Leotard Neckline/Armholes Contrast Trim

Posted by on March 9, 2006, 6:31 pm

I've been sewing basic bodysuits and unitards for my kids' gymnastics
and would now like to make some with contrast lycra binding. Has
anyone ever done this on a leotard or swimsuit? I've tried it numerous

times but can't seem to get it right. I follow the pattern
instructions, stitching first the binding strip then the elastic to the

neckline, wrap the binding around the elastic and then topstitch with a

twin needle. The results are ugly. I've seen commercial bodysuits
(ie. GK Elite or Alpha Factor brand) with nice contrast trim sewn not
only around the neckline and armholes, but also horizontally across the

bodysuit, half way down the front. I'm thinking there must be a method

of covering elastic with lycra binding before stitching it to the
garment. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Posted by wurstergirl on March 10, 2006, 4:21 am

I've done contrast binding on swimwear using the same method you
describe. When topstitching with the twin needle, I threaded one eye
with the fashion color thread and the other eye with the trim color
thread. Then, I topstitched straddling the join. Whichever color was
darker tended to disappear and the results looked cleaner. There are
varying widths of twin needles -- I liked a narrow gauge the best for
this. I've also topstitched using a very narrow zigzag and a single
needle all the way in the fashion fabric. This way the contrast trim
had no topstitching at all. This worked best when the fashion fabric
was darker and the trim lighter. Does this make sense? I don't know
the commercial bodysuit brands you mentioned, but I assume they were
using overlock machines, which can do stretch topstitching in single
lines...

Regarding covering elastic with lycra binding with no stitching
showing, this can be done. I did it for the straps of the swim suit.
You fold the strip of trim fabric lengthwise, right sides together.
You lay the elastic exactly on the stitching line. You go ahead and do
your zigzag seam to make the long tube, stitching straight through the
elastic the whole time. When you're done, you slowly turn the tube
right side out. (Uh, grade your seam allowances first.) The lycra
stretches enough to accomodate the layers during the turning out but
shrinks back to cover the elastic smoothly when you're done. You end
up with covered elastic with just one seam down the middle of the back
side. (Because of the positioning of the seam, all the seam
allowances will be on one side of the line, meaning one side will be a
little thicker than the other. That's why the grading is kind of
important, to mitigate these effects.)

Does this help?

Pora

Posted by Fabric Addict on March 10, 2006, 2:54 pm

Thank you, Pora, yes this does help. I'm going to do some practicing
using both methods you mention. You know, I don't think I ever
stitched on the fashion fabric when topstitching, only on the contrast
fabric. Perhaps that's what I was doing wrong? The contrast trim
always seemed to hang forward and looked bulky. I didn't have
puckering or anything (despite the fact I don't pin the binding before
topstitching), it just looked sloppy. Thank you everyone for all your
suggestions!

Posted by wurstergirl on March 10, 2006, 3:15 pm

Regarding "hanging forward" trim, a few thoughts:
1)Are you stretching the elastic slightly as you sew? This might help
it lie more nicely along the curves of armholes and neckholes.
2) When folding the binding over the elastic, are you pulling it too
tight in the crosswise direction? It's a temptation to pull it tight,
but leaving it with a tiny bit of room can also effect its flatness.

I seem to remember that on the most curvy areas my elastic/trim did not
lie as flat as I wanted. I would snip the elastic at the inside of the
curve, overlap and zigzag, effectively making micro darts to reduce
bulk around the bend. But that's not really practical for your
application...

How wide is the distance between your double needles? I strongly
recommend the narrowest gauge available. It almost doesn't look like
two lines when you're done. If you can carefully let one needle stitch
directly in the ditch the results are even better.

Pora

Posted by wurstergirl on March 15, 2006, 1:46 am

Hi Again,

I was just wondering if you had any better luck with this issue. I
noticed a new thread on serging elastic to bodysuits and wasn't sure if
you decided to drop the contrast trim altogether!

Pora

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