Taking elastic out of jersey hem

[AnnieBikes]

I also am a 100% pear shaped person and absolutely hate elastic. I never even thought about taking it out when I first started riding. I just figured that my shape precluded ever having a nice jersey that didn't bunch up. Then I met a lady on one of my long trips who said she did it on all her shirts. I came home from that trip and had a marathon "remove the elastic" day, and then sewed them all back using a small zig zag stitch. The fabric does not fray so I was not concerned that I did not have a serger. Now the jerseys hang nicely and do not bunch up on my waist, above my large hips. Now I try to look at the bottom more closely when I buy a shirt and many of the nice sleeveless ones I own have no elastic and a slit on the sides...perfect!

A funny story here...this summer I was doing another tour with WomanTours http://www.womantours.com and they always give a nice jersey on their long trips. I wanted to be able to wear it so I had taken my own seam ripper with me, but the jerseys change so I did not take thread for matching it to resew the hem. Being a quilter, I tried to visit quilt shops on the route in the towns we stayed in. So, on one of our layover days, we were in Walla Walla, WA and it was the beginning of the month long trip. I took the jersey with the elastic removed to the local quilt shop and told them my sad story, and bought the right color thread, which they kindly put onto one of their demo machines and sewed it for me! They would not let me do it (I guess they were not sure I knew how to sew!!). Bingo, job done, and the jersey became wearable for the rest of the trip!!! My cycling buddies thought it was hilarious, but I got a shirt that fit and that I liked to wear after it was hemmed!! Do follow the advice of those above if you DON"T have a machine. You really need a zig zag or other stitch that will stretch a bit!