Sewing my own Tri clothes?

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2009-03-25 6:52 PM


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Subject: Sewing my own Tri clothes?

Hi fellow Athenas and Clydes.  I am brand new. I am a very short (5'1" very overweight (230 pounds) woman. Wow I just put that in print for all the world to see! yikes!  Okay.   I'm training for my first tri in July. I have been disappointed in trying to find tri-clothes in my size. I get excited...."yeah there's a 2X!" then I find out 2X in tri clothes fits your typical 8 year old.  So here's my new idea. I sew. Shoot, other people even PAY me good money to sew for them. My specialty is quilts but I have succesfully made clothes in the past. I imagine there are patterns for normal-people sized bike shorts and bike shirts or even tri-suits. Perhaps I could adapt one making it big enough for me?  Has anyone tried this?  Another possibility is to find someone's old ratty bike shorts or tri-suit and take it apart to make a pattern from it.  Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Do you think it is worth doing, or should I just suck it up and wear a regular bathing suit for the swim then pull on some regular shorts for the bike and run?

Awaiting your sage advice...  Oceandirt (Sandy)

2009-03-25 7:28 PM
in reply to: #2040327

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Delaware, OH
Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?
Danskin has some awesome 'real people' sized tri clothes.  I have the tri suit and I love it.
2009-03-25 8:59 PM
in reply to: #2040327

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Master
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?

In the early 80s my dad had all his tri clothes custom made--this was before tri clothes as we know them existed.  The woman who sewed his ended up sewing for about 25 other athletes.  I say go for it and let us know how it works out!

ETA-I had a pair of tri shorts she made me that I got in about 1985 and I wore them all the time (way too often, but it was fashionable in the 80s to wear big shirts with lycra underneath) and eventually lost them in 1993 in Denmark....still in good shape. They held up really well.



Edited by Medusa_Ann 2009-03-25 9:01 PM
2009-03-26 8:43 AM
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Champion
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?

I think if you sew your own clothes you would have a hard time keeping it seamless which would lead to chafing.  And I have never seen "tech fabric" in a fabric store.

Try www.teamestrogen.com

Great clothes for the larger woman!  Including 2x, 3x, etc.  Good return policy too.  I ordered a bunch of stuff to try on and sent back what didn't fit.  No hassle.

2009-03-26 9:32 AM
in reply to: #2040327

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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?

I just had a sport-wear conversation with a friend of mine who is an amazing seamstress. Given the right breathable/dry-quick fabric, sewing sportswear is easy (apparently). Her problem is that she doesn't really know what she's buying, but all sorts of sportswear material is available with a good fabric store.  Sewing the seams-side-out, makes everything seamless.

If I could find the material I would totally try making my own gear, not only would it be cheaper, but I get to make it exactly how I imagine the most comfort.  There are great clothes out there, I'm always thinking of ways to improve them though.

2009-04-01 7:40 AM
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?
Danskin is awesome....my 2x tri shorts fit me when I was 230-240 pounds at 4'11". I'm down to 211-215 (depending on how bad I'm slacking on the nutrition front) and the xl/1x fit me nicely :-)

If you find where to get tech fabric, I'd love to know! I'd love to make some running skirts for myself!

2009-04-17 4:44 PM
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?
I'm training for my first tri in Sept and am planning on doing the same thing!  I've been looking into patterns and Jalie (you can buy the patterns on patternreview.com) has a boy short leotard/swimsuit that I was going to combine with their bike shorts to get a tri suit (I will have to add the front zipper from the bike top that is included in the bike short pattern).  A serger will be almost (if not absolutely) required for sewing super stretchy fabrics, but there are tons of excellent online resources for technical fabrics (decent prices even!).  If you have a machine with a decent stretch stitch you could flat fell the seams on the outside to avoid chafing and that might do the trick.  OR- you could but the seams together and use a 3 step zig zag.  Anyway- send me a message if you want to talk about this more, I've been looking into it and would be happy to sew along with you so we can figure out the best way to do it.
2009-04-17 4:52 PM
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?
Here are some fabric and pattern resources to get you started- this just scratches the surface:
Fabrics:
http://www.rockywoods.com/
http://www.owfinc.com/Fabrics/fabricmain.htm
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/

Patterns:
http://www.jalie.com/sewingpatterns/allsports.htm#workout

"Undercarriage Padding":
http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/cycling_crotch_pads.htm
Apparently the pads even come with instructions on how to sew them in- there's a tri specific one towards the bottom.



2009-07-28 8:49 AM
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?
I anm currently working on patterns now, Which I will sahre with everyone.  

I 
2009-07-28 1:39 PM
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?
Can't wait to see the patterns.  Being a big guy, I've always had trouble finding clothes that fit well.  So I learned to sew some of my own.  I say go for it.  Some advantages:  You can adjust the pattern for a better fit.  Put in the thickness that you want for the padding.  And if your a little crazy like me think of the wild colors or cordinate/contrast panels.
2009-07-28 2:37 PM
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Subject: RE: Sewing my own Tri clothes?
danbob - 2009-07-28 2:39 PM Can't wait to see the patterns.  Being a big guy, I've always had trouble finding clothes that fit well.  So I learned to sew some of my own.  I say go for it.  Some advantages:  You can adjust the pattern for a better fit.  Put in the thickness that you want for the padding.  And if your a little crazy like me think of the wild colors or cordinate/contrast panels.


Being a tall guy sucks too, right now I am in between the sizes for normal guys and the big and tall guys. I just roll the sleeves up on all my shirts and carry on. I am down to a 38 inch waste and I am loving it.

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