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.

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!

(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

"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/

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