Category / Cycling

by oanh

How to Sew Cycling Ankle Cuffs

Step 1.

Wonder what on earth they’re called, google like an obsessed woman (what? I like research) only to discover that if you google “ankle cuffs”‘ my friends, you do not get cycling related dooberhickies.  No indeed.  Go on.  Google it.  I’ll wait (hint, don’t do it if you’re at work though).

Step 2.

Think, honest, how hard can it be?  All the cycling cuffs / trouser clips I’ve had in the past, and that I invariably lose, have been too narrow to be any use.  Because what I need is to keep my trousers in check, yes, but also to protect them from chain grease.  Also also, to reflect. Hoo boy, do I ever need my trouser clips / cycling cuff / dooberhickies to reflect.

Step 3.

Get distracted by what other things I can make reflect.

Step 4.

Gather your materials.  You will need:

  • Base fabric that is at least 40cm wide x 60cm long because you will cut four rectangular pieces about 40cm wide by 15cm tall;
  • Reflective ribbon, bias tape, grosgrain etc.  I have reflective grosgrain, which I bought from the internet;
  • Velcro: you will need two strips about 15cm long (NB, one strip should contain both hook and loop, if you know what I mean) My Velcro is not that wide (an inch), but I reckon the wider the Velcro, the better.
  • Thread; matching or contrasting.  Your call.
  • Sewing machine.  Or you can sew it by hand if you’re completely bonkers.  Up to you.

 

Step 5.

Cut your fabric: mine is approximately 15cm tall x 40 cm wide.  I could have gone narrower. You want enough to go around your ankles, trousers and shoes, with a bit of overlap for the Velcro.  Two pieces will be the outer pieces; two will be the lining, so you can cut them out of different fabrics if you are so inclined. I did not because I am lazy.

Step 6.

Mark the mid point of the two outer pieces of your fabric.  Then, divide each half in half again and mark that mid point.  This will be where your reflective ribbon runs.  You can either draw a line, or mark each end.  Whatever is easiest for you to know where to place the ribbon.  And if it’s a little off centre? I think you’ll live.

Step 7.

Line your reflective ribbon along your marks and pin pin pin.  The ribbon does not have to abut the edges because that’s your seam allowance.  I sew mostly with a 3/8″/1cm seam allowance because I’m comfortable with it, but you can do whatever makes you happy.  This is not precision sewing, my friends.

 

See? It reflects.  Yippee!

 

Step 8.

Edge stitch along each long edge of the ribbon.  I use my blind hem foot as it has a nifty little guide to keep me on the straight and narrow when edge stitching. (Straight and narrow.  Geddit?).  Sew sew sew.

Do not fear: I removed the pin before I started sewing.

Step 9.

Now sew your Velcro strips.  Line them up about an inch from the edge of your fabric, along the short end.  The hooks, especially, can be difficult to sew.  Just wrangle with it, sometimes pushing through your feed dogs, sometimes pulling, sometimes guiding with the hand wheel.  You can do it.

I sewed three strips: two on one edge and one on the other.  On one cuff, I sewed one loop and two hooks; on the other cuff, two loops and one hook.  This is so I can wear them over shoes, where it will just go around my bare legs, and also over calf height boots.

You could also sew one loop on the lining, and hook on the outer, but I like my way because it means I’m sewing quadrupled up fabric on the bit that will do the most duty.

Step 10.

Now, sew your lining pieces to your outer pieces.  Match them, right sides together.  If you sewed Velcro to a lining piece, make sure that it is opposite the Velcro on your outer piece, otherwise you will be wee bit annoyed when you have to unpick your sewing …

Leave an opening a few inches wide so you can turn your cuffs right side out.

Step 11.

Turn your cuffs right side out and push out each of the corners with a blunt pencil.  Now top stitch all the way around.

If you, like me, sewed Velcro to only the outer piece, then you need to fold it over so that it opposes the other Velcro, and then top stitch that down.

My reflective ribbon strips are a bit wonky.  Meh, whatever. Still shiny.

Step 12.

Press everything real good.

Step 13.

Put your ankle cuffs on, go ride your bike and REFLECT.  Ain’t no car driver gonna successfully claim they did not see ME.

by oanh

Reflective Belladone of Awesomeness 

There.  How was that for a title and a name of a dress? What is the thing with naming dresses anyway? And why do I always get distracted by questions, rather than just getting to the point?

Belladone has been in my WIP pile for a long, long time.  I got the pattern back in January, and in a burst of enthusiasm, traced my size (straight 36, if you’re wondering) *and* cut the fabric for it pretty much straight away.  I even knew exactly how I would bling it up, using bias binding I had made from my one and only (but very enthusiastic) use of my bias tape maker.  Then I hung it up amongst my WIP ‘pile’ (which I’ve always hung, in case you’re wondering about that too). 

Oh, and WIP stands for Work In Progress. In case that acronym has been bothering you.

And then I made 2 shift style Simple Modern Sewing Pattern 3a summer dresses, a Bali Cambie, a Citrusy Sureau, a couple of random never to be blogged no way nah uh you cannot make me tshirt sack dresses, an Eva dress, a few Maria Denmark Birgitte tees, two lady skaters, Colette Clovers, an avocado hoodie and a whole lotta little drawstring bags,and lo and behold, nigh on 11 months have passed.

Hey. I made a lot of stuff in that eleven months.  Well done, me.

Somehow, somewhere, talk of adding reflectivity to a dress happened.  It may have been the fault of Tin Lizzie who has made her own awesomely reflective dress.  At least, she started me talking about it.  It may have been one of those serendipitous, stars aligning with the moon during the age of reflective biking outfits, but Rachel of My Messings also wanted to make a reflective dress, and she thought the Belladone would be a good candidate for that, and I trusted her much greater sewing expertise and then we spent a while trying to persuade others to join us in our reflective Belladone endeavours.

It’s not too late.  You can still join us.  (Jooooiiiinnn Uuuuussss.)

And then we made our reflective Belladone dresses.  You can read all about Rachel’s here. The photos are fantastic aren’t they (I am a modest person).

Belladone without flash

Belladone with flash

There was so much grinning in my sewing room I thought I would be vacuuming up teeth and sparkles for months afterwards.

I did piping for the first time. Did I mention it was reflective piping? It is probably my favourite thing about this dress.  Now I must add reflective piping to All The Things.

Piping on the waistband.

By the way, dealing with reflective bias binding is a pain.  It is thick and you have to coax it (swearing may be required) along the feed dogs (that’s the name of the bumpy things under your sewing foot.  Honest.) My hot tip? Use a long stitch.  Swear a lot.

Rachel also helped me fit the back, with a bit of a cheat, hidden dart.  I will be learning how to rotate that dart out of the flat pattern in the near (oh, I do make myself laugh) future, for the next Belladone.  Because I will be making more of this dress.  And perhaps more of them will be reflective. Anyway, I’ve got to use all that rainbow plaid bias binding I made back in January.

Cheaters fitting dart.  Also known as genius.

Rachel also also helped me do a hand picked zipper.  It was a watershed moment.  Life before hand picked zippers, and life after.  One door closes, a window opens. Or something like that.  I did not even hate hand sewing while doing it (although I did machine sew a second line of stitching in the zipper seam allowance because I want a second line of defence in case my hand sewing doesn’t hold up to the rigours of being worn by me.)

Check out my totally not completely crap hand sewing! 

AND THEN we went for a bike ride.  To get frozen yoghurt. In our reflective Belladone dresses.  And the angels sung, and fireworks lit the skies, and cherubic children blew bubbles.  Also, a few people did double takes when we cycled past them and one young couple were hellbent on getting their puppy run over, first by Rachel, then by me and – because Rachel and I did not oblige and instead swerved to avoid them – tried to let their puppy run in front of a car.  Some people should not be allowed puppies.

At the puppy nursey, the puppy guardian should ask, “Do you intend to let this sweet, innocent but very silly creature run in front of bikes and/or cars?”  If prospective puppy parents say, “Yo.  Sure.  Why not?” Then the puppy guardian will say, “You are never allowed a puppy.  Not now.  Not ever.  You may only say Yo ironically.  Be gone.”

Me, bike wrangling.  Also, the only shot of the front of the dress.  It’s not as awesome as the back.

Rachel’s Belladone in action.

Where was I? Oh yes. Reflective Belladone. It made us happy.

(This photo stolen from Rachel’s Instagram feed.  Please forgive me, Rachel.)