How to Design a High School or College Varsity Letterman Letter Jacket

In academics, many design a letter jacket to give students as rewards for their accomplishments. A letter jacket - also known as varsity jacket or letterman jacket - is worn by high school and college students with a sense of pride in their achievements. The letter on the jacket is given to students who have made great accomplishments, often on school sports teams. To design a letter jacket though, you need to design a lot more than just the letter. You must design the varsity jacket itself beginning with the jacket's colors all the way to designing letter jacket patches. Below are general guidelines for designing a letter jacket (or letterman jacket). Letter varsity jackets differ from school to school though - use your school's traditional letter jacket design as the authority.

Instructions

1. Create the main body of the letterman jacket from wool.

2. Select the color of the body (chest & back area) that matches the main school color.

3. Add sleeves made out of leather. Choose color for leather varsity jacket sleeves to match the secondary school color.

4. Create large bands around the neck, waist and sleeve cuffs that are striped in the school colors.

5. Design the letterman jacket letter. The designing the letter of the varsity jacket s the key to designing the varsity jacket itself.

   The chenille varsity letter is given to students for achievements in school activities, most often in sports, but can also be given for achievements in academics, arts or music.

   Use the following guidelines when creating the varsity jacket letter:

   - Design the varsity letter out of chenille and felt.
   - Design the letter colors to match school colors.
   - Create the varsity letter by hand instead of by machine for a more custom and quality look.
   - Choose the varsity letter as the school monogram or initial. You can design the varsity "letter" to actually be a few letters (a two or three lettered monogram instead of just a single letter).
   - Choose your font style, which can be traditional, block letters or other font type.
   - Decorate letters with borders and shading.

6. Design varsity letter patches to show special accomplishments such as sports team mascot or achievement categories.

7. Design the letterman jacket two digit number representing the year of graduation (especially for high school varsity jackets). Add the number to the jacket layout. Different schools place this in different jacket locations.

8. Design the varsity jacket student's name embroidery or chenille. Add the student's name to the letterman jacket. Jacket placement varies from school to school.

9. Design a varsity jacket chenille or embrodery of the school name. Add the name of the school to the varsity jacket in a location based on the school's tradition.

10. Add the varsity letter to the left breast of the varsity letterman jacket.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to keep within your school's tradition of varsity jacket features