Covering Embroidery on a Leather Jacket?

[Woodtroll]

Hello, everyone,

I'm not a die-hard leather jacket guy like many of you are, but I do get the itch to wear one occasionally. I came across this jacket at a thrift store recently, that actually fit my big carcass and was at a steal of a price. At first I thought it was vinyl or imitation leather, but it actually is a genuine leather jacket. Now I know that it is not a "real" leather jacket in a connoisseur's eyes, but again it was cheap, available, and fit me, and I will only wear it a few times a year.

The problem with it is that it has an embroidered logo on the left chest:



I'm just not big on logos or advertising anything on my clothing, whether it's brand names, political views, or anything else. I try to be an inconspicuous, or at least un-ostentatious, person. I'd like to figure out some way to obscure or de-emphasize this embroidery without being too conspicuous or damaging the jacket. (Big request, I know!)

The obvious thing to do would be to put some sort of patch over it, but I can't think of anything I'd really want posted on my chest. And I sure don't want to put a period flight patch on this jacket, as it is in no means a replica or period-style jacket, and I would just look like a fool. I thought of maybe trying to dye the embroidery thread or use a brown Sharpie to darken it, if nothing else would work. I'm not opposed to picking out the embroidery by hand, but I'm pretty certain that the imprint from the thread would still be visible to a large degree. Or would the leather "absorb" the imprint to any degree over time once the stitching was removed? The leather is sort of a cobblestone or pebbled texture to begin with. Maybe I could remove the lettering first and see how it turns out, and leave the eagle?

I figured someone here had probably dealt with a similar problem before, so I'm very open to any suggestions or experience anyone might offer.

Thank you,
Regan

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I think that all the fixes you suggested would show as either a indistinguishable blob or outline. Sorry..I can think of nothing that would make it disappear.

 

[Monitor]

Hello, everyone,

I'm not a die-hard leather jacket guy like many of you are, but I do get the itch to wear one occasionally. I came across this jacket at a thrift store recently, that actually fit my big carcass and was at a steal of a price. At first I thought it was vinyl or imitation leather, but it actually is a genuine leather jacket. Now I know that it is not a "real" leather jacket in a connoisseur's eyes, but again it was cheap, available, and fit me, and I will only wear it a few times a year.

The problem with it is that it has an embroidered logo on the left chest:



I'm just not big on logos or advertising anything on my clothing, whether it's brand names, political views, or anything else. I try to be an inconspicuous, or at least un-ostentatious, person. I'd like to figure out some way to obscure or de-emphasize this embroidery without being too conspicuous or damaging the jacket. (Big request, I know!)

The obvious thing to do would be to put some sort of patch over it, but I can't think of anything I'd really want posted on my chest. And I sure don't want to put a period flight patch on this jacket, as it is in no means a replica or period-style jacket, and I would just look like a fool. I thought of maybe trying to dye the embroidery thread or use a brown Sharpie to darken it, if nothing else would work. I'm not opposed to picking out the embroidery by hand, but I'm pretty certain that the imprint from the thread would still be visible to a large degree. Or would the leather "absorb" the imprint to any degree over time once the stitching was removed? The leather is sort of a cobblestone or pebbled texture to begin with. Maybe I could remove the lettering first and see how it turns out, and leave the eagle?

I figured someone here had probably dealt with a similar problem before, so I'm very open to any suggestions or experience anyone might offer.

Thank you,
Regan

Sorry, aside from covering the embroidery with another patch, not a whole lot you can do..

I've heard of a method that involves a steaming iron that supposedly works on hiding stitch holes... If it's a cheapo and if it's a softer/lighter leather, you could try removing the embroidery and steaming the part where the stitch holes are. In theory, the steam might expand the leather and thus make the needle holes less pronounced but whether or not this truly works, I've no idea. I've tried it but the effect was negligible.

But yeah, there isn't much you can do, especially not with an embroidery as large as this.

 

[Woodtroll]

Thank you for the replies, I appreciate the help. I understand that any action taken, short of coming up with another patch that I like, will necessarily be a compromise. I thought maybe someone would have an idea for a generic patch, leather shoulders like a shooting jacket, or something off the wall that I hadn't thought of. The amount of knowledge and creativity here never fails to amaze me, so I thought I'd throw it out there and see what ideas y'all had.

I like the suggestion about the steam - that might be worth a try. I already have a steamer for my hats... I might try pulling just the lettering, and steaming those portions, and just leave the eagle, which I don't think anyone will find objectionable. I am a gun owner and hunter, but I'm not interested in "advertising" it so someone can call me to task and cause an argument in a restaurant or shopping line. The biggest town close to us is a college town, so there's always some idealistic student ready and willing to call you out for just about anything.

Thanks again!
Regan

 

[IXL]

Perhaps you could just take up hunting.

I've seen several people attempt to remove or camouflage stitching holes and it really never worked very well.

 

[barnabus]

If it was mine I'd try a series of things;

Try to darken the embroidery until it's close to the colour of the hide. Happy? If so, ace. If not, I'd be thinking about unpicking it with a view to chucking the jacket in the washing machine. This has a similar effect to Monitor's ironing scheme; swelling the leather up a little and minimising the appearance of the stitch holes.

The last resort would be to try to find a piece of leather that matches the colour (and texture) of the jacket, and glue/stitch it over the top. Maybe wash it again after that to relax everything, and see what you get.

It will never be invisible, but there's a few ideas that reduce the visual impact in a number of ways.

Good luck!

 

[Woodtroll]

If it was mine I'd try a series of things;

Try to darken the embroidery until it's close to the colour of the hide. Happy? If so, ace. If not, I'd be thinking about unpicking it with a view to chucking the jacket in the washing machine. This has a similar effect to Monitor's ironing scheme; swelling the leather up a little and minimising the appearance of the stitch holes.

The last resort would be to try to find a piece of leather that matches the colour (and texture) of the jacket, and glue/stitch it over the top. Maybe wash it again after that to relax everything, and see what you get.

It will never be invisible, but there's a few ideas that reduce the visual impact in a number of ways.

Good luck!

Thank you, Barnabus, I appreciate your advice. After mulling it over some and looking at the jacket again, I had pretty much decided to try darkening at least the lettering first; I don't think anyone will even notice the eagle that much, and if they do, I wouldn't expect them to find it objectionable, and so whatever I do I think I will leave the eagle. I am going to pick up a magnifying lamp and an ultrafine brown Sharpie on my next trip to town. I need the lamp for other things anyway, and as you say, if the darkening doesn't work out, I'm not out anything but a $2 pen and some time. (As long as I don't mark up the leather, thus the magnifying lamp!)

The jacket is lined, which I did not consider when I thought about picking out the embroidery stitching. The lining would have to be compromised somehow, and then repaired, and I'm not sure I care to invest that much effort into the project. But it remains a possibility...

Thank you all again. I'll put something up after the art session to let y'all know how it turned out.

Take care,
Regan

 

[HoosierDaddy]

There are actually students who would hassle you about a hunting patch like that in Virginia? That has been part of the culture in many states whether out of state intolerants like it or not. Don't know why you seem so squeamish about it. Surely most of us wear and advertise what we want. Why worry about others' reactions? If they confronted me..their disdain wouldn't last long. I would shut it down in a hurry. Don't have to be nice. However here in mid Indiana no one would care. Surely not enough to provoke an argument. Such a shame to think it necessary to hide.

 

[Woodtroll]

There are actually students who would hassle you about a hunting patch like that in Virginia? That has been part of the culture in many states whether out of state intolerants like it or not. Don't know why you seem so squeamish about it. Surely most of us wear and advertise what we want. Why worry about others' reactions? If they confronted me..their disdain wouldn't last long. I would shut it down in a hurry. Don't have to be nice. However here in mid Indiana no one would care. Surely not enough to provoke an argument. Such a shame to think it necessary to hide.

You're right, it's a shame to have to worry about that, but it's a given here in the land of Virginia Tech. It got markedly worse after the shooting, which was of course every gun-owner's fault . The resident population here is still grounded enough to understand hunting, even though the population is shifting from rural to more urban all the time. But Tech brings in the students from Northern Virginia, where the living and politics are different, and the liberal university professors from all over. It's a big enough population that it impacts the elections and government in several counties. I know that political discussions per se are prohibited here, but I hoped this brief explanation would not be across the line.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Well I asked some questions and do appreciate your honest answers. Now I do understand your predicament a bit better. Personally I don't think you crossed the line with your explanations.
HD

 

[Woodtroll]

Thanks, HD, no problem on my part as I think it was a very fair question. I was just having a little trouble figuring out how to explain the situation without bending the Lounge rules, as I am pretty opinionated about the matter and can get carried away. Unfortunately, it is indeed a very political issue.

I may be worrying too much about the matter; I think young people these days are conditioned to look down at their phones at all times anyway!

Take care,
Regan

 

[Edward]

The sensitive handling of the Lounge rules on politics is appreciated, thank-you, gentlemen.

Embroidery / logos are the sort of thing that, as a rule, tend to be dealbreakers for me, so I have no real experience at hiding them. The easiest thing would be a patch - or possibly, as you suggest, a quilted patch sewn on, like a rifle-butt pad (as long as it doesn't bother you that it would be where a left handed shooter would have it). That might be more cost than the jacket would be worth overall, though - unless you want to do it yourself as a project. Would be worth seeing the whole jacket design for further ideas (ie a shot of the whole thing).