Simple DIY Elbow Patches

This past winter I wrote a guest post for Clothed Much.  It was a simple tutorial written for people who love fashion but who may not have everything a sewer might...so there's a little improvising in the tutorial to make it easy for everyone.  I realize it's not very season appropriate at the moment however I thought it would be nice to share here.

Here's the tutorial: 

Do you have a hole in your sweater or are you just obsessed with elbow patches like I am?  In either case, adding elbow patches to a sweater or cardigan is super easy and it can even be done without a sewing machine.  Yup, you read right, no sewing machine needed and nope you don't need fabric glue or a glue gun.   However it will require a little hand sewing, which shouldn't be too bad because I know you all have a mending kit or minimergency kit, right?  (Note: I'll try to be as detailed as possible in my instructions for those of you who don't do much sewing)

To create your own elbow patches here is the list of supplies you will need:

Supplies

1.  Hand sewing needle
2.  Felt in the color of your choice (one rectangle from the craft store should be enough) - you can find felt at Walmart, JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores or Michaels
3.  Thread (to match or contrast the color of the felt)
4.  Tailor's Chalk or a non-permanent fabric marker (you can also use regular chalk or a regular washable marker instead)
5.  Sharp scissors
6.  Tall square tissue box
7.  Pins or safety pins

Are you excited to make some elbow patches?  I am, let's get started!

Instructions:

1.  Put your sweater/cardigan on and using a mirror and your chalk/marker make an "X" on your elbow area.

Yes, I missed my elbow in this pic, but you get the idea...

2.  Next take your scissors and cut off the top of the tissue box.  Remove any plastic that may be around the opening of the box top.

3.  Grab your felt rectangle and fold it in half (hamburger style) and pin it so that the fabric stays folded in half.  Using your tissue box top as a template, trace an oval on the felt. 

4.  Pin your ovals over the "X" marks you made.  Fold the sweater/cardigan in half to check and see if the oval are placed evenly in the same spot of each arm.

5.  Begin hand sewing your patches and try to keep the fabric level and even as you sew.  For this project I recommend using an overcast stitch.  You can find great hand sewing instructions here.

6.  After the patches are sewn down you are done!  If you can't get enough of elbow patches you can also try making them in different shapes like I did in my previous tutorial here.