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Patchwork tattoos are a collection of tattoos collaged together to create an overall design. Each individual ‘patch’ of the tattoo can be a different design, symbol or element with a little space in between.
Unlike other tattoo styles, patchwork tattoos don’t necessarily need a theme that ties them together.
The origins of patchwork tattoos date back to the days of tattooing when sailors would acquire them as souvenirs of their journeys and adventures. Navigating from port to port, they would accumulate diverse tattoos, forming a patchwork collage of designs on their skin.
Over the years, patchwork tattoos have served as a canvas to narrate personal stories or symbolise specific ideas or themes. For example, you could have an entire patchwork tattoo sleeve dedicated to animals, time, family or anything else.
If you’re a big fan of patchwork tattoos and want to design a patchwork tattoo sleeve, it’s easy!
Starting your patchwork tattoo sleeve begins with deciding what you want to incorporate. Do you want all the tattoos to be animals, flowers, or a specific theme? Or do you want all of the tattoos to be completely different?
Once you’ve decided, you can create a rough design of where you want each tattoo to go. You’ll need to consider the symmetry, sizing and spacing between each tattoo.
Now, when it comes to patchwork sleeves, you don’t have to get all the tattoos at the same time; you can start small and add more later. While you may think it’ll look a little weird with patches missing, the end result will be worth it.
If you’ve still got some extra space once the sleeve is finished, you can add in any simple tattoo design you like to fill the space. Some common designs used to fill blank space include stars, swirls, spider webs or blackwork.
When it comes to deciding which style of tattoos you’d like to be included on your patchwork sleeve, you can choose any!
However, it’s better to choose the same style to ensure cohesiveness. If you have a range of different styles throughout your patchwork sleeve, it could look messy and chaotic (unless that’s what you’re going for).
The different types of patchwork tattoo ideas and styles include
