UKC

Has anyone tried making their own outdoor clothing? If so how did it go?

I see there’s a few US forums where people have made some simple Alpha Direct hoodies and some things similar to the OMM Core. How complex can you reasonable go for a DIY design? These seem fairly straightforward, and perhaps maybe a simple wind shell with the right fabric?

Any experience making your own stuff? I was thinking it might be an interesting project to try some simple items, although I suspect it’s not cost effective, but with appropriate skill could probably get some very good fits.

In reply to echo34:

Possibly relevant recent thread at https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/making_your_own_kit-775483?

In reply to echo34:

I have successfully fashioned a faux beanie using only a cotton hankie and four simple knots!

In reply to echo34:

 >  I suspect it’s not cost effective

I'm not sure about that - materials aren't necessarily that expensive, and if you have a sewing machine anyway your time is the main 'cost' (more so if you don't have a sewing machine, obvisouly)

In reply to nufkin:

Even if not, maybe a fun project?

In reply to ianstevens:

I made a very fine, lined, fleece jacket back in the day. It took me about 12 months to finish, partially because of the fact that the lining was hand stitched in (no fancy overlooking sewing machine avaliable so the material inside each seam needed tidying up, if you see what I mean)

Still have it 25 years later.

In reply to echo34:

I have considered trying it a few times, but I struggle to find the fabrics that I want. I have found the websites that sell outdoor fabrics, but they never seem to be the ones that I really want. It's so hard to tell from the descriptions, and when I ask for samples of what I think will be the best ones, they are still never quite what I want. 

In reply to echo34:

I think your hunch about it not being cheaper is right, but if you can learn the skills you can produce something better tailored for you and of a far higher build quality than mass produced items.

My Mum bought some pertex fabric when it was first available in the 90s and made me a windshell, and it's still going strong.

In reply to Jimbo C:

As I think I've written on previous threads on making gear, I had a spell of unemployment many years ago during which I had access to a sewing machine & plenty of time. After a few experiments to learn how to sew (mostly simple stuff sacks, some still in use) I made a few other things, the most successful being a pair of pertex over salopettes (worn over fleece salopettes for ski touring) & a simple ski bag. The later is still in use, often in preference to a more elaborate 'bought' bag as it has no padding & is easy to fold for storage.  Start simple, then see what else works.

My girlfriend of the time who was a good seamstress made much of her clothes, outdoor gear included with event waterproofs, various fleece & pile tops, etc. As she knew how to sew she could make stuff that fitted her.

In reply to echo34:

Mates made waterproofs back in the 1980s when you could buy goretex off the reel by the meter. 

However unless you are time rich and cash poor, or can’t get that but if gear and/or are good at sewing it is a faff.

There are places as listed in the other thread that sell patterns ect.
 

However you can also unstitch that favourite, but knackered bit of gear that’s no longer made to use as a template. Just add 5mm on all dimensions and trim off at the end to make handling/sewing easier.

In reply to echo34:

You're right I'd say - unlikely to save you a ton of money even if you do have a sewing machine and some skills.  ("Some skills" falling a fair way short of yer actual expertise - even assuming that the time you put into it is free, making mistakes costs money.)  It is interesting though, and can be satisfying.  I've made bits and bobs, but nothing as elaborate as proper outdoor clothing.

Where I might have saved a few quid though is buying seconds (mostly in the much missed "Magic Mountain" shop in Glossop) and repairing/altering them myself.

Funnily enough I just made the first thing I've made in ages yesterday, a very simple project, basically just a stuff-sack.

Decathlon sell neat little packaway carrier bags at the checkout made of quite strong polyester fabric ideal for that.  The label describes it as a "Tissue Till Bag 45L", it costs £1.50 and if you unpick the stitching (which is quite easy) you end up with about a square metre of fabric, a metre or so of flat 20mm tape, another metre of tape that's folded in half and stitched if you can be arsed to unpick the stitching and press it flat, and a nice little ready-made pocket/pouch thing.

In reply to girlymonkey:

Reading the latest "which jacket will fit me" thread had me wondering if there might not be a market for outdoor clothes that come from the factory not quite finished, so that people can have whatever length in the arms and legs (say) that they want.

No idea really whether it'd be commercially viable, but it's the kind of thing I could quite easily picture Alpkit doing for example. 

The mass-produced garment comes with all the requisite bits to finish off the cuffs, turn-ups, whatever, and as the customer you either take it as it is and finish it off yourself or pay a few quid to have it done for you.  (Which would be a much quicker and easier job for someone to do in a workshop than altering a finished garment, so hopefully needn't be particularly expensive.)

In reply to deepsoup:

Yes, that would be a great idea!! I would love that!

In reply to echo34:

Being 6'6" I made some gear back in the day as there was simply nothing long enough.  It's tricky to successfully tape seams to make them waterproof, and the finish was never that good. The cheap kit like Peter Storm or Mountain Whorehouse stuff will be better than your efforts. Also the cost of fabrics and zips etc made it pretty costly, and then there's the time ...  Thankfully Berghaus stuff seems to fit these days. 

In reply to echo34:

Made lots of gear over the years , rucksacks, bivi bags/ tents, harnesses, some clothing. Mainly because what I wanted was unavailable at the time though initially because my pocket or paper round  money was better spent on travel rather than kit.

Clothes are difficult to diy to an acceptable standard, trousers probably the hardest .

Agree  mostly with the diy handywork advice already posted.

Never done this but it's one on the long list of skills my parents and grandparents had that I'm sad I don't - my Mum made her own wedding dress, while I can barely darn a hole badly.

The point about alterations is a good one though - so many times I buy ill-fitting charity shop clothes and never bother to think about doing that. Probably more relevant for fitted women's non-outdoor clothes, but I've not hemmed a trouser in a good ten years. Consequently I have to wear every single pair either bunched up (skinny jeans) or rolled up. The amount of mud and small pebbles I've have to release from my trousers after a day of the hill over the years... Probably would have justified just bloody hemming...

In reply to echo34:

I've made allsorts over the years. Specifically regading clothing, I made numerous fleeces, fleece salopettes for winter climbing and a Goretex jacket with taped seams which I used for about 10 years for Scottish winter climbing and Alpinism.

I wouldn't bother making clothing these days as you can buy decent, well designed clothing from the likes of Decathlon and Go Outdoors, or stuff in sales from elsewhere for so little there's no saving.

I only make niche stuff now like ultralight rucksacks and tents (in dyneema composite/cuben etc) which, if you buy it comercially, is all handmade anyway by people like me and costs a fortune. You also get something exactly to your own spec. I also repair or modify stuff including clothing.

In reply to Rick Graham:

DIY harnesses? Isn't that a bit . . . brave?

You need to elaborate on that!

In reply to echo34:

A lot negative opinions towards DIY gear making but I've seen some great stuff from people who've put some time into making their own stuff. Yes it takes some equipment and time to develop the skills but it can become a fun and productive hobby in itself.

I keep meaning to give it a try. My other half is quite a dab hand having made a few dresses and tweed coats for herself over the years so there's a machine, over locker and a skill set there to lean on.

In reply to pec:

In 1970s I knew someone who made a waistbelt by interweaving a length of 1" tape. Apparently the first widely used commercial sit harness, the Whillans, originated as a harness "knocked up" on the Annupurna S face expedition for use with fixed ropes.

Less reassuringly IIRC someone was killed in the Cairngorms when their back was broken falling with a homemade chest harness. But then probably today nobody leads with a chest harness.

In reply to pec:

Non structural.

Canvas sleeving to hold 1 inch tape tied into loop , two loops to tie in, so effectively 3 inch wide, buckle to hold together when walking down from crag. Two gear loops either side, quite avant guard for 1970

Waist belt only, used a single 1 inch supertape sling underbackside for aid routes and abseiling.

This was in the days when tying on with a rope round the waist was the norm. Made quite a few for members of the club  I had just joined.

Prior to that had made two rucksacks, harness sleeves made out of leftover material.

In reply to echo34:

I can sew, and I've made clothes and curtains etc for myself and my family reasonably successfully.

What I would say is: fabric (especially decent fabric) is expensive, and so there is usually no saving compared to buying ready made. Secondly the fit, particularly for women, is important and difficult to get right if you are not a standard shape, without risking ruining your expensive fabric.

Home made is good for children (no fit issues) or non clothes items like bags.

In reply to stubbed:

I used to try out patterns/ideas using old sheets (from Oxfam or similar)  as fabric first to test the fit, etc before daring to cut more expensive fabrics such as Pertex or (rarely) Goretex.

In reply to Rick Graham:

So not as mad as it sounded!

That said, I had a skint friend who, when we started climbing in the mid eighties, somehow came into the possession of a waistbelt without legloops so he made some by hand stitching some webbing tape with fishing line.

At least he had a proper waistbelt. But even as a fellow skint youth, homemade legloops seemed a step too far to me.

In reply to echo34:

Expensive... unless.... 

Sometimes you see source material in a charity shop (like good quality synthetic insulation sleeping bag) or leftovers from another project. 

My projects are unfinished, grand ideas I just struggle to get time for, my work is really awful as well. But many more competent others can do wonders with this stuff

In reply to echo34: To addd what others have said , outdoor stuff is now mainstream , but back in the day it didn’t used to be , so well designed kit was hard to cone by and people made thier own kit . I used to go sea kayaking with an old salty sea dog who made his own kit out of necessity. No body made what he needed so he made it himself .the fit was usually a bit odd but the function not so . I think his designs were the inspiration for knoydart who used to make top draw kit . I’d say the main motivation would be “fun” and making pieces that had custom features that improved the existing design. When petzl zooms were the only headtorch you could buy , they had a major flaw in That they would switch themselves on in your Ruc sac and  flatten the battery . One had to remember to disconnect the battery and then reconnect it in the dark .  Oh how we laughed as it was going dark on  The Ben . I used to add a simple toggle switch in the back of the body of the light . Very simple and very satisfying. .

In reply to echo34:

In the early 80’s, successfully made a goretex waterproof, fleece jacket, salopettes, fore runner to soft shell trousers and jacket, pairs of lined mitts and even winter over boots (pre yeti days). All on an old singer sewing machine using materials from Tor & Pointnorth. Couldn’t afford gear hence self made did me for years summer and winter.  As folks say there’s so much gear around now it may not be cost effective, but where’s the fun! 🤪

In reply to echo34:

I made a few things yonks ago when I couldn't afford new gear,I actually enjoyed it,I also used a shop called point north and for my tempted I'd unpick old trousers and jackets and mark round them and cut round and sew them up on a borrowed sewing machine.I actually did a good job a pair of yeti style gaiters waterproof hoody windproof fleece trousers and a pair of down mittens, and got good use out of them as well.

In reply to echo34:

I really fancy it, but feel terror at either damaging my partner's sewing machine or taking instruction from her without one of us getting ratty. (We get on fine but never have any mutual comprehension when describing physical things)

In reply to SpaceCaptainTheodore:

This is very good.  (Plenty of second-hand copies on the well-known auction site.)
https://www.waterstones.com/book/sewing-machine-basics/jane-bolsover/978190...

What wouldn't be in there are the specifics of how you thread the machine, adjust the top and bottom tension, the controls etc., but you could get your partner to show you that stuff or just find it in the manual.

I'm assuming here that your partner would actually be ok with you using their machine.  Some people are very precious about them, others much less so.  Scissors too - probably best to get your own.  But in truth while you might break a needle, waste some fabric or get threads in a tangle, it's actually surprisingly difficult to damage the machine itself by doing something wrong.

It might be best not to attempt anything particularly heavy duty like making a rucksack or something though.  If you find yourself enjoying the process, you could probably find a fairly cheap 'vintage' machine of your own that would be better for that - I have a late 1950's Pfaff that I bought for £40 in a charity shop the best part of 30 years ago and it's built like a tank compared to modern machines.  (A beautifully engineered tank, the build quality is extraordinary.  It'll easily outlive me.)

I just had a quick look on the auction site and there don't seem to be a lot of bargains on there at the mo, but item number 146141572036 is an example of the kind of thing I mean.  Old and basic, but a beast of a thing.  (I think - but I'm not familiar with that model so it could be a lemon for all I know.)

In reply to echo34:

I would say that one of your principal difficulties will be sourcing durable fabric. You want to be absolutely sure you are getting quality stuff if you are going to spend hours and hours sewing it.

You can find a million websites with a million materials but being the internet, almost everything is terrible quality and low price. And plenty of the mid-priced stuff is just the same terrible quality but with someone trying to pass it off as better by charging a higher price and just pocketing the difference.

I once ordered fabric to make trousers quite a few years ago (paying someone else to make them for me) and I've regularly ordered bedding and towels in the last few years for a business. And I would say it really is a trial and error process with some stuff so bad it just goes directly back or directly to the bin and I would say that the stuff I now order is still very middling quality, but it suffices because it often gets damaged before it gets completely worn out.

I would suggest getting yourself on a forum specifically for tailoring or homemade clothing and asking about how to source indestructible fabric.

In reply to henwardian:

I've always found https://www.profabrics.co.uk/  very reliable,

In reply to deepsoup:

Thanks you, very kind to offer the information.

I've saved the details in my list of things to look at when I don't know what to do with myself. I think using a second hand machine to avoid diplomatic tensions is a good thought!

In reply to echo34:

Outdoor clothing is designed and made by people. As a person you can learn to make good gear.

The issues you might face would be developing the skills, sourcing materials, limited testing/prototyping capacity and lack of access to specialised industrial processes like ultrasonic welding and the latest greatest fabrics and treatments. If you're willing to put in the work, design around your skills and available resources then be patient sourcing material and refining designs there's no reason why you can't match or better (for you because it's tailored) what's available off the peg. Our fancy complicated world is made by people, much of it with remarkably basic tools.

Is it worth the effort? Probably only if you enjoy it or fancy trying your hand at starting a niche manufacturing business.

jk