How to Design a Custom Football Jersey

You can design your own football jersey a few different ways. You can do it solely by yourself, you can acquire all the materials needed and have a professional or friend put the elements together, or you can identify the color scheme and custom elements and order the jersey, either from a local sporting goods store or online. However you decide to create the final product, the process of designing the jersey is the same. A little research, your creativity and a bit of money can combine to create an eye-popping custom football jersey.

Things You'll Need

  • Sketch pad
  • Pencil
  • Colored pencils or markers
  • Color palette (optional)
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Choose a basic color scheme. This should include the most important factor: the base color of the jersey, onto which all other elements will be grafted. Decide on one other color to complement your base color. Watch football games on TV or visit team, league and other websites to familiarize yourself with what works and what doesn't, and what you find attractive. Perhaps you have an idea for a color scheme that isn't used by any pro or college team. Ask yourself why that is. Purple and brown might be your favorite colors, but they probably don't combine for an attractive jersey. Research color combinations.

    • 2

      Sketch your ideas. Include colors, sleeve stripes, piping, placement of numbers, logo, your name on the back and the relative size of all elements. For example, decide if the numbers will be white or the second, complementary color you've chosen. You may want the sleeve numbers to actually be located on the shoulders, although this technique works better on jerseys intended to be worn with shoulder pads. Determine if you want the team name to appear on the front of the jersey, in small letters above the numbers, which has become popular in recent years with colleges and even high schools. Finally, decide if you want to depart radically from typical jersey designs and do something like placing the logo prominently on the front or back in place of numbers.

    • 3

      Decide whether you're going to make the jersey yourself or simply provide someone with the sketch and materials. This will determine such decisions as whether to use iron-on materials like numbers or sew-on items. If you don't know how to sew, you'll either have to choose iron-on products or have someone else complete the job. Sew-on numbers also require a stout jersey; mesh, for example, won't accommodate sewn-on numbers.

    • 4

      Visit a local jersey dealer or go online. Take your sketch with you or have it handy. You may have to alter your plans if, for example, you're going to use a local sporting goods store and they don't have the materials you need. Start with the jersey and work from there.