By craft contributor Michelle

My favorite time of year is Fall, especially here in New York City. A perfect day is putting on a cozy sweater and walking around the city with a hot cup of coffee in hand. Update one of last season’s sweaters, or add some personality to a new purchase, with these leather star elbow patches.

Keep reading for the full tutorial…

Supplies
1. Scraps of leather. In NYC, I like to get mine in the scrap bin at Jem Fabrics. Another good place to grab small pieces of leather is in the leather section of your local craft supply store.
2. Star shape and cardstock.
3. Brown thread and a needle
4. A new or used sweater.
5. Scissors
6. Pins

Instructions
1. Cut out a star onto cardstock
2. Trace onto the wrong side of the leather. Here, I decided that I liked the rough texture of the back of the leather better than the smooth face.
3. Cut out the stars
4. Pin one star on each sweater sleeve where your elbow naturally bends.
5. Use a whipstitch, sometimes called an overhand stitch, to secure the leather stars to the sweater. In one motion, push the needle through a bit of the sweater and a bit of the leather, pull the thread through both. Repeat all the way around the outside of each star.
6. Wear your new sweater with snazzy elbow patches. Feel good about your craft skills when everyone asks where you bought such a rad sweater!