Repair to Lycra tights?

[Sweep]

Bit p'ed off - very stupidly took a small ridge at an angle coming off a canal towpath tonight and fell in a heap.

No harm to me (and thankfully didn't end up hanging over the canal as I once did!) or the bike once I'd done a bit of brake fettling but I tore a small hole at the knee in a virtually brand new very nice pair of Gore lycra tights - not cheap.

It's a small hole but will surely get bigger.

Anyone got any tips on patching it? Stitching I presume is out of the question.

I did a long time ago repair a nice Pertex jackey with some Duck tape on the inside and it worked a treat - survived muliple washings. But that is of course very different material and it's not next to my skin. Or so stressed. Serious tips only please from you practical sorts.

[Vorpal]

It's okay to sew lycra. Leave a little extra thread everywhere, so it can still stretch after sewing.

A hole in lycra may not get bigger... It may run. That can be prevented witha few stitches.

I put a hole in the knee of some winter tights maybe 3 years or so ago. It's still there. Although the edges curled up a bit, it hasn't changed in size. On the other hand, if I had a a bit of suitable material (old shorts?), I might well patch it.

[Sweep]

My sewing skills and technology grasp are a bit basic.

Do you have to be careful about the sort of thread you use? Does some thread maybe cut through the lycra?

(you can see how undomesticated I am - most of my trouser shortening has been done with that sticky stuff.

I do also have a pair of almost new but not needed lycra shorts somewhere which I could use for patching.

[Neil Mc Ivor]

Stretchy material with lycra is as easy to sew as any other cloth. Sew using a backstitch with the neat stitches to the outside. Polyester thread is good for most things.
I have made training tights and a cycling jersey with both cotton/lycra and nylon/lycra there were no issues with the thread tearing the material.

[Vorpal]

I think any sort of standard sewing thread would be okay. If you have one of those hotel sewing kits, you could just use that thread.

Many dry cleaners & launderers will make clothing repairs for a small fee. Maybe you check with one of those in your area?

[andymiller]

Tenacious Repair Tape is useful for patching (but won't stop you having to do some sewing). You'll need to search on eBay for the black fabric tape as opposed to the transparent stuff which isn't a useful.

Tops tips:

- get a needle threader - this is basically a loop of fine wire which you put through the eye of the needle; you then put the thread through that and then pull the thread through the eye using the loop of wire - much easier;

- make sure you check both where the thread has entered and where it has exited (to avoid sewing bits together that you don't want to sew together and then having to unpick your stitching in order to separate them).

If all of that sounds too difficult then it might be worth asking Scottish Mountain Gear whether they can help.

[niggle]

What sort of hole is it? If there is material missing then it needs a patch, but if its just a cut/tear then I would just bring the edges together and sew from the inside, using a simple overstitch with a lot of small stitches. This is what I did on my winter tights 2 years ago following crashing, hardly noticable and no problem with the fabric. Do make sure you anchor the thread well by knotting etc. at either end.

[Sweep]

Thanks chaps - in particular that the type of thread is not critical - off to google mysterious scientific terms like "backstitch" and "overstitch"

thanks again.

[niggle]

Thanks chaps - in particular that the type of thread is not critical - off to google mysterious scientific terms like "backstitch" and "overstitch"

thanks again.

'Lycra' is a trade name for elastane, which is a thread of stretchy polymer like rubber which is woven into fabrics to give them stretchability. Most cycle clothing is about 95% polyester and 5% elastane/Lycra. Most thread you can buy for sewing is also polyester.

Actually it should have been 'overcast stitch' apparently, like this but without the dotted line bit:

[Vorpal]

The illustration is good. That stitch is one of the easiest to do, and almost anything can be sewn like that. When sewing stretchy material, stretch it every now and then, leaving the stiches a little loose. Otherwise, the fabric can only stretch as much as the stiches. Some thread is or contains cotton. If you are buying new, it's probably best to avoid it because it can shrink with washing.

Do the stitches through the material 1/8" or a bit more in form the edge, so they don't just pull the hole bigger.

[thirdcrank]

I hope I can mention nylon stockings (AKA nylons) without causing any cold sweats, hypertension etc. Once upon a time these were expensive and in short supply. If they snagged on anything they laddered and were ruined. The Hygienic Laundry (would a laundry be any other?) at the end of our street provided a mending service. Several women sat at machines in a shop window display operating machines which "invisibly mended" these garments.

The weave of these modren fabrics cannot be the same because they don't ladder but you do see clothing firms advertising invisble mending. I've no idea if it's the same sort of process or what it costs. It's hard to believe now that it was once cost-effective to have machines to repair nylons and women to operate them. (Yes, women. Nimble fingers, paid peanuts etc.)
======================================================================
PS

It dawned on me I could google.

As a Leeds Loiner, I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know about proper invisible mending of textiles:-

http://www.invisiblemending.co.uk/

[Sweep]

Sorry - thought I'd posted this but there may have been a glitch.

Re that kind illustration from niggle, if I interpret it correctly, do I take it that I run a thread up either side of the split (maybe without actually securing it at the loop?) and then pull these two threads together (and hence the split) with stitches across them?

[niggle]

The illustration is good. That stitch is one of the easiest to do, and almost anything can be sewn like that. When sewing stretchy material, stretch it every now and then, leaving the stiches a little loose. Otherwise, the fabric can only stretch as much as the stiches. Some thread is or contains cotton. If you are buying new, it's probably best to avoid it because it can shrink with washing.

Do the stitches through the material 1/8" or a bit more in form the edge, so they don't just pull the hole bigger.

On the repair I did, which was approximately 1.5" long, I used normal Sylko polyester thread and sewed it good and tight (1/8" in to the material edge sounds about right, stitches spaced at about 1/16"). I was concerned it would gape otherwise and there is more than enough stretch in the surrounding material to make up for a small tight spot, I don't notice it in use. However I agree with your approach for a larger tear. I have just inspected the repair and it is just as good as when I did it and not too visible as the edges are turned in when viewed from the outside of the fabric and all the stitches are on the inside.

I can use a sewing machine for doing seams etc., or do blind hem stitching for turning up trousers, by hand or machine, I don't consider it at all 'girly', its darned useful as it can save you money and you can repair kit or clothing at least temporarily, e.g. when away from home. I have never made a complete garment or tried knitting though.

[niggle]

Sorry - thought I'd posted this but there may have been a glitch.

Re that kind illustration from niggle, if I interpret it correctly, do I take it that I run a thread up either side of the split (maybe without actually securing it at the loop?) and then pull these two threads together (and hence the split) with stitches across them?

I pinched the illustration from the internet, ignore the straight stitch that looks like a dotted line and just use the one that loops round and round the edges of the fabric, it will pull the fabric edges together and stop any risk of fraying at the same time. Turn the tights inside out and pull the edges together, back to back IYSWIM. How long is the tear?

[Sweep]

How long is the tear?

Just under 1cm, allowing a bit extra for maybe at-the-edge weakening. It's a very high quality garment (as you'd expect from Gore) but essentially a functional item so I don't care if the repair is visible, mightily impressed as I was by the "invisible mending" link very kindly posted above.