Customizing Your Own Jersey - #1 Intro & Tools

[@acrscasd]

I’ve been collecting for a couple years and have a lot of blanks that I want to customize. I really want to learn how to do it myself and I think your Reddit post and this video are gonna get me to actually do it. Thanks for making this, I’ll be following the series closely. Let’s go pens!

[@pensjerseys2322]

Thanks for the compliment Adam! I'm glad this is already showing to be a worthwhile effort for others out there. Keep an eye out, I have more on the way.

[@StevenCampbellToronto]

I bought the book from Chris, and he gave the Ottawa Senators one free, great video, I appreciate all the suggestions.

[@spencerhansen8956]

There are not enough likes on this video. This is AWESOME that you are sharing your knowledge. Seriously, THANK YOU!

[@pensjerseys2322]

Absolutely! Thanks for the kind words, Spencer!! Share the word around to your friends and don't forget to check out the rest of the video playlist. :)

[@matthewlacombe6354]

Amazing video series. I love how detail oriented you are in explaining everything. I am also a jersey collector looking to kind of branch out in the hobby and begin customizing my blanks.I'm So happy there is some help pointing me in the right direction.

[@pensjerseys2322]

Thank you! Glad these are helpful. Come join the Hockey Jersey discord channel!

[@selenajustine2975]

First off, awesome how you picked up sewing ☺️🙌🏻 this video is great!! Thank you so much for all the tips and info! Excited to give it a shot!

[@pensjerseys2322]

Thanks for the compliment! Good luck. :)

[@benhoward1329]

Nice dude. Men who sew are the best

[@aychdeez]

Is it possible to iron twill onto a jersey with a conventional iron, or even one of those 10x10" portable heat press machines? Great video btw!

[@pensjerseys2322]

Sorry, notifications on comments made don't always appear. For anyone viewing these comments in the future - YES! I've actually graduated to a portable heat press from Cricut myself. Still use the spray adhesive when needed, but the press was worth it for me when doing so many projects. If only doing a few jerseys here and there the spray is more economical. A household iron will work, but take caution because an iron isn't as consistent with steady heat.

[@lionlax28]

Who do you go through to get the numbers? I have a few Pens jerseys I'd like to customize. Thanks for these videos!

[@pensjerseys2322]

I try to stay neutral in these video comments, but I'll say try joining the Hockey Jerseys Reddit or Discord channel and you'll find quite a few options! You can try the official team customizer, but they might only specialize in modern jerseys.

[@bradtrick2315]

So I want to start collecting jerseys myself I have a few but they are so damn expensive. Would following this guide work with blanks?

[@pensjerseys2322]

Absolutely! That's why I started doing this process myself - in order to save a little bit of money.

[@kennethhariston6947]

great video

[@pensjerseys2322]

Thanks!

[@robertharris7194]

So I wanted to do a complete custom like my win design and I wanted to know what type of material it is for the letters and numbers because I want to cut it out myself. Thanks for your time.

[@SMLawlor]

Im wondering how you decide which color thread to use - do you always just use whichever color is on the outermost edge of whatever parch you’re placing? Do you use some reference for thread colors?

[@pensjerseys2322]

Yup! Thread color matches the edge you're sewing around. If you want to match the closest, I take the twill or patch to the place I buy the thread so you can get as close as possible.

[@mariagolding9473]

Hi. can you tell me what type / brand of thread you are using? thx

[@pensjerseys2322]

Coats & Clark or Guttermann

[@savethechildren2630]

Can I use a brother PE800 embroidery machine for this ?

[@pensjerseys2322]

I'm going to guess a no on this question, as a Google search brought up "Embroidery Only Machine" sorry!

[@fantasticvoyage262]

I once tried learning how to sew in school. And it did not go well.

[@pensjerseys2322]

It can be daunting to start!

[@Mikey19033]

Where can I find Chicago bulls numbers 23

[@pensjerseys2322]

I believe Keener Jerseys in Canada does NBA!

[@thepaintedladiesllc1899]

Can you share where you got the numbers??

[@pensjerseys2322]

Are you looking for a particular team? I use a handful of different suppliers.

[@SMLawlor]

I’m having an issue where my needle is having trouble plunging through a large 3-layer number. Every time the needle goes down through or comes back up (if the machine isn’t running full speed) the needle doesnt go through and my machine just buzzes. I’m using brand new denim 100/16 needles and brand new heavy duty 110/18. Do you have any advice? Is my machine literally just too weak?

[@pensjerseys2322]

What machine is it?

[@SMLawlor]

@@pensjerseys2322 its a Brother VX-810, something old and non computerized. I’m just perplexed because i was able to get nice perfect zigzags in old squares of denim, but when I move to layered twill I get a nightmare of problems.

[@pensjerseys2322]

@@SMLawlor I'm calling in some help to see what they think. He uses Brother machines as well. VERY odd if you can get through denim but not the twill, I'd think...

[@liamgould6524]

Howdy, a little friendly reinforcement courtesy of PensJerseys! Unfortunately it sounds like your machine may not be strong enough to handle that kind of load. HOWEVER, it may still be possible for you to sew triple-layer twill. I found needle size greatly affects the amount of resistance of any material, and 100/16 or 110/18 needles are overkill. I personally use an 80/12 needle and don't have any skipping issues and my machine glides through the material rather than chugging along like it does with larger needles. As an added bonus, the holes left in the material after sewing will also be less visible too! You just need to be a little more cognizant of the fact that you're using a light needle, so make sure you don't apply too much lateral pressure on the kit, or it may deflect the needle and cause you to skip stitches or even worse - get your needle jammed.

[@SMLawlor]

@@liamgould6524 thanks guys! I appreciate your advice. The smaller finer needles are punching through the twill nice and easy, so that definitely fixed that issue. Unfortunately, now i’m having issues with threads skipping. When i try and sew, most of the time the left needle swing is missed, or the thread is coming away from the take up lever and I need to restart and try again. What can I do to trouble shoot from here?

[@brandonrobinson1603]

What type of material is the patch itself made out of? Canvas?

[@pensjerseys2322]

Generally a twill + embroidery.

[@pensjerseys2322]

Links to certain items mentioned in the video are above in the video description.

[@stephenboyd7244]

It's not soap! It's tailor's chalk. It's chalk with wax surrounding it

[@pensjerseys2322]

Actually, I am using soap! An old bar of soap that fragmented into pieces. Tailors chalk would be the obvious choice, but the soap I've used for over 4 years now and it's still never come close to being used up.