Varsity Letter Sweaters

I really love the vintage school aesthetic. A couple of years ago, I found some varsity chenille letters that weren’t attached to a letter jacket. I wasn’t sure how I would actually use them (my husband usually shakes his head when I bring these little treasures home) but they came in a pack together and I especially liked one of them because of all these vintage pins showing the student’s achievements. The letters were sitting on a shelf in our basement until recently.

I’d been looking for more ways to show my school spirit on game days without just wearing a sweatshirt, t-shirt or polo! My idea started coming together this football season when I found this website called Hillflint – their sweaters are modern creations meant to instill the nostalgic vibes of college. Did you know that before letter jackets there were letter sweaters?

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I remembered I’d stashed away those letters when I saw the Hillflint sweaters but I needed a different letter. I did a quick search online and found a chenille “D” on Amazon (is there anything you can’t buy on Amazon?!) to represent my school. Next, I had to find the correct “letter sweater style” and color…I looked around online for some inspiration photos and tried to find a sweater that would work. I got lucky and found a forest green cardigan on sale at J. Crew Factory! Score! I was ready to get started.

I didn’t want to permanently iron or sew the varsity letter on my sweater because I want to wear the sweater for a variety of purposes and occasions. I wanted to get this done quickly so I decided to go with safety pins and Hollywood Fashion Tape. I put the tape on the back of each letter, then placed it on the sweater and added at least 2 pins on the backside. That was enough to hold them securely on the sweater without being permanent.

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And that’s it! Here are the final results! You certainly don’t have to be crafty to figure this out! What do you think? Which look is your favorite?

P.S. When I got the green “D” sweater on, I decided that I wanted the letter lower near my hip so I easily switched it up. Next time I do this, I’ll put the sweater on, place the letter, pin it, take the sweater off, then attach it more securely.

P.P.S. You can learn how to sew or iron on varsity letters with Kollabara’s how-to post here.