Tiger Patch

Sewn onto a jacket, a bag or a pair of jeans, a tiger patch gives the piece a tiger of its own without changing anything else about it. The patches in this collection range from small painted-style badges to embroidered heads with bared fangs and a giant gold tiger large enough to fill the front of a t-shirt, so the same idea works as a discreet detail or as the center of attention.

Embroidered and printed tiger patch designs

The Roaring Tiger Patch shows the classic embroidered look. A tiger's head faces straight out with its jaws wide open and fangs bared, the stripes and fur stitched in gray thread over a black ground, and the edge is cut to follow the outline of the head rather than a circle or a square. Its Model option lists four colors, Silver, Red, Black and Gold, so the same snarling face can be matched to the jacket or bag it is going on.

The White Tiger Patch is calmer and more detailed. Its white tiger looks straight ahead with turquoise blue eyes and an orange nose, the fur built up in white, gray and black stitching, with the ears and cheek tufts shaped right into the outline. It comes in three versions, listed as Original, Fluorescent and White.

The largest design among these is the Golden Giant Tiger Patch, listed at 25.5x27.5cm. Its photo shows it centered on the chest of a black t-shirt: a tiger head in gold and black with bright green eyes and white fur flaring from the cheeks, big enough to act as the whole graphic of the shirt.

Some designs take a painted look rather than a stitched one. The Pop-Art Tiger Patch is a burst of color, a tiger face in pink, blue, yellow and violet splashes with paint drips, black triangles and pale green eyes, listed at 12.5x16.5cm. Patch White Tiger Design comes in the smallest size in the collection, 6x6cm, with a watercolor-style white tiger head in soft gray, lilac and yellow washes and a pink nose.

From a small badge to a full back piece

Most patches give their size in their Model option, and the spread is wide. At the small end, 6x6cm and 7x9cm designs fit a cap, a collar or a pocket. Many sit in the middle, between 12.6x13cm and 12.6x14.5cm, a size that works on a sleeve, a chest or the flap of a bag. The largest pieces, up to 25.6x28cm, suit the back of a jacket or the front of a hoodie, where a tiger head can be seen from across the street.

Tiger patches for clothes, bags and more

Denim and canvas are the traditional homes for patches, and a tiger looks right on both. Our tiger jacket collection already carries the animal, with bomber jackets embroidered with gold or white tigers, denim and jean jackets, and printed designs, and a patch on the sleeve or chest can add a second tiger to a jacket that already has one. Jeans, hoodies, caps and vests carry a patch just as well, and a small tiger on a cap or a collar can sit alongside a large one on the back of the same outfit.

Bags are the other classic canvas. A patch turns a backpack, a tote or a gym bag into a tiger piece, and for a bag that comes with the tiger built in, our tiger backpack collection offers 3D tiger head designs, school bags and a plush tiger head backpack.

The tiger as an emblem

Patches began as marks of belonging, and the tiger has long been one of the favorite animals to put on them. Military units, sports teams and schools around the world have chosen it for their badges as a sign of courage, speed and strength, and a tiger on the back of a denim or motorcycle jacket has been a familiar sight for decades. In Chinese tradition the tiger is called the king of the animals, and the dark stripes on its forehead are said to form the Chinese character for king. On the embroidered heads described above, those forehead stripes sit right at the center of the design, between the ears.

Japan added a chapter of its own with the souvenir jacket, or sukajan, which took shape in Yokosuka after the Second World War: satin bombers embroidered with tigers, dragons and eagles, first made for American servicemen stationed nearby. A large embroidered tiger head on the back of a bomber still draws on that look, and a patch can bring it to a jacket of almost any kind.

Patch or tattoo

A patch and a temporary tattoo are two takes on the same idea: tiger art worn on the body. A tiger temporary tattoo puts it on the skin for a few days, while a patch stays on a jacket or a bag for as long as the piece is worn. Both collections, along with keychains, phone cases, masks and mugs, belong to our tiger accessories range.

Patch questions, briefly

How large are the patches?

Each patch lists its size in its Model option, from 6x6cm for the smallest to 25.6x28cm for the largest. A few, such as the Roaring Tiger Patch, list their colors there instead.

Which patches show a white tiger?

The White Tiger Patch is an embroidered head with turquoise eyes, offered in three versions, while Patch White Tiger Design shows a small watercolor-style white tiger in soft painted tones.

Are the patches embroidered or printed?

Many are embroidered, with the stitching visible in their photos, as on the Roaring Tiger Patch and the White Tiger Patch. Others, like the Pop-Art Tiger Patch, have a painted look, with colors that blend into one another.