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DIY: Make Your Own Pole Shorts Pattern from a Pair of Undies
I'm so excited to share this DIY tutorial on how to make a pole shorts pattern from a pair of boy shorts undies! This step by step tutorial is a labor of love, I drew as many detailed diagrams as possible and covered both types of boy shorts usually on the market. I hope this is helpful to anyone wanting to make their own pole clothes. I will be posting ways to alter the pattern for different styles in the future!
http://www.liveituppolefitness.com/pole-fitness-shorts-pattern-from-undies/
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19 Replies
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It's extremely generous of you to share pattern drafting techniques with the lay person. It's a liberating and fun hobby to make your own clothes, especially with the cost of these things today. Many seamstresses will make pattern drafting tutorials very technical or vague and usually not free; for a reason – to 'protect' their craft to some degree. I'm interested to see your updates and what crafty people come up with!
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<3 You just saved me so much time. I actually have some fabric sitting on my dining room table that I got for sewing shorts and a top for pole but drafting a pattern has been making me just….. grumpy. This make things soooooo much faster- I feel silly for not thinking of using the boy short undies! Now to go see if I have a pair I can live without…
Thank you so much for sharing this btw!
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This is AMAZING!!! Thank you so, so much for sharing.
My sewing machine is already set up to go since I had to make curtains recently.
What material would you recommend? Any tips? I've heard sewing with stretchy material can be tricky.
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Thank you so much for this! I will definitely be doing this in the near future!!! *Runs off to find a pair of boyshorts to cut up*
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Marle777: It is SO much fun to make your own clothes adn doubly so to make our own pole fitness clothes. I don't really worry about "protecting" my trade mostly because the people who were goign to commission a performacne outfit will probably still do so anyway despite telling them how to do it themselves. Not everyone has the time or the want to make it themselves. And also, the ones who so want to make it themselves, will probably make it anyway. so why not share the information. I hate seeing tutorials that are vague or omit key information making people waste their time! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif
littlelindsay:Stretch fabric can be a bit of a hassle but it not too bad if you have the rigth equipment. With wovens, I change the needle when it breaks or bends. With knits I change the needle at the start of every project. Some times 2-3 times for something intricate. I have a primer for sewing kniw fabrics here : http://www.liveituppolefitness.com/knits-primer/
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Thank u I want to try this on the weekend when I can get some material!
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Awesome primer info Moonflower! I have to add just one tip though; I grew up watching my mother sew TONS of gymnastic leotards for my sister and her teammates and the one of the most important things she always told me was to make sure you gently stretch the lycra fabric as you feed it to the machine to be stitched. This helped ensure the stitches had room to expand and contract when finished garment was in use. Like you, she also used the narrow zig-zag stitch. 🙂
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do you use elastic in these? I read the tutorial but didn't see it or maybe I missed it.
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do you use elastic in these? I read the tutorial but didn't see it or maybe I missed it.
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If I was using my industrial machine that only does straight stitch, then I would stretch it. It was recommended to home sewers before machines could do zig zag. I prefer a zigzag without stretching the fabric except in instances where the seam requires more stretch than the zig zag offers since the fabric will buckle less. If you stretch while you hem, the hem will buckle and look "homemade". Threads magazine also recommends not stretching the fabric when using a zig zag. http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/24079/tips-and-tricks-for-sewing-with-knits.
I've never had a need to stretch while using using a zig zag stitch, but you can if you want to. I know there are patterns advertised to be stretched while sewn, but I've never used them myself.
sparrow: I dont; use elastic in this one as the waistband is a doudle folded piece that is shorter in circumference and helps pull it in. It works like to a yoga waistband.
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I figured you might worry about puckering or buckling but it was never an issue for any of the leotards. She sold them, they never looked homemade and as someone with a professional seamstress and tailoring education, she was a perfectionist about those types of things. I would imagine over-stretching would certainly cause this problem however, but as you said each pattern has it's own nuances and your milage may vary.
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Yeah, it reall depends on the fabric and how mush stretch you need. I would think that sewing unitards will need more stretch, especially the crotch and underarms. But then those seams tend to grin.
With pole or even swimwear, I haven't seen a need for it. When I use to take commissions, I had an industrial serger so never needed to worry about it. I do stretch the fabric when sewing a seam that needs LOTS of stretch, like if the neckline was how you'd get into the outfit, then I'll stretch AND zig zig for sure!
I can add an update to my post that some sewers like to stretch while they sew.
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I made a pair of shorts using this method this evening, and they came out GREAT. I did gently stretch while I sewed the waist band (the size difference made it necessary) but have no issues with the seam buckling. The leg seams are not quite as tight as I'd like, but I can fix that on the next go around. Thanks again for this – it was awesome! I'm looking forward to making more of my own pole shorts!
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Yay! I hope the alterations help perfect the fit. And yes, you will need to stretch the waistband to match the waist of the shorts. It's easing for knits.When I say I don't stretch, I'm referring to stretching seams or hems past the point of flat to add more stretch to the seam or hem.
I'm going to be putting out a video to walkthrough how to sew the actual shorts for those who want a little more guidance. I just need to figure out a good set up for my machine, camera and light.
Also, I'm putting up a gallery of a few past pole and non-pole costumes I have made on my site sometime today. I'll update in this thread when I do.
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The gallery page is up @ http://www.liveituppolefitness.com/gallery/
I need to find time to take more pics, I have so many costumes but no pics of them. And I now wish I had taken photos when I took commissions. Sigh, live and learn, peeps, live and learn. Take lots of photos!
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