Companion forum thread to:

MYOG: Supplex Pants

Great idea. Supplex has a great feel to it. How long would these last (both fabric and stitching)?

Here is Roger Caffin's article on the same subject from 2007


http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/make_your_own_gear_trousers.html?id=o2KBFkSw:81.88.49.6

Edited by kthompson on 09/11/2012 15:33:13 MDT.

I wear my shorts all the time. Two pairs for several years. The stitching attaching the pockets has ripped out a little but I just re-sewed it. The stitching at the bottom hem of the shorts wears against my legs - so after about a year the thread sort of wears away so I re-sew it, although it wouldn't really matter. At the top of the shorts where the fabric is pulled tighter by the cord in the sleeve, the fabric is beginning to get thread-bare - time to throw these away and sew another pair.

But, I wear them every day. For normal backpacking use of a few weeks per year they'de last forever.

I linked to Roger's article. If I had known about this, I probably wouldn't have proposed another article on the same subject. But, I did a bunch of things a little differently. You could read both articles and pick and choose between the two, techniques for each step.

I would not recommend Roger's choice of color : )

Thanks Jerry,

Is the curved waist line really necessary? What's its functional value?

I ask because having a folded waistband along a curve makes sewing a lot harder and as hard as you try to avoid them, will cause ripples of puckering.

I recommend straightening it and seeing if the fit doesn't work just as well.

I would feature a wide inseam gusset at the crotch area (a little trickier pattern cutting exercise.) This typically diamond shaped feature is much misunderstood - it's not for improved shape/fit, nor is it for greater seam strength. No, it's actually to reduce the risk of the hard point of a seam from digging into your privates when using a climbing harness, but it also minimises chafing there too. Most commercial designs are hopelessly small, proving that many people who really ought to know their true function don't.

Edited by olivernissen on 09/13/2012 17:11:34 MDT.

Hey Jerry,
I typically wear cargo pants. I don't like elastic in the wast band because my legs/feet often get wet, either from sweat, rain, or just becasue of dew on the leaves as I pass by. They pull down as I walk, very annnoying.

Thanks for a good article.

I first did a straight waistline, but then it was tight around my rear - looked and felt weird.

I made the waist curved and it fit much better.

Yeah - it's harder to sew - puckers and so forth - but it fits better.

Try it and report back

I really appreciated this article. The best part was learning about a source for supplex/Taslan fabric. I read this article on Wednesday, ordered the fabric within seconds after reading it, got the fabric in the mail this morning, and this evening finished making pants that I like better than the design of my expensive "store bought" supplex pants. I used the Liberty Ridge pants pattern from thru-hiker.com that I already know fits me well from making the wind shell pants. I also added cargo pockets to both sides. No pictures available at the moment. Thanks, Jerry!

We want pictures : )

These are not great pictures, but here they are. One is a picture of them lying on the floor and another with me in them. My arm isn't long enough to get a better shot! Pants weigh 5.6 oz, because there are no pleats in front, no zippered rear pockets, no belt loops, and no blousy legs - all features I didn't like with the supplex pants I had bought. Just right.

Nice!

That's what I like about making them yourself - just what you want.

I use a soldering iron to cut uncoated nylon. The iron sears the edges so they will not unravel.

I put the material on a piece of glass and use an aluminum straight edge. I cut it with a cheap pen-style soldering iron with a needle tip.

The glass is from an old picture, 18" x 24". It will get bits of melted nylon on it so don't use glass you want to put back into the frame. Put the glass on something durable in case you run off the edge of the glass... Don't want to scar a table. The straight edge is 3/4" x 1/2" angle from the hardware store. This angle gives room for my fingers as the iron passes by. I cut along the flat part of the 'L' rather than the Elbow or back of the 'L'.

Thicker nylon will make some smoke... With the Supplex mentioned in this article and if I had material smooth, there would be little smoke, if any. Making sure to cut through one layer of material is important; any folds or ripples make smoke.

With Momentum 90 from Thru-Hiker, there is no smoke unless I slip up and cut through a fold. With Momentum 50, even folds aren't too bad.

Who knows what volatiles are burned off when thick or folded material is cut.. so ventilation is good. That said, I cut indoors.

With a steady draw of the soldering iron against the straight edge, the edges are very nice. The Supplex would cut fine, but the lighter materials like Momentum have an edge that is so fine, I can't feel a ridge.

Time is saved in sewing. The edges will not unravel so no need for serging or capturing edges. For seams that don't need strength, I sew one row. For strength, I fold the seam allowance over and top-stitch. I don't know what that seam is called...

> I would not recommend Roger's choice of color : )
nyah nyah nyah ... :-)

Cheers

"I would not recommend Roger's choice of color"

Hunters won't confuse Roger with a deer

Do they have hunters in Oz?

> I used a soldering iron to cut uncoated nylon. The iron sears the edges so they
> will not unravel.
I tried that too, but I found the melted edges could sometimes be scratchy against the skin, so I went back to a sort of overlock stitch across the unmelted edges. A multi-step zigzag also works well here.

Cheers
PS: nice job Kathleen

Edited by rcaffin on 12/14/2012 16:42:44 MST.