Alteration to Cycling Shorts

andy69

Hi all,
The wife has a pair of shorts that are too loose/wide at the ends (at the 'grippy' part on the leg).

Anyone ever have shorts 'taken in'? (I think that's the term for it )

We dropped them off at a local dry cleaners but their tailor is like 70yrs old and she can't do them, so we were wondering then if anyone here in Boards community might have had a job done before like that, and who/where'd ye get it done.

Edit: should add that we're in the midlands, but travel to Dublin regularly so midlands/dub region would be ideal

thanks in advance

Andy

bcmf

Tell your wife to get bigger thigh muscles or smaller shorts as I really don't think they can be altered

andy69

bcmf wrote: »

Tell your wife to get bigger thigh muscles....

ha! working on that - her training plan needs to be up'd to the next level I think!

bcmf wrote: »

...smaller shorts as I really don't think they can be altered

- yeah I think so too
It's just this one pair that are an odd fit though - the ends seem a bit out of proportion to the rest of them as they fit fine otherwise, so a smaller size is out. Think we'll have go down the 'train harder' route alright!

cdaly_

I have done alterations to cycling gear before. Mainly to sleeve length ('cos I may have an XL belly but that don't mean my arms are XL...). Biggest problem is the stretchy material makes accurate stitching hard. You might be able to do something by hand stitching a short length out of the grip strip but you'll end up with either a lump protruding inwards into your thigh or sticking out on the outside. If you leave it on the outside, you could stitch it flat for a better look...

Wicklowrider

Did you ever see the comedy show modern family?

The gay guy tells his partner that sewing lycra is like " sewing water"

andy69

Wicklowrider wrote: »

Did you ever see the comedy show modern family?

The gay guy tells his partner that sewing lycra is like " sewing water"

eeeee

Wicklowrider wrote: »

Did you ever see the comedy show modern family?

The gay guy tells his partner that sewing lycra is like " sewing water"

That is exactly what sewing lycra is like. I HATE working with it and avoid at all costs.

To alter it, you could go it yourself, trim the excess and then instead of hemming back to back as you would in normal fabric, you run it one end over the other, no excess if you know what I mean, and sew flat with the stretch zigzag stitch on your machine. Simple enough job you may think but it's an absolute pain in the hole to work with. If you trust your sewing skills and eye you put down the fabric feeders on the machine and use a teflon foot to sew it up, that way it won't gather underneath or snag on either. I would prefer to run over the seam a couple of times, but this negates the stretchiness unless you are very accurate.

Good luck!

ETA You should probably overlock the seam ends you cut before you sew it up, or use a very tightly spaced stitch to bring it together to keep the lycra from fraying.

andy69

Wow! Yeah it certainly sounds like a tough job alright! We've no machine ourselves so our DIY option would be purely by hand so that's a non runner I think!
Thanks for the tips though....hadn't thought of the overlapping ends actually so we will run that by whoever we can find with a machine and see if we can get these things taken in.

Briando

gadetra wrote: »

That is exactly what sewing lycra is like. I HATE working with it and avoid at all costs.

To alter it, you could go it yourself, trim the excess and then instead of hemming back to back as you would in normal fabric, you run it one end over the other, no excess if you know what I mean, and sew flat with the stretch zigzag stitch on your machine. Simple enough job you may think but it's an absolute pain in the hole to work with. If you trust your sewing skills and eye you put down the fabric feeders on the machine and use a teflon foot to sew it up, that way it won't gather underneath or snag on either. I would prefer to run over the seam a couple of times, but this negates the stretchiness unless you are very accurate.

Good luck!

ETA You should probably overlock the seam ends you cut before you sew it up, or use a very tightly spaced stitch to bring it together to keep the lycra from fraying.

Gadetra you seem to know what you are talking about! Are there professional seamsters (?) that do these kind of jobs? I'd like to get a tri suit resized down a size, not really a job that somebody could do without really knowing what they are doing I would guess.

Wishbone Ash

andy69 - It might be less hassle and cheaper just to get a new pair.

TK Maxx often have female cycling shorts in XS and XXS (usually in the 2XU brand).

Unknown Soldier

Damn.

My cunning plan to pick up some of those Aldi bib pants for next to nothing and turn them into shorts for commuting in the better weather..... is out the window....

eeeee

andy69 wrote: »

Wow! Yeah it certainly sounds like a tough job alright! We've no machine ourselves so our DIY option would be purely by hand so that's a non runner I think!
Thanks for the tips though....hadn't thought of the overlapping ends actually so we will run that by whoever we can find with a machine and see if we can get these things taken in.

Yeah you have to run the ends together otherwise they would rub, always on lycra/tight clothes this wold be the way to do it. I'd offer to help you out and do it, but my machine hasn't service in a while and I wouldn't take on lycra unless it was perfect. Or my own. Risk of ruination is too high! :pac:

Briando wrote: »

Gadetra you seem to know what you are talking about! Are there professional seamsters (?) that do these kind of jobs? I'd like to get a tri suit resized down a size, not really a job that somebody could do without really knowing what they are doing I would guess.

Yes there are, but it's not just a case of taking it all in an inch. You have to re-tailor/re cut the whole garment so it sits properly again. It would be costly as a consequence, so you may well be better off buying a new one or 'growing' into the one you have

andy69

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

andy69 - It might be less hassle and cheaper just to get a new pair.

TK Maxx often have female cycling shorts in XS and XXS (usually in the 2XU brand).

thanks, yeah i think we're stuck though as these look to just be out of proportion at the leg ends. she's a ton of shorts from Club shorts to trade-team and so on...all are fine, but this pair (which are branded to match her super cool new bike :rolleyes:) fit fine except for the leg bit. think it's just this particular brand I guess.

typical though....the one time I remember a birthday, I happen to choose a bogey present! ha!

Cee-Jay-Cee

andy69 wrote: »

thanks, yeah i think we're stuck though as these look to just be out of proportion at the leg ends. she's a ton of shorts from Club shorts to trade-team and so on...all are fine, but this pair (which are branded to match her super cool new bike :rolleyes:) fit fine except for the leg bit. think it's just this particular brand I guess.

typical though....the one time I remember a birthday, I happen to choose a bogey present! ha!

Can you not return them In exchange for the next size down?