September 2011 part 2

Cycling Jersey.

One old t-shirt/ or t-shirt purchased at yard sale/ or Goodwill. (Cotton or synthetic.) It needs to be long enough to cover your crack when you bend over to touch your toes.  It should be comfy enough that it won’t choke you and has some give in it.

Elastic 1/8 inch – 16 inches

One-  fat corner or scraps of cotton fabric.

Thread – any color you want.

This month is my birthday month! I was surprised early with a road bike. I have wanted one for ages. This is an awesome women’s Bianchi bike ready for the road!!  I needed a jersey so I could take my I.D. and some cash to get a nice cold beer after my bike rides.

Now, cycling jerseys are not cheap, nor do they have any serious cute/ geeky female sized jerseys out there. I asked the Primal company  if they had a small or medium of the “Star Wars” logo jersey still in the works. That was a no go. I needed to make my own.

I found some seriously awesome math fabric at the local fabric store, HARTs Fabrics. 

I then went searching for a t-shirt at one of the local Goodwill.  I found just what I was looking for. A lightweight cotton jersey “T”, that was nice and long, but cute.

I was ready to sew. 

Step No.1

Wash your t-shirt and fat corner/ scarp fabric, then through all items in the dryer on med.

This way you get the max shrinkage.

Step No.2

Get your Iron out and iron your fabric.

Step No.3

Cut 15 wide by 8 inches high.

Step No.4

Once cut and ironed flat, create a half-inch seam on three sides of the fabric- leaving the top of the pocket to be open.

Step No.5

Carefully iron a ½ inch seam at the top. Take the 16 inches of the 1/8-inch elastic and carefully place it in the ironed fold of the top. Leave a ¼- ½ inch hanging out of each end.

Step. No.6

Now find the center of the pocket and sew a good hardy stitch  back and forth to help keep the elastic in place.

Step No.7

Now go ahead and sew along the side of the elastic leaving enough space for the elastic to be pulled through the fabric fold.

Step. No.8

Carefully pull one side with of the elastic to create a little bit of bunching. Once you reach the amount of bunching you want, go ahead and sew the end and trim the extra elastic away.

Step. No..9

Proceed to do the same to the other side.

Step No. 10

Once both ends are sewn and bunched to your liking, then go ahead and sew down the middle from the middle mark you made earlier. This will create two pockets. It is best to sew down the middle twice to help with strength. 

Step No.11

Try on your t-shirt to see where it falls above your waistline. This is where you want the bottom of the pockets to be.  Also measure the distance from each side seam of the t-shirt so you can pin the pocket into place. Pinning will help it from moving around when sewing.

Step No.12

Go ahead and attach the pocket to the t-shirt. 

Step No. 13

Go back to the mirror with your jersey on and make sure everything is level and comfy. Then you are ready to go for a ride.

I plan on make several more. Maybe even screen-print a few.

After seeing this posting yesterday I think I will have to make a helmet to match my new jersey!  There are some great CRAFTERS out there!!!