| HOW TO LETTER BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
JERSEYS |
| Start
with the simple geometry...and space limitations of the shirt front |
| Lettering is based on a set of imaginary lines,
so lay a shirt in front of you with the front fading up. On that
shirt lie 3 very useful imaginary figures: the main vertical,
main horizontal and The Box. |
| The Limitations |
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For men, the lowest point of the bottommost numeral should
be no more than 18 in. from the highest point of the neck braid.
For boys, the limit is 14 in. |
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There is surprisingly little space on a baseball shirt front,
certainly less than seems to meet the eye. For men, the width
is 12.5-15 in.; for boys, 10-12.5 in. |
| The Geometry |
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The main vertical is the crease in the center of the shirt. |
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The main horizontal is an imaginary line that runs from one
armpit (where
the side seam of the shirt and bottom of the sleeve meet) to the other" |
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The top of numeral closest to the lettering, should be .5
in. below the lettering. |
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| SCRIPT LETTERING WITH NUMBERS:
Front of Round & V-neck
Shirts |
| Start with the baseball arch template. Mark center
line of arch. Mark a point 1 in. on
the curved side to the left the center line. Then draw a line
from the center of the straight
side to the 1 in. mark. This line will make your lettering angle
consistent for all of a team’s shirts.
Place arch on shirt with your "angle" line running
on the vertical line of the shirt. Position center point of straight
edge 6.5 in. down from low
point of neck braid (for boys', small, 5.5 in.).
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Put script lettering in position on shirt with
the bottom of each letter touching
the straight edge of the arch. Center the lettering, side to
side, so that the arch’s center line divides it in half.
Slide
Arch Away. Lettering, including the tail, should be about half
above and half below the horizontal armpit
line. If the lettering is not, because shirt designs vary,
adjust distance from low point of neck to center point of arch
until
lettering is half below and half above armpit line. If recommended
distance of 6.5 in. (or 5.5 in.)
from low point of neck is changed, record the revised distance
to position all lettering in that
batch of shirts.
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| HOW TO POSITION THE
NUMBERS |
| One Digit Numbers |
Two Digit Numbers |
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“1” should be 2.5
in. from main vertical. |
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Those containing number “1”, except “11”:
Numerals should be .75 in. apart.
Left numeral .5
in. from main vertical. |
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Numbers “2 through 9” should be 2
in. from main vertical. |
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Number “11”: The “1’s” should
be 1.25 in. apart. Left numeral, 1 in. from main vertical. |
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All other two-digit numbers: Numerals should be
.75 in. apart. Left numeral should be right on the centerline. |
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| LETTERING FRONT & BACK |
| Round Neck |
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| Arched Lettering With Numbers (Front) |
Arched Lettering Only (Front) |
Top of men's and boy's lettering should be 2.5
in. from the lowest point of the neck braid. Position the
numerals side
to side as directed in Script section.
Highest point of a two-digit number is about .5 in. below lowest point of lettering.
A one-Digit number will be higher up on the shirt than a two-digit number.
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Top of the name should be 3 in. from the lowest point of the
neck braid on both men's and boy's shirts. Main horizontal should
evenly divide the lettering in
half. Lettering should be centered on the main vertical and the outer edges of
letters
should be equally distant from the armpits.
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| "V" Neck |
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| Arched Lettering Only (Front) |
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| For men, top of lettering should be 2.5
in. down
from the tip of the "V". For boy's, lettering should
be 1.75 in. down from the "V". Position numerals as
directed with round-neck shirts. |
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| Names and Numbers (Back) |
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| Top of name should be 2 in. down
from base of neck trim. Numbers should fit up into an "upside-down
cradle" formed by
the arched name. Highest points of a two-digit number should be
about .5 in. away from nearest
lettering. A one-digit number is higher into "cradle" with
its topmost points about 1.25 in. away
from nearest lettering. Two digit numbers should be .75
in. from
center line of shirt or
1.5
in. apart, except “11”.
The “1”s should be 2 in. apart. Single numbers should
be evenly divided by the centerline of the shirt. |
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| Numbers Only (Back) |
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Distance of numerals from base of trim on neck will vary according
to height of numerals. Follow this table.
These are the standard
numeral sizes used on baseball shirts: 8 in. for
men and 6
in. for boys are the most
commonly used.
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| NUMERAL HEIGHT |
DISTANCE FROM EDGE OF
NECK TRIM |
| Men's |
| 6 & 7 in. |
4.5 in. |
| 8 in. |
4 in. |
| Boy's |
| 4 in. |
4 in. |
| 5 & 6 in. |
3.5 in. |
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| HOW TO AVOID COMMON
MISTAKES WITH SCRIPT |
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There are four things to remember in positioning script lettering
on baseball shirts.
- Script lettering is positioned on a slant from lower left
to upper right of the garment.
- Script letters have a slight slant to the right on the shirt
front. They are not straight, not slanted backwards.
- Script letters are designed on a system of exactly parallel
lines (See below).
- When a tail is used, the tail must be positioned correctly.
If any one of these elements is not correctly handled, the script
lettering can wind up looking unprofessional.
The example shows that each script letter is slanted right
and is based on parallel lines; and has each letter flat on the
base line. When applying the lettering, it’s necessary
to check the parallel of each letter on each shirt.
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The tall letters “T” “L” and “K” are
the ones most likely to be noticeable if the parallel line rule
is not followed.
So double-check those letters. If a separate capital such as an “O” has
no obvious line, envision an imaginary line through the letter and line it up
with parallel lines of the rest of the name.
The trick with the tail is be certain that the tail is straight
and equally distant at all points from the letters above it.
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