Shovelhead Embossed Leather Patch

The shovel-shaped engine
Shovelhead is the nickname bikers gave to the engine that took over from the Panhead in 1966, with its shovel-shaped rocker covers. The letters are embossed in relief in the leather, with two western-style ornaments. Three versions to choose from: black and white, red and black or antique brown (a chiaroscuro patina, lighter in the centre and darker towards the edges). To put on a vest, a jacket, a saddlebag or anywhere else you like.

Pre-punching option (+€5)
Sewing your patch on yourself, by hand, is the personal touch that makes all the difference on a vest. On a leather vest, you also need to punch the vest leather to pass the needle. With the pre-punching option, we punch holes around the patch in advance, one every 2 mm (0.08 in). The patch then becomes your template: glue it onto the vest with leather glue so it stays in place, punch the vest leather through its holes, and both line up perfectly. All that’s left is to sew with a saddle stitch, using two needles and waxed thread: it’s the strongest stitch for leather, and you’ll easily find a tutorial by searching “saddle stitch leather” on YouTube. For machine sewing, the unpunched patch is better.

Made in our workshop
In our family workshop, since 1989, our patches are cut from full-grain leather made especially for Traveller Shop by a French tanner, then embossed. The relief doesn’t really show in the photo: in real life, the design stands out by about 3 mm (0.12 in), and the patch looks even better.

Technical details:

• Shape: rectangle with rounded corners
• Width: 82.0 mm (3.2 in)
• Height: 37.2 mm (1.5 in)
• Colours: black and white, red and black, antique brown
• Material: embossed full-grain leather, 2.5 mm (0.1 in) thick
• Fixing: sew-on (pre-punching optional)
• Made in our workshop in France