Does anyone make/customise their own leotards?

[Faith]

Any tips for me?

I'd like to give it a go, I used to be pretty good at customising clothes as a teenager.

I've tie-dyed lycra in the past which works pretty well. I'd like to start trying spray glitter/crystals etc now.

I'm picking up cheap plain leo's off e-bay when I see them to experiment on.

Any product recs? I've seen someone here mention a hot wand for applying crystals, but are there any T+T dyes/sprays/glues etc for lycra or velour?

Thanks!

 

[kerryarron]

I haven't got any tips but after seeing your post I'm tempted to try too! I recently customised a pair of gym shorts for my daughter, and I was surprised how well they turned out (I'm not creative/artistic in the slightest!) so maybe I should experiment with her leos too........ I'm sure in the long run it will save me a fortune!

 

[Iwannabemargo]

hey guys - I actually came accross a thread about making your own leotards on a French gym forum ( I Know, I'm certifyably obsessed- does it count if I say its to keep up my French ??) and they recommended a pattern ( I'll turf the link out in mo). Looked pretty nice too. Thinking about it I might be tempted to give it a go as they use such a small amount of material but can be soooo pricy. I think the gist was to make sure the material is 3 way stretch for comfort and that the bottom elestic can be tricky ! - of and something about needing an overlocker.

'Margo

 

[Iwannabemargo]

not sure if links to other sites are allowed her as I'm a nubie but Jalie dot com do them pattern number 2792 - looks sweet and should be easy to size as I suspect that noe of our offspring are "average"

'margo

 

[bogwoppit]

Aw look a UK reunion! So glad you all found each other. I am from Manchester by the way.

Back on topic, you can link toother sites here, no problem.

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

My mom makes all my leos as it is so much cheaper!
We have found it better to use 4 way stretch material because it feels better, and they tend to fit longer. We use a diamond wand thing for putting the gems on too, the one we have says it is only for a specific type of crystal but it works with any iron on crystals, they just want you to waste money buying the exact same ones in their brand.
For sewing a picture or something on, it works to use this spray fabric glue them zig zag the outside, the glue then comes off in the washer and your just left with the stiching but it makes it so much easier to get it in the right place.
Also instead of adding things to the leo you can also play with the pattern. Take a plain pattern and cut a hole out in the back. Be creative. Look at leos online to get inspriation too!
I hope this helped at all.

 

[coachmolly]

I've heard it's not too terribly difficult to make your own leos if you have some experience sewing stretch material and the right tools. I think Cher is a very knowledgeable seamstress if I am remembering correctly, she usually has all of the details! A serger is definitely helpful, if you don't have one of those then being pretty competent with an overlock stitch would probably be good. That's what's keeping me from experimenting with the few pieces of stretch fabric I have in my stash.
4 way stretch is the way to go, some fabric stores sell swimsuit fabrics that work and stretchhouse.com and spandexhouse.com are also good for stretch-y materials. Not sure where about in the UK.

As far as decorating, Martha Stewart just came out with a new line of stencils and paints that are supposed to work on all materials- including fabrics. Not sure how well they wash and wear, but come in lots of colors and even glitter. I think you just paint or stencil the design, let dry and then iron to get them to hold on fabrics. They're only available at Michael's craft stores and are reasonably priced. If you can get them on a 40% off sale you can get them for under $2 each. Might be worth a try if you have an old leo that you can experiment on.

 

[cher062]

If you can sew they arent that hard to do. Working with the lycra or any of that stretchy material can be hard or time consuming for someone who doesn't know how to sew at all.

I have been sewing since I was 6yo and my grandmother thought every girl should know this skill. I am definitly gratefull today that I know how to sew - it has saved me a ton of money on things like costumes, fancy dresses and alerations.

A serger for me is a must for these stretchy fabrics (ok I love my serger don't know how I lived without it) but it can be done with a regular sewing machine and a zig zag stich (again just more time). If you are going to do this and try to sell them later I would recommend in getting at least a cheap one. It makes the seems look like the seams in the clothes you purchase from the store. It cuts the extra fabric from the seam so if you make a mistake your extra seam allowance is gone (only draw back)

If you are good at this you can make some money with it. there are several new web sites that people have out there that started just like this. Jillybeans leos I believe started out like this doing leos and matching bathing suites, matching pants etc.

There are Leo patterns out there but any one piece bathing suit pattern works just as well.

Cheap leo can also be found at consignment shops as well as thrift stores.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

well british ladies - found these on a quick search Lycra Fabrics | Stretch Fabrics | Dancewear Fabrics | Swimwear Fabrics, printed lycra is about 18 squid a meter and the patterns I've seen use about 1/2 a metre so thats around a tenner to make your own

 

[KarenUK]

I live in the UK, I'm a self employed dance costumer. I mainly make classical ballet tutus, but I make all of my daughters training leotards, and am about to start making team leotards for my daughters club, for the gymnasts who train fewer than 8 hours a week and compete a couple of times a year. The club feel that it would be unreasonable to expect the parents of these kids to pay out £60 for the elite competition leo.

The jalie gymnastics leotard pattern is a very good place to start. If you are in the US or Canada, you can buy the pattern direct from jalie.com. If you are in the UK, then habithat.co.uk and I believe glitteranddanceuk.co.uk stock jalie patterns. Kwiksew have several leotard patterns, but they are cut more for dancers, quite narrow across the shoulders. The jalie patterns are easy to adapt if your child is not a 'standard' size. In addition, they do have a boys gym leotard pattern.

An overlocker (serger) will make your leotards look more professional on the inside, but most standard sewing machines will have a zigzag stitch and a stretch stitch (kind of like a back stitch) so would be fine. If you use a normal straight stitch on a sewing machine, as the lycra fabric stretches when the leotard is worn, the stitching will break.

In terms of fabric, you need to use a fabric that will stretch both lengthways and widthways - it's difficult, because some suppliers will call a fabric that stretches acrosswards only '2 way stretch' and fabric with lengthways and widthways stretch '4 way stretch' whereas other suppliers would call these '1 way stretch' and '2 way stretch' - but if you're in doubt, ask for a sample. Most fabric suppliers will send out a sample. There are many lycra/spandex suppliers in the US, in the UK there are fewer but still there is a good choice. Fabricland have a lycra page on their website, nevtex are good, glitter and dance.... funkifabrics are excellent but a bit pricier.

I can get around 3 leotards from a metre of fabric. If you compare the cost of a good quality training leo (I pay around £40 for my daughters) to the cost of fabric, it's easy to see that you can save a packet if you make your own! For me, the advantage is that my daughter is long bodied - in UK sizes, she's a 32 for width and a 34 for length - so I make her a size 32 leotard and lengthen it, so she gets leotards that are different to her friends, fit her perfectly, and she gets to design them as well. And I save money.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

sounds good - mines the same - long and skinny, wears age 9 trousers but age 5 shorts ! I also found some nice fabrics on ebay by googling- tiaknight is the seller.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Oh Karen - was only thinking about making leos till I saw the nevtex sale page .........................................oh dear

 

[Faith]

Oh some great ideas!

I haven't used a sewing machine for too many years. My first £2 plain white ebay bargain arrived yesterday, so now I'm going to look for some spray/stencil paints and a hot fix wand and give it a go.

I'm now thinking of setting up a website for secondhand leo's- send in your old ones and get credit for a new one. Insane idea?

Love the UK reunion! Bog I lived in manc in the 90's, fantastic place

 

[B Gymnast]

Has anyone ever bought from Spandex World Inc.? They have stretch velvet--would that work for a leo? And would their printed spandex work??

Here's a link to their website. Spandex World Inc. spandex fabric, lycra stretch fabric

 

[Iwannabemargo]

oooh, pretty

on the additional details it gives the composition and suggested uses, I would think its good as it says dance and skating. The stuff I've been looking at is 90/10 and that is 92/8 so should have enogh give .

hth

'margo

 

[coachmolly]

Has anyone ever bought from Spandex World Inc.? They have stretch velvet--would that work for a leo? And would their printed spandex work??

Here's a link to their website. Spandex World Inc. spandex fabric, lycra stretch fabric

Never bought from them, but I'm not sure about the stretch velvet. It looks like it's mostly all 2-way stretch, 4-way stretch would be best for leos. A lot of the printed spandex looks like it would work though, as well as some of the hologram fabrics. Just scroll down on the individual fabric page and where it says "Stretch Direction" look for 4 way. To be sure you can always call or request a sample.

 

[KarenUK]

Spandex world, along with spandex house and stretch house are all in New York, but for those of us in the UK, they do ship over here. They use couriers like DHL rather than the normal postal service, but the fabric is so much less expensive than in the UK that I've found that the high shipping cost makes the fabric price per metre pretty much on a par with UK prices - but they have so much more choice. Shipping takes about 4 days. My daughter is eyeing up a splattery lycra at the minute.. and a swirly hologram one... and a graffiti/newsprint one.... sigh......

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Well, I've ordered the jailie pattern ane two lots of material

and

so we'll see if I can manage to turn out something decent !

Oh and they were in the sale so £ 6 per metre ! Might even be able to get 2 leos out of each piece !

 

[Iheartmili]

This is the perfect thread for me!!! I have actually just started up my own online leotard business - no advertisements on here I know Bog - so I won't post the link.
I've been looking into getting a hot fix wand as well. Can anyone recommend where to get one from in Australia?
Also I Love the spandex world site but the postage is almost $50 to Aus Anyone know of anywhere else that I can get such beautiful fabric relatively cheap. Ebay has been my best bet so far as there is sometimes free postage.
I'm also on the lookout for any gymnastics accessories (grips, shoes, jewellery etc) that I can buy in bulk to re-sell. An y help would be AMAZING!
It can be tough getting good quality AFFORDABLE gymnastics supplies in Aus.
Thanks
Meg

 

[Iheartmili]

Oops sorry Faith. I just realised I kind of hijacked your thread Sorry again!