How to sew fraying Spanx?
March 27, 2019 11:12 PM Subscribe
Not a seamstress, but this can't be so hard. This
pair is fraying. How to fix or sew Lycra, is the question.
Spanx are apparently Lycra, which is a combination of nylon and spandex. Essentially, swimsuit material. This pair is newly purchased and is unquestionably the right size, (as per packaging), but is fraying at the entire... er... gusset? Lower front and back area? As in the fabric is essentially dissolving and loose.
Any handy folk have ideas? This is sort of just out of general interest, so any sewing specific tips are welcome.
Possible solutions:
-Iron on patch? (Many have warnings against applying on nylon?)
-Darning the rip, using a piece of fabric donated from an old sock? (Seems... like the best idea?)
-Sewing the seam tightly? (May just delay the inevitable?).
Insights welcome! Some sort of DIY rescue attempt seems reasonable, they are BRAND NEW. Thanks!
Spanx are apparently Lycra, which is a combination of nylon and spandex. Essentially, swimsuit material. This pair is newly purchased and is unquestionably the right size, (as per packaging), but is fraying at the entire... er... gusset? Lower front and back area? As in the fabric is essentially dissolving and loose.
Any handy folk have ideas? This is sort of just out of general interest, so any sewing specific tips are welcome.
Possible solutions:
-Iron on patch? (Many have warnings against applying on nylon?)
-Darning the rip, using a piece of fabric donated from an old sock? (Seems... like the best idea?)
-Sewing the seam tightly? (May just delay the inevitable?).
Insights welcome! Some sort of DIY rescue attempt seems reasonable, they are BRAND NEW. Thanks!
No returns doesn't usually cover damaged products, you really should ask.
That said, the tricky part is going to be getting a seam/repair with the right amount of stretch to make them functional as spanx. Sewing stretchy material (so that it works properly) is really really hard. Do you have a sewing machine?
posted by brainmouse at 12:04 AM on March 28, 2019
That said, the tricky part is going to be getting a seam/repair with the right amount of stretch to make them functional as spanx. Sewing stretchy material (so that it works properly) is really really hard. Do you have a sewing machine?
posted by brainmouse at 12:04 AM on March 28, 2019
To repair fabric that's fraying and dissolving, you'd need a patch of similar fabric to cover the area and more, and connect into the good fabric remaining. Frankly, in Spanx, that's going to make for a very uncomfortable configuration and probably chafing. You might also face laddering in the good fabric if you're not using a super fine needle and getting the stitch tension right. I sew stretch fabric all the time and am learning to mend fabrics of all varieties, and I wouldn't try with these.
These don't seem fit for purpose no matter what you do. If you're really determined, I'd take the gusset area from a pair of pants/panties as your patch and get superfine needles and fine thread.
posted by carbide at 1:12 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
These don't seem fit for purpose no matter what you do. If you're really determined, I'd take the gusset area from a pair of pants/panties as your patch and get superfine needles and fine thread.
posted by carbide at 1:12 AM on March 28, 2019 [5 favorites]
No, that has to be a damaged product. Knits don't normally fray in that way, and the potential to really fix it is questionable as described above. Send the company pictures of what's going on and ask them to send a replacement.
posted by trig at 1:43 AM on March 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by trig at 1:43 AM on March 28, 2019 [4 favorites]
It's no returns because they don't want your used drawers, not because they want you stuck with defective product.
posted by hollyholly at 3:45 AM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by hollyholly at 3:45 AM on March 28, 2019 [6 favorites]
Not exactly a fix, but maybe cut the panty part off another pair of tights and wear it over your damaged pair? No sewing and it should hold things together.
posted by LaBellaStella at 3:52 AM on March 28, 2019
posted by LaBellaStella at 3:52 AM on March 28, 2019
Clear nail polish or fabric glue can stop holes and fraying edges, but that won’t work for larger areas that are meant to stretch a ton. And it would be awfully uncomfortable in the crotch of a pair of Spanx - for that matter, so would just about any fix.
If the company won’t replace them, I’d probably try wearing them anyway until the fabric gave out, since the fray is unlikely to be visible under normal clothes. And then I’d make a mental note to avoid that brand.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:16 AM on March 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
If the company won’t replace them, I’d probably try wearing them anyway until the fabric gave out, since the fray is unlikely to be visible under normal clothes. And then I’d make a mental note to avoid that brand.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:16 AM on March 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
If I were trying a repair, I'd first use something like Fray Check to arrest the current fraying. Then I'd cut a right-sized patch from the liner of an old bathing suit I'd kept around just for this purpose of poaching fabric for patching.
I'd haul out my sewing machine and put in a fresh needle meant for synthetics & stretch fabrics, like these by Schmetz, and use a presser foot that can do a dependable overcast or zig-zag stitch. No straight stitches!
I'd probably lean to placing the repair fabric on the outside of the tights to minimize chafing if I were going commando with those. However, that might defeat the purpose of a particular use case (minimizing lines) so I'd wrestle with that decision for a while.
Grew up on home-made bathing suits...
posted by cocoagirl at 4:19 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'd haul out my sewing machine and put in a fresh needle meant for synthetics & stretch fabrics, like these by Schmetz, and use a presser foot that can do a dependable overcast or zig-zag stitch. No straight stitches!
I'd probably lean to placing the repair fabric on the outside of the tights to minimize chafing if I were going commando with those. However, that might defeat the purpose of a particular use case (minimizing lines) so I'd wrestle with that decision for a while.
Grew up on home-made bathing suits...
posted by cocoagirl at 4:19 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Nail polish to slow the fraying and find another brand.
posted by sammyo at 6:20 AM on March 28, 2019
posted by sammyo at 6:20 AM on March 28, 2019
You can buy lycra at stores that sell fabric as it is commonly used to sew cheerleading outfits and the like. They may not be willing to sell you less than a quarter metre or quarter yard. It may be too pricy to be worth it.
If you do decide to patch it bring the spanx with you to the fabric store and compare colour and stretch before you buy.
If you don't care what it looks like use a roll of elastic bandage for your patching material. You can get that reasonably cheaply at any chain pharmacy or dollar store.
If you hand sew use an embroidery hoop to stretch the material while sewing to ensure that your stitches are done with the maximum stretch and sew loosely.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:25 AM on March 28, 2019
If you do decide to patch it bring the spanx with you to the fabric store and compare colour and stretch before you buy.
If you don't care what it looks like use a roll of elastic bandage for your patching material. You can get that reasonably cheaply at any chain pharmacy or dollar store.
If you hand sew use an embroidery hoop to stretch the material while sewing to ensure that your stitches are done with the maximum stretch and sew loosely.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:25 AM on March 28, 2019
Chiming in to say that these are damaged, and furthermore they are probably not repairable. It's likely this is a manufacturing defect that impacted a whole run so if you have the packaging with the SKU that will possibly help. I would go back to Spanx directly with this, skipping the seller completely.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:36 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:36 AM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Definitely contact Spanx about this. I am sure they will replace them for you. Just send a picture.
posted by apricot at 7:24 AM on March 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by apricot at 7:24 AM on March 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
Re sizing- depending on where you carry weight you may have and depending on how long or otherwise your legs are - sizing on the packaging can be meaningless. So by all means get them to send you a new pair. But if these factors may be relevant also consider sizing for any future purchases.
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:13 AM on March 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:13 AM on March 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
You don't. Nobody repairs these. They are disposable. It is literally not worth the money or your time to attempt repair on these. These are just fancy tights with a bit of compression, they are not original style Spanx shapewear. The shapewear is made of thicker thread, and very hard to damage.
Another vote for returning them as defective. These are not repairable to anything resembling their intended function.
This material is not like a swimsuit material. It is not a thick dense knit or double knit like a swimsuit fabric is, it is a sheer plain knit, made of a single strand of fine thread.
Iron on patch or anything with heat: You shouldn't use an iron on lycra, as heat destroys the elasticity. The adhesive probably won't stick to nylon, which is why the patches say not for use on nylon, not to mention that all fo the iron on patches I know of are cotton or poly and not stretchy. Fusible interfacing (stitch witchery) and dissolving fusible interfacing won't stick to a nylon fabric for very long, and will detatch as soon as you move it around at all.
Darning: What you suggest would be patching, not darning, and you'd want to use a pair of donor pantyhose if you go that route, not a sock. With or without using a patch to reinforce it, unless you have a good sewing machine with a walking foot that will zigzag, and a lot of practice working with stretchy fabrics, this is not a reasonable option to get a usable result.
Sewing the seam tightly: With what? But again, in any way that I can imagine, it's not going to get a usable result.
posted by monopas at 1:04 PM on March 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
Another vote for returning them as defective. These are not repairable to anything resembling their intended function.
This material is not like a swimsuit material. It is not a thick dense knit or double knit like a swimsuit fabric is, it is a sheer plain knit, made of a single strand of fine thread.
Iron on patch or anything with heat: You shouldn't use an iron on lycra, as heat destroys the elasticity. The adhesive probably won't stick to nylon, which is why the patches say not for use on nylon, not to mention that all fo the iron on patches I know of are cotton or poly and not stretchy. Fusible interfacing (stitch witchery) and dissolving fusible interfacing won't stick to a nylon fabric for very long, and will detatch as soon as you move it around at all.
Darning: What you suggest would be patching, not darning, and you'd want to use a pair of donor pantyhose if you go that route, not a sock. With or without using a patch to reinforce it, unless you have a good sewing machine with a walking foot that will zigzag, and a lot of practice working with stretchy fabrics, this is not a reasonable option to get a usable result.
Sewing the seam tightly: With what? But again, in any way that I can imagine, it's not going to get a usable result.
posted by monopas at 1:04 PM on March 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by karmachameleon at 11:50 PM on March 27, 2019