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#1
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Making cycling shorts without overlocking
Steph wrote:
I wear womens' padded cycling shorts for my daily bike ride. Womens' shorts have no central seam between the legs in the padding, to avoid chafing sensitive areas. They are difficult to find in any size, and almost impossible in my current size UK 24, and are rather expensive. I've got some old rather overstretched ones where the cotton lycra fabric of the shorts is wearing out, and one pair that have worn into several holes, no longer repairable. However the padding on both pairs is fine and could be used for many years more. So I'm contemplating making my own shorts and salvaging the padding from the old ones. If that doesn't work, I have a UK source for a new padded insert. I can take the better fitting old pair of shorts apart and reckon I can make a pattern from them and tweak it to fit. I'm planning on buying a remnant of cheap stretchy stuff to make up my pattern, before making the real thing. Anyone ever made a pair of bike shorts and can offer me some tips? Where can I buy nice matt cotton lycra in dark colours, not that bright shiny stuff, in UK? I've been told that to make the seams properly stretchy they should be overlocked, but I don't have an overlocker (serger) and it wouldn't be worth buying one just for this. How do I sew such stretchy fabric successfully on an ordinary 20 year old zig-zag machine? Actually, the *shorts* do have a center seam. The "chamois" (which these days is made of a synthetic and the closest it'll get to a ruminant is if you ride in the country) has a "baseball" seam with nice flat fabric in the critical area. Green Pepper offers a good-looking patten. I use an old Simplicity one (probably from the 80's when Lycra shorts started becoming popular). You can even make your own liners; I use a neutral-colored polarfleece. You could sew Lycra on a zig-zag. I don't have specific tensions; trial and error. Stretch the fabric a little bit as you sew. I think I'd run a line of straight stitching just inside the zig-zag stitches, just for security. (Sources: can't help you unless you want to visit Michigan and meet Wendy at the RenFair.) HTH --Karen M. |
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#2
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Sbtypesetter wrote:
How do I sew such stretchy fabric successfully on an ordinary 20 year old zig-zag machine? You can zig zag stretchy fabric, but use a ballpoint needle so that you don't cut the fabric. I've read that if you put some tension on the seam by holding the fabric that has gone through the needle a little taught, that when you release there will be some give. You'd need to practice this so you don't get puckers. Also be sure to choose your thread carefully, as you don't want something that is going to break easily. Not sure if Green Pepper patterns are available in your area, but maybe Stretch n Sew? Sue B You need to pull on BOTH ends of the fabric, both in front of and behind the needle and allow the feed dogs to pull the fabric through. or you risk deflecting the needle from it's path, hitting something, breaking the needle, putting holes in the cloth, and possibly needing an expensive machine repair. It's called 'taut sewing' as you pull the fabric taut. -- Kate XXXXXX Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk Click on Kate's Pages and explore! |
#3
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(Karen M.) of http://groups.google.com/ wrote:
Actually, the *shorts* do have a center seam. The "chamois" (which these days is made of a synthetic and the closest it'll get to a ruminant is if you ride in the country) has a "baseball" seam with nice flat fabric in the critical area. Karen, there are shorts that have a centre seam all the way round, but mine don't in the crucial padded area. The outer shorts have a padding shaped piece as an insert so the centre back and centre front seams stop before going under the crotch. Similarly the inside leg seams come up, meet the padding shaped area and stop. This is the shape of the ones I'm going to take apart to make a pattern. I'll probably do it by making them as if there would be a seam all the way, then putting the insert shaped piece in and cutting away the excess, before applying the insert. Green Pepper offers a good-looking patten. I use an old Simplicity one (probably from the 80's when Lycra shorts started becoming popular). You can even make your own liners; I use a neutral-colored polarfleece. I'm OK on pattern and liners, it's how to achieve stretchy seams I need help with. -- Education is a method whereby one acquires a higher grade of prejudices. - Laurence J. Peter Steph Peters delete invalid from lid Tatting, lace & stitching page http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm |
#4
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"Steph Peters" wrote in message ... | I wear womens' padded cycling shorts for my daily bike ride. Womens' shorts | have no central seam between the legs in the padding, to avoid chafing | sensitive areas. They are difficult to find in any size, and almost | impossible in my current size UK 24, and are rather expensive. I've got | some old rather overstretched ones where the cotton lycra fabric of the | shorts is wearing out, and one pair that have worn into several holes, no | longer repairable. However the padding on both pairs is fine and could be | used for many years more. So I'm contemplating making my own shorts and | salvaging the padding from the old ones. If that doesn't work, I have a UK | source for a new padded insert. I can take the better fitting old pair of | shorts apart and reckon I can make a pattern from them and tweak it to fit. | I'm planning on buying a remnant of cheap stretchy stuff to make up my | pattern, before making the real thing. | | Anyone ever made a pair of bike shorts and can offer me some tips? Where | can I buy nice matt cotton lycra in dark colours, not that bright shiny | stuff, in UK? I've been told that to make the seams properly stretchy they | should be overlocked, but I don't have an overlocker (serger) and it | wouldn't be worth buying one just for this. How do I sew such stretchy | fabric successfully on an ordinary 20 year old zig-zag machine? | -- | Education is a method whereby one acquires a | higher grade of prejudices. - Laurence J. Peter | Steph Peters delete invalid from lid | Tatting, lace & stitching page http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm I believe that Kwik Sew has a pattern that sounds like what you are describing. I can't recall the pattern number, though. It has a forward inseam rather than the inseam that goes directly up the inside of the thigh. That would be an alternative for you if you find it's too much trouble to undo all the stitching in the old shorts. As to the overlocking, you can use a very narrow zigzag stitch to sew the seam, then a wider zigzag to overlock the edges. Just be sure to stretch your seam from front and back of the needle as you sew so that you get enough stretch in the finished product. -- Hugs, Lynn *strip CLOTHES to reply* Homepage: http://members.shaw.ca/sewfinefashions/ See my boys: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/papavince_29/ |
#5
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If I recall correctly, I pressed the seams open in my cycling shorts. Made them much less lumpy. I used silk thread (I insisted on wool doubleknit, which is EXTREMeLY hard to find) to assemble them. *Not* the feeble spun silk Guetermann is selling now, but real reeled-silk sewing silk, size A. For lycra, floss-nylon sewing thread would be better, but that is even harder to find than wool doubleknit. I haven't seen any since Belding-Corticelli stopped making Nymo. I do recall how I made the shammy. I used real chamois leather from the auto-supply store, and lined it with *one* layer of pure-wool doubleknit. This was more to keep the skin-colored leather from showing through if I wore a hole in the shorts than for padding. Seemed to make the leather wear better though. It was very important for these seams to be flat, so I overcast them together with a very long zig-zag stitch, just barely catching the edge of the leather (or the doubleknit lining). Then I finger-pressed the seam flat, snipping the basting where it nipped too much leather or missed too many stitches and drew up. I used silk thread for the basting so that I would not have to remove it. It is *very* important not to use synthetic thread in this sensitive area. Then I zig-zagged over the seam, letting the zig fall in one piece and the zag pierce the other. The thread soon turned pale gray from sweat, no matter what color it had been to start with, but I never knew one of these seams to fail. Some abjure real chamois because it is stiff when newly washed, but it quickly becomes soft and fluffy again if you rub it between your hands, as if washing it. I never bothered, as hopping onto the saddle ironed it instantly, and my oily skin softened it before I reached the end of the lane. And if you have to glue the shammy into place, real chamois takes much more kindly to chamois cream than fuzzy synthetics do. (Some makers actually put terrycloth into a shammy! I sat on a towel once; NO THANKS!) Almost anything will do for chamois cream: special stuff made for the purpose, cold cream, Eucerine, Crisco . . . (Crisco is also an excellent hand cleaner, but should never be taken internally.) Joy Beeson -- http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ -- needlework http://home.earthlink.net/~beeson_n3f/ -- Writers' Exchange joy beeson at earthlink dot net |
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