Hello friends! I’m coming to you live from the game!
Well….not really….. this was a few days ago. 🙂
At the Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium’s inaugural game.
Me? I’m a die hard Bears fan and have been since 1986. I was a kid watching the Super Bowl and being mesmerized by the likes of Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, Walter Payton and the Fridge. There will never be another team like that team.
And crazily, my team WON! They were the underdog and were losing for half of the game and pulled out a WIN. Yay! Go Bears! It sure is nice to go to a game when your teams wins. The last time Da Bears were in SF they lost to the Niners. I was at that game, too, and it sure is not fun.
Anyway…. perhaps you’re not a sports fan and don’t really care about game day fashion. That’s cool. But maybe your partner or your kids or your friends do and you’re gonna be dragged to a game. I personally don’t want to sacrifice my style for sports and don’t like to dress with the masses in the typical sports outfit of jeans and a tshirt/jersey. I rarely ever wear jeans, so it’s a bit out of the ordinary for me to. In comes my Bears skirt!
This is a circle skirt pattern with pleats on the center front and back. It’s McCall’s 6570, which is now out of print.
[source: McCalls]
I used cotton broadcloth from Joann’s and matched the Bears colors perfectly. I omitted the bow and added a button closure on the back above an invisible zip. I opted not to line it. The waistband looks loose on my dressform, but it isn’t on me as it fits perfectly with no drooping. I guess those wobbly bits are good for something!
This is what the skirt pattern looked like as is. The bottom band is just pinned on as I was checking this out in my sewing room before I sewed it. I thought this was way too short and looked a bit cheerleader-y and I was going to chuck it and just wear a denim skirt or something. I guess I had a bit of an epiphany that night and went down the next day and made another band in the navy broadcloth to go underneath and voila! I loved it! I’d actually even wear this skirt without the jersey on a non-game day!
That pic above (also in my sewing room) was taken pre-hemming and pressing. The orange band is cut in a circular pattern, but I made the second band in a straight pattern. I just measured how much longer I wanted my skirt to be, added a seam allowance for the hem, and cut out what I needed. Thankfully, I always buy extra fabric!!!
On the left, you can see the original jersey. It’s a man’s Gridiron Greats Mike Ditka jersey and very unflattering on me. I cut about a 12″ off the bottom and cropped it a bit, putting the hem in where it was more flattering. I took the bottom patch off and resewed it back in the same area. After that, I took about 1 1/2″ – 2″ off the sleeves, cutting into the blue stripe and a little of the white on the sleeve and then re-sewing it. For the v-neck, I unpicked all of the stitching (there was quite a bit) on the neck band and took the center patch off. I then cut a deeper v-neck and turned the seam over. Since I did that, that striped band was too short, so it’s sewn on the front and tapers back over the shoulders. I serged that before I sewed it back on in the same manner as the factory sewing. Then I sewed the center patch back on.
The back neckline looks a little off on my refashion in the pic above, but it’s not. You may ask why I didn’t just buy a jersey. Well, they do make women’s jerseys, but this is a special Mike Ditka jersey for his organization “Gridiron Greats” and it’s not available for women. I did feel bad about cutting up a brand new jersey, but I figured it was better to alter it so that I liked it and would wear it rather than let it hang in my closet unworn.
I also made little purse with wrist handle. The NFL has a “no bag” policy at every stadium now and unless you have a clear plastic bag, your purse has to be under 4.6″x6.5″ which is pretty small! Luckily, I had some scraps of Bears fabric in my sewing room and sewed up this little bag to carry my camera/debit card/cash in. I was also thankful that I had pockets in my skirt! Invaluable!
And a Bears ensemble isn’t complete without my Bears earrings! I’ve had these since the 90’s and haven’t lost them yet!
I sure got a lot of compliments on my outfit — even some of them from 49ers fans. For some reason, a lot of people thought I was wearing a dress…
Happy Sewing!
- Jersey: Gridiron Greats
- Skirt: McCalls 6570 in cotton broadcloth, made by me
- Shoes: Yellow Box
- Sunglasses: Burberry
- Earrings: Gift from my mom
I love that skirt more than is actually rational. The double hem band was both a great problem solver and also is adorable. Good for you for making that awesome jersey into something you look great in. Ditka deserves to have you as his cutest superfan!
My daughter’s high school’s colors are black and orange, and I think that a skirt like yours in those colors would look great with all her school tees. Plus she loves a circle skirt as long as it’s American Apparel length.
Thank you!!! 🙂 That skirt pattern would be perfect for her without the added length. I bet she’ll look super cute in that!!
So impressed with all the work you did to make that shirt into your own size. Wow!
Great strength of character, too, for being true to your own fashion statement instead of going along with the crowd. Glad you had a great time – you earned it!
del
Thanks, Del! I never go along with the crowd! 🙂
Love your team spirit!
How was the new stadium?
The new stadium is nice looking but has a lot of logistical problems. The food also really sucks…. I’ve been to a lot of stadiums as this was the worst experience. Hopefully they will get their act together and figure it out.
I live in a house divided. I’m a Packers fan and Mike is a Bears fan. You might be amazed at how well we survive football season. It really only gets ugly when we play each other. 😀 Really cute jersey refashion! Glad you got to be at a game for a W!
I can imagine how that would be during a Bears/Packers game!!! Thanks! 🙂
This. Is. AWESOME! I don’t follow football except by osmosis — my husband bleeds Vikings purple, and maybe I should make something like this for me for his birthday, lol! Glad your Bears won the game, yes that certainly makes the event much more fun… 🙂
Thanks, Susan!! Who doesn’t need a purple and yellow skirt though? Even if you don’t care about the Vikes, at least you can look pretty cool as that is like the best color combo in football!
This is such a creative idea and it looks fantastic! Don’t you just love those moments when you think of a solution? (Adding the blue fabic to the bottom of your skirt) Your entire outfit looks great! Glad your team won, but sad mine did not.
Have a wonderful day!
~ Vickie
Thanks, Vickie!!! I’m glad I didn’t scrap the skirt and thought of something better. I really like the length and the swoosh of the skirt now!
So CUTE! Love the way you did this, good job! 😀
Thanks, Patricia!!! 🙂
LOVE your game day outfit!!! I am more of college sports follower, and have the hardest time finding any game day clothing for my beloved Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (I’m a ramblin wreck from Georgia Tech…sorry) that actually fits. I have a frumpy men’s 4X sweatshirt that swallows me on top but is still tight in the hips, but I wear it every year. Now seeing what you have done here, I am going to feel no guilt in hacking that baby up and making something flattering for game day.
Thank you, Alicia!! I was hesitant to cut this jersey up, but I’m very happy with the results. Now I know that I’m not relegated to what kinds of sports attire they want to offer women, and I can just restyle a man’s shirt/jersey to get a good fit. 🙂
This makes me wish I were a sports fan! So awesome. 🙂
Thanks, Andie!!!
Me too Andie!! 🙂
While I have absolutely no interest in sports, if I DID I would totally be copying you! 😀
Well, if you ever go a sports event, you can sew something awesome up! 🙂
Um, this is ADORABLE. I love it! Maybe I should make something if my beloved Orioles make it into the world series. 🙂
DO IT!!!!!!