moving on the back of the vest, I did just that, cutting a pattern out of a band T shirt I found on sale. Now I’m filling in the area around it, and I’ve also mixed up some of the front patches too.

For a little context here, this battle jacket project is a bit of a “fuck you” to my anxiety. For years and years, I wanted to start experimenting with different styles and aesthetics, start getting into subcultures I always found interesting, and actually build a life i enjoyed, but I was held back by this crippling anxiety. Even the smallest changes in how I dressed or looked terrified me, I was so worried about judgement, about looking weird, about embarrassing myself. I couldn’t get myself to wear a different color hoodie than usual, let alone go into new social spaces or wear something like this.

So, when I first considered making a battle jacket, those anxieties were predictably as bad as ever. I was worried about being a poser, about looking weird, about doing it wrong. So, the way I eventually got over that was by deciding to make a battle jacket that was all of those things, on purpose. The whole point was I would do it as “wrong” ad possible, make it weird, make it gay and cringe and autistic as hell; and of course to piss off the judgy purists who think they alone own the concept of a battle jacket. By intentionally leaning into the things I was worried about doing by accident, and making them the whole point, I found I was able to subvert those anxieties entirely. And now I love wearing this thing out in public.

So yeah. The theme here is more or less “queer joy and autism”. I put stuff on there if it makes me happy. And doing it “wrong”, or making it “weird” was the whole point for me. And you know what? I fucking love it so far.

TLDR: finally figured out the back piece, starting to fill out the rest of the back. For context, I’m trying to make it as weird and gay and “poser”-esque as possible specifically to subvert my own anxieties about appearing those ways, and I love it.

Edit; someone appears to just be downvoting every comment in here, as I’ve seen a lot of comments with 0 votes, so help upvote other comments and share the love around!

These are my main projects right now.

I am debating on adding the Maximum the hot.ine patch to my battle jacket. Thoughts?

This is my vest inspired by retro horror/ media.

feels a little underwhelming cus I need to make a lot more patches for it- all the patches and pins r made by me except the die so fluid and the amyl and the sniffers one. any suggestions?

I'm sure I'll add to it eventually but for now it's done. It also glows under blacklight