Jersey Customizations
We don’t sell team jerseys- rather, we customize jerseys that people send us, making them look exactly as the players wore them on the field— the same fonts, colors, fabrics: all the team-specific details.
Let's start with the basics. Most jerseys people send me come from eBay, other auction sites, or have been hanging in their closet.
Three Common Scenarios:
Scenario 1: You have a blank jersey. You want me to customize it (add name, number, patches). This is straightforward and what we do most often.
Scenario 2: You have a jersey with the wrong player. You want me to strip it and re-letter it. This is common and usually not difficult, though stripping and cleaning a jersey generally costs twice as much as starting with a blank one. Learn more with this document
Scenario 3: You don't have anything yet You need to find a donor jersey for us to work with. I'll give you guidance on where to look and what to avoid.
“I already have a jersey.”
If your jersey is blank and you know what you want — perfect! Click HERE for a NEXT STEPS document.
If you have found a jersey with the wrong player. Good news: we can usually strip it and re-letter it. This can be a smart way to source hard-to-find styles or save money overall. However, stripping is specialized work that most shops no longer offer due to the risk and difficulty involved. The stripping process is quoted separately and typically costs as much or more than the re-lettering itself. To save part of the cost, you can strip the stitching thread if you are confident in your ability to do it carefully.
“I don’t have a jersey yet.”
If you don’t have a jersey yet but are interested in our customization services — click HERE for some tips on how to find one we can letter for you.
Stripping and Cleaning in preparation for re-lettering
Prior to the 2000s, all teams depended heavily on local sewing shops to help them with mid-season changes and season-end jersey stripping and re-lettering for use in the next year’s spring training, or in getting jerseys ready for their next life in the minor leagues. Both felt and tackle twill lettering were meant to be removable so that expensive jerseys could be re-issued to other players. However the cost of labor to perform this task plus the increasing collector interest in owning player issued jerseys made this task basically obsolete from that point on. If your jersey needs to be stripped and cleaned, this will be quoted separately. Stripping is time consuming and messy. The price to strip and prepare the jersey for re-lettering is usually close same as the cost to re-letter it; sometimes it may be more. Look at this document to see what happens when removing lettering.
Important Considerations:
We can't know if major staining exists beneath your current lettering until we remove the old lettering. There's a cost to remove the old lettering and attempt to clean the fabric. Generally even when there is staining we are successful at least 80% of the time and getting things clean. Realize that almost nobody offers this service any longer. We always do our best and if we don't think success is going to be possible we will tell you so and not proceed.
Your jersey may require advanced cleaning techniques. If I remove the old lettering has significant staining exists, I will stop and consult with you as to what you want done next. There's a time and materials charge for any work that we do, whether we are successful or not. I can generally give you odds for success before we take the next step.
I never recommend stripping a jersey so it can be worn blank. There are almost always some remnants of what had been there before which should be covered up with new lettering. The choice is yours but we can't promise perfection in removing all old staining.
While we are very experienced at this task, If you want to save some money, you can strip the stitching of the old lettering yourself before you send your garment to us. The attached document will give you some guidelines. Full details are provided. (Linked) Most importantly, you must use the correct tool and technique to pull stitching. Do not use an X-Acto knife or a razor blade unless you want to ruin your jersey. Once the stitching is removed if the lettering is glued down and doesn't fall off do not force it off the shirt. We have the proper chemicals to make the glue release.
Most jerseys can be re-lettered, with some notable exceptions:
• Nike 2024-2025 Elite on-field jerseys: this tech-fabric is so weak that removing the current lettering risks ruining the fabric. Our success rate with these has been very poor and we do not recommend it.
• Any jerseys with glued-on, unstitched lettering (look inside the jersey to see if the stitching shows through. If it doesn’t, your lettering likely cannot be removed.
• Jerseys with screened on lettering. Heat-applied vinyl lettering can generally be removed.
• Very old jerseys that have been washed dozens of time and are badly faded. Removing lettering from these often leaves major fabric staining and fading damage that is very visible.
Jersey Lettering: Special Case 2024–2025 Nike On-Field VPE Jerseys
If you're a student of the game — and I suspect you are, if you've gotten this deep into the site — you probably already know that during the 2024 and 2025 seasons Nike made some major and deeply unpopular changes to the template for Major League Baseball on-field jerseys. The design was called "Vapor Elite," or VPE. The side vents were eliminated. The jerseys were tailored incredibly long. The placket (where the buttons go) was narrowed and the trim changed. Patches were no longer embroidered. The lettering was different: in many cases it was smaller and for most teams the numbers were even micro-perforated. The jersey fabric was different; rough with a texture some compared to a Bounty paper towel, and when wet was often see-through. It ripped easily if a hole appeared.
A great number of these VPE jerseys are being offered for sale online. Be careful before buying one. If it is blank-backed, I can letter it. But if it carries another player's name and number that you want changed, I won't strip it. The fabric is often too fragile to survive the process, and even when the lettering comes off cleanly, the adhesive underneath is so stubborn that the result is frequently unsatisfactory regardless of the extra steps taken. After more than a year of trying to make people happy with these jerseys, I've decided it's best to just say no.
Here are the rules: if you have a blank VPE jersey, I'll letter it — but using 2026-style fonts and materials. If you specifically need 2024 or 2025 style lettering, I'll quote that as a special project at considerably higher cost, and I can only take that work during periods when I have the time to focus on it properly. I understand that the Dodgers and Rangers won the World Series in those years and people want accurate duplicates of what the players wore — I'm not turning my back on that. I just need to be honest with you about what it involves.
If you're determined to strip one of these jerseys yourself, I won't stop you — and I've put together a separate guide covering the solvents you'll need and how to use them. Work carefully and slowly, wear gloves, and make sure you have adequate ventilation. The solvents involved are genuinely noxious. You have been warned.
Quick Price List
Minimum invoice is $75
Back Numbers
1 color back numbers ($45)
2 color back numbers ($55)
3 color back numbers ($65)
4 color back numbers ($75)
Front Numbers
1 color front numbers ($30)
2 color front numbers ($35)
3 color front numbers ($45)
4 color front numbers ($50)
Name on Back
1 color name on back ($45)
2 color name on back ($55)
3 color Name on back ($65)
4 color Name on back ($75)
Separate serged-edge nameplates in white, cream, gray, black ($25)
Special colors quoted separately
Sew a patch ($10)
Memorial Armband ($20)
Upcharge for Nike Power Twill ($15)
Upcharge for Dazzle Twill ($45-$75)
Upcharge for Dodger Twill ($60)
Upcharge for Felt Lettering ($60) - ($70)
Upcharge for Glacier Twill or Glitter Twill ($15)
Re-hem/shorten jersey $35
NEXT STEPS: Getting Your Quote
Please send me an email with:
The team and year of the desired customization. Or if you don’t know, just send me pictures from the Web of what you want it to look like,
What you want to do (player name, number, any patches) and any questions you might have,
Optional, but recommended: Photos of your jersey (front, back, especially if it is already lettered and needs to be stripped.
Optional, Photos of a game-worn example if you have one showing the exact look you want
From your photos, I can determine the lettering style, colors, whether a nameplate is used, and give you an accurate quote. If we need to have a call, we can schedule it.
What happens next: I'll send you an estimate and expected turnaround time (typically 6-8 weeks, up to 10 weeks for more complex work and during peak periods). I’ll also give you complete shipping instructions.
If you need patches: Check with me first - I might have what you. need. If I don't, you'll want to source them before shipping your jersey.