Attention seamstresses: Removing elastic from jerseys

Hi everyone,

Like some of you, I'm not a fan of most jerseys that come with elastic at the sleeves or waist. (Louis Garneau jerseys, which come with a "lightly elasticized" waist, are a notable exception.)

I got my Velo Bella 3/4 zip jersey in the mail and I absolutely love it except for the fact that the elastic at the sleeves digs into my upper arms. Going up a size isn't an option for me -- the next size up is waaaay too big.

Have any of you tried removing elastic from the sleeves of these, or any other jerseys? (The elastic at the waist doesn't bother me because the jersey is cut wider at the hip.) Can I open the seam along the side, take out the elastic part, and close up that little bit? Or do I need to open up the whole thing and re-sew a new hem for the sleeve?

I have very little sewing experience, so any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

~Cari

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open the seam along the side, take out the elastic part, and close up that little bit

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That's what I'd suggest - should work fine as long as you sew it up making sure that you overlap the openings so nothing comes loose.

However, Be sure to check the elastic first. See if it was sewn into the seam, probably at the underarm? You should be able to creatively wiggle the elastic to see if it's a free loop inside the seam, or if it was anchored where the sleevel was sewn together. If it's sewn in place, your removal will be a little more difficult - might take some creative snipping to get rid of it.

Good Luck ~ I'm sure you'll get a better answer soon

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Originally Posted by Nokomis

If it's sewn in place, your removal will be a little more difficult - might take some creative snipping to get rid of it.

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Or just unpick the stiching, and then tack the seam back together with a few hand sewn stiches...

I have this problem too! Only mine have elastic at the waist, and it's sewn into the seams on the side. Since I am not confident with doing a good job, I'm going to see how much a seamstress will charge to get rid of those. Unless anyone has done this already, and is willing to share their wisdom, perhaps?

As long as the elastic isn't sewn to the fabric, this is definitely a job that you can do yourself. The proper materials will help - a sharp seamripper, sharp needle (not too large a gauge for tech fabrics) and decent thread (I like 100% polyester). Take it slowly - don't rush.

A lot of the time the elastic will be serged to the edge of the fabric then rolled to the inside and then stitched again. If this is the case and you don't mind shortening the sleeves of the jersey a bit, you can simply trim off the elastic and re-hem the sleeve. Using a home sewing machine, you should be sure to use a polyester thread and either loosen your stitch tension a tad or use a very narrow zigzag stitch so that the material can still stretch. I'd have to look at the actual jersey to know the elastic attachment method used by the manufacturer.

If you were local I'd offer to do it for you!