Patching/Reinforcing Elbows on Jackets

Dear Community,
If you want to patch the elbows on jackets or vests—or reinforce them from the start—what’s the best way to go about it?

I don’t know how to do it. You really have to want that elbow patch—I don’t think it looks nice. Back in the day, with little kids, people would just sew a patch on. That’s not for me personally.

I once had a delicate cashmere cardigan that eventually developed “see-through” elbows. A patch like that would have helped protect it, but I wouldn’t have liked the way it looked. So in the end, it was just a piece of clothing I could only wear at home. But I don’t even know what kind of patch I could have sewn onto that delicate cardigan. It would have had to be something stretchy—and preferably made of wool, right?

Last year, I bought myself a new delicate cardigan like this one. Now that I know how quickly the elbows wear through, I wear it much more carefully and don’t lean on it. But if the elbow problem should come up again, I’ll sew on a patch. Maybe there will be some good tips here in this thread.

Best regards, Ina

For hand-knitted items, it’s relatively simple: if you have the same yarn, you can embroider the elbows using duplicate stitch. You really can’t see it at all. With store-bought clothing, it’s a bit more difficult. You can try using similar yarn, but it will always be noticeable. 

Personally, I’m not a fan of patched elbows at all—in my opinion, they always make you look like an office drone ;-) If you’re going to reinforce them, only do it on the inside where it’s not so visible.

Best regards, Inge