adjusting own lame and jacket?

[WhipLash]

hi, can anyone tell me if there is anyway to adjust the lame and jacket to fit me better? i had to get a larger size (cos of my shoulders) but ends up being loose at the waist area. thought i could sew up a fold inside or velcro or something?

[mackillian]

Any way you could find a tailor? My coach had suggested the same for me until I got measurements from LP on their jackets and found out their sizing would fit my shoulders without too much fabric on the rest of my torso.

But a tailor could get the excess fabric off for your own measurements and sew it back up to look nice and new.

[Epee Scherma]

I had a tailor fix my BG nylon stretch jacket. I think it cost ~$50 . I had it altered pretty much to form fit me. It doesn't feel tight because of the spandex like stretch feeling of the jacket. Now I don't have to deal with my sleeve being snagged in epee! It worked out for me, I recommend it.

[Mergs]

I don't know how much of a difference you are talking about, but if it isn't too much, take your jacket and turn in inside out and put it on. Have someone pin the excess to where you are comfortable with the fit along a line that parallels the existing seam. Carefully take the jacket off and then sew a double seam (two rows of stitching, one on the marked seam and the other about 1/8" to 3/16" away, on the excess material) up to where it meets the original seam.

You can trim the excess material if you want, but I'd leave it because 1. If you are still growing and want to give the jacket to someone else, you can rip out the seams and they'll have a jacket that is the original size and fit. or 2. If you are finished growing up, then you have to worry about the gravitational effects of aging, which is the mass displacement of those broad shoulders southwards, and then you can remove the seam to accommodate the reallocation of body mass.

Hope this helps.

[Decadence]

is it leagal to do this with lames?

[Mergs]

Yup. Just make sure that when you do, it doesn't change where the bottom of the lame comes with relation to your hip bone (has to be even or below it).

If you tailor it like I indicated earlier, you have to make sure that you have metal to metal contact along the seam so that you have continuity from front to back, but it shouldn't be a problem.

[WhipLash]

i had the same thinking as Mergs....but was thinking of using velcro or clips on the inside instead of seams. was worried abt the legality issue though, esp for the lame. so...to reiterate...it's legal? will is break the lame fibres and thus kill the lame?

Originally Posted by Mergs

If you are finished growing up, then you have to worry about the gravitational effects of aging, which is the mass displacement of those broad shoulders southwards, and then you can remove the seam to accommodate the reallocation of body mass.

but that's one of the reasons i took up fencing!

[smeric28]

I took in my foil lame, i put 2 darts up the back (think back of a suit vest) and took it in along the seems under the arms. the darts are made by pulling the fabric together with the excess to the inside and are triangular in shape(wider at the bottem than at the top). The darts should start at or below the sholder blades. wear the lame and move around and have afriend tell you how high the darts should go (you need to leave room for movement) then mark the top. next take in the bottem as far as you want it in. then draw a straight line between the top and bottom to creats a smooth taper then hand sew with dental floss using small stiches(so you don't leave gaps to catch points). i also took in my lame along the sides which is easy just fold the material in and sew. just make sure your even on both sides. saber lames and jakets would be harder. you can't take those in along the sides as easily. but you can run darts up the back.

[Mergs]

Originally Posted by WhipLash

i had the same thinking as Mergs....but was thinking of using velcro or clips on the inside instead of seams. was worried abt the legality issue though, esp for the lame. so...to reiterate...it's legal? will is break the lame fibres and thus kill the lame?

IMHO, velcro or clips are not legal given the application you are talking about, for the reason that, at least for USFA rules, the material of the jacket and lame` has to be constructed such that it can't catch a point (the neck point trap being the exception).

[WhipLash]

i see. thanks everyone. think i'll sew it up then. but why dental floss and not nylon thread?

[smeric28]

dental floss is stronger. it is simply thicker. you could use nylon thread though it is acutally made for sewing and should be strong enough. (dental floss is nylon filimants too)

don't forget to use small stiches and sew by hand. small stiches keep you from makeing blade catches. if you hand sew you'll know if you hit a metalic thread, simply wiggle the needle around it so you don't break it. machine sewing would snap it right quick. (plus dental floss wouldn't thread in a machine

[Mergs]

Machine sewing with a heavy nylon thread will be just as strong, and far less time consuming! Dental floss is good for fixing bib to mask problems or even putting patches on, but for what you are doing, a machine will work just as well (if not, better depending on your hand sewing prowress!)