The end of last year was the first time I was introduced to the show Succession. I watched all of the seasons within a few weeks and was decimated to hear that the next season would be the last. I was even further wounded when I learned they were having an open casting call for extras for the last season and I fit the description. However, my health was not cooperating at the time, so being on set all day was not an option for me.
I decided to turn these plentiful list of emotions into art, namely a baseball jersey. Today, I am going to walk you through how I made this jersey. If you’re not a DIY person and just came to see the final product, enjoy this YouTube short I made a few months ago. It breaks down the process of making the shirt into a quick, 7 second video.
Let the creativity commence…
Step 1: If you want to become Kendall Roy, it only makes sense for you to turn on some rap music and act like you own the town.
Step 2: Buy a baseball jersey that is white with black stripes. This task is harder than it sounds because some shirts claim to have black stripes, but on delivery they actually have dark, navy blue stripes. I found this to be true for all the cheap jersey options so I just opted to deal with this slight alternation. In photos, you cannot even tell the difference. Here is the link to the shirt I used.
Step 3: Buy black felt. Remember, you need enough to cut out all of the letters and numbers (L,O,G,5,0,R,O,Y,5,0). I bought a piece from Michaels that was about 1ft x 2ft. This was enough for me and I had to redo some letters and numbers due to sizing issues. You could even buy felt that has adhesive on the back, or felt that can be ironed on the shirt. This would make it easier for you later on but will likely make the end product look more “homemade” and less like the shirt on the show. It all comes down to how legit you want it to look.
Step 4: So you’ve got all the supplies, now you need to find the letters and numbers in the iconic baseball font. I used this font and downloaded it on my iPad. There are a few ways you can go about this step. I sized the letters on my iPad, using a ruler to help, and then placed a thin, see-through piece of paper on my iPad screen. The light from the screen shined through the paper and I was able to *gently* trace the letters. If you do not have an iPad, you could also download the font and size the letters in a word document, playing with the sizing until it looks right, then printing it out. You could repeat this step until the sizing looks perfect.
HOT TIP: The bigger the size of your shirt, the bigger the letters you will need to be in proportion to you and your shirt. I used a shirt in size Men’s Small and this is the sizing of the letters/numbers I used: On the front of the shirt, LOG (4 inches tall) and 50 (3.75 inches tall). On the back of the shirt, Roy (4.25 inches tall – if I could do it again, I would make these letters smaller, probably 4 inches or 3.5 inches) and 50 (7.25 inches tall). I recommend looking up photos of Kendall and seeing the proportion and placement of the details on his shirt, then playing around with what looks best on you.
Step 5: After the previous step, you should have the outline of the letters and numbers needed for the shirt. Now, you need to cut them out of the paper so you can place the cutouts on the shirt to see if the sizing is right. DO NOT cut right on the outline of the letters/numbers, leave about 1cm of extra paper around the outline which will be helpful later when you go to cut the felt. Now, place the paper cutouts on the shirt to judge how the sizing looks. If something looks off, resize and try again. If everything looks good, I suggest waiting a day or two to make sure it still looks good then.
Step 6: Once you’ve decided on the letter and number sizing, it’s time to cut the felt. You need a scissor that is either made for felt or is sharp enough to cut through it without struggle. I used a scissor that is made for cutting hair. This produced clean, straight cuts that are needed to keep the felt from fraying. Take your time. The neater your felt is cut, the better the final product will look. To produce neat letters, I used tape to keep the letter/number cutouts from moving on the felt (this is why I recommended leaving an extra 1cm of paper in the previous step, it’s easier to cut felt through the rigidness and structure of paper).
Step 7: Cutting out the felt likely took some patience and good tunes, now it’s time to figure out the placement. I used sowing pins like these to play with the placement. While being careful, I tried on the shirt with the letters and numbers pinned into place and made adjustments until it looked how I wanted it to. I also recommend waiting a day or two to make sure the arrangement looks good and that you’re happy with it.
Step 8: Now, it’s sowing time! Or, if you bought felt with adhesive on the back, it’s peel and stick time. I have to admit that I did not sow my own shirt, my Grandma did that job. But there are plenty of videos on YouTube that can help you if you are a beginner. Make sure not to sow the shirt shut by threading the needle through the front and back of the shirt, this will result in you having to undo your work and start again. You could place some cardboard on the inside of the shirt so you do not sow the shirt closed by accident. But this mistake could easily be undone but cutting the thread and starting over.
Step 9: That last step was a doozy, but now we’re at the fun part. Find a microphone (or a hairbrush), a thick ring, a shiny watch, and a boastful attitude. You can even make a bow tie with your extra felt. Now, you’re Kendall Roy. Feel free to send me photos of your completed shirt and let me know if I could add anything to this post that would be helpful to future DIYers.
Here’s a look at my finished shirt and some edits I made so I could get the full Roy experience:
Aloha Arianna 