Removing a chamois

[ny biker]

A few month's ago I bought a pair of Ibex El Fito knickers -- http://shop.ibex.com/Apparel/Womens-Bottoms/W-El-Fito-3-4_2. They were on sale for a great price. They seemed to fit okay, but it was summer time so I put them in a drawer until I needed them.

A few days ago I wore them for the first time. They're not the most snug-fitting cycling bottoms that I have -- I've since read that they run a bit large -- but they fit well enough. However I hated the chamois. It was too thin and the stitching around the outside bothered me.

I'm thinking of removing the chamois and just using the knickers over regular cycling shorts. It looks like this will just be a matter of removing the stitches around the edge of the chamois. When I pull on the knicker fabric from the outside, there doesn't seem to be anything attaching it to the chamois other than the stitches. But before I start, I thought I'd ask if anyone here has tried this on any shorts or tights.

I'm not much of seamstress, but I have managed to successfully remove the elastic from the cuffs and bottom hem of a jersey. The results weren't pretty thanks to my not-very-neat stitches when I re-hemmed everything, but I didn't do any damage to the fabric.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!!

[Natasha]

I bought a pair of Ibex El Fito knickers a few years ago and also disliked the chamois. I removed the chamois and have been using them since and love them. I removed the chamois using a small scissors and snipping the threads holding the chamois in place. There was no damage to the fabric and no traces of a chamois ever having been there.

[ny biker]

I bought a pair of Ibex El Fito knickers a few years ago and also disliked the chamois. I removed the chamois and have been using them since and love them. I removed the chamois using a small scissors and snipping the threads holding the chamois in place. There was no damage to the fabric and no traces of a chamois ever having been there.

That's good to hear!! Thanks!!

I just washed them yesterday, so when they are dry I find my seam ripper and get to work.

[ny biker]

Well it's done. I used a seam ripper and a small pair of scissors. The only hard part was removing the stitches near the seams of the knickers, since I was concerned that I would accidentally cause a hole in the seams. But it looks like it worked out okay. You can still see the tiny needle holes forming a zigzag pattern in the shape of the chamois, but I'm hoping they close up over time.

And now I can wear the knickers for cycling (over padded shorts) or in place of sweat pants for taking walks, going to/from the gym, etc.