A leather patch looks like the simplest thing on a decorator’s order form. Four decisions separate one that reads and lasts from one that does neither.

Start with the colour of the leather

Engraving is a burn, so the mark can only be as visible as the contrast between scorched and unscorched leather.

Pale vegetable-tanned hide gives a deep brown mark. Black leather gives almost nothing. If your brand is black, you are looking at a debossed patch, and it is better to know that before the artwork than after the delivery.

Choose the marking method for that colour

Engrave for contrast on pale hide. Deboss for shadow on dark hide, and on any patch small enough that a fine burn would close up.

Debossing needs a die, which is a genuine one-off cost. Ask for it as a separate line and ask whether it is held for reorders.

Choose the backing for the host item

Industrially laundered? Sew-on, always. Cotton, canvas, fleece, caps and bags? Heat-seal is excellent.

Waterproof membrane? Neither — heat-sealing destroys the membrane, so it has to be sewn, and even then think about where the stitch holes go on a waterproof.

Pick the thickness from the panel, not the price list

Thicker is not better. On a curved cap panel a thick patch dishes and lifts at the edges; on a soft garment it drags.

Tell your supplier what the patch is going onto and let them specify the ounce weight.

What to send when you ask for a quote

Artwork, quantity, finished size, the leather colour you want, and what the patch is being applied to. The last two decide everything else.