diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 73b3d7a0d..751d6003e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ src/qt/test/moc*.cpp
 *.pyc
 *.o
 *.o-*
-*.patch
 *.a
 *.pb.cc
 *.pb.h
@@ -72,6 +71,10 @@ src/qt/test/moc*.cpp
 *.lo
 *.la
 
+# ignore only unwanted patches
+*.patch
+!depends/patches/**/*.patch
+
 # Compilation and Qt preprocessor part
 *.qm
 Makefile