Wetsuit Alterations/Sewing

[JamesBon92007]

This seems like the best place to ask...

Anyone got any tips on altering a wetsuit? Or how to sew a wetsuit? On my old Harvey suits it appears that the machine that sewed it only penetrates the very top of the nylon/neoprene and it is stitched from both sides. On a newer Parkway suit it looks like they just sewed all the way through using some kind of Zig-Zag stitch. Is a special sewing machine normally used? I modified my old suit by gluing it back together with wet suit glue and stitching by hand but it only needed a little reduction at the calves.

The Parkway suit is one I got from Craig's List for almost nothing and it's just a bit too big but it's a lot stretchier than my old wetsuit plus the jacket is more like a shorty suit with long sleeves instead of a beavertail. Another problem is it feels like it needs a Ball Diamond, i.e. an extra diamond-shaped piece in the crotch. Otherwise I think I'm going to need a jock strap. My old suit has the extra piece in the crotch and is much more comfortable.

Thanks.

James

 

[knowone]

Seems like you should stop shaking them and just stir. Wetsuit shop glue hidden stitch cheap No fuss No muss.

 

[spectrum]

JamesBon92007

Being in CA you do have access to some neoprene tailoring talent and may want to take advantage of that.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I just want to see what I can do myself before spending any money. That green stuff has been more difficult to come by lately.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Yes, there is a special sewing machine that does a "blind stitch" in only the top part--more expensive but you don't pump water through the suit.

SeaRat

 

[duckbill]

You can do it by hand with a curved needle.

 

[spectrum]

I just want to see what I can do myself before spending any money. That green stuff has been more difficult to come by lately.

Then it's just an extension of what you have already done.

Remember that neoprene is a 3D material. Make clean perpendicular cuts and don't squish it when marrying the parts with cement. Just bump the uncompressed material together and progressively push the seams together. If you press down you will get a thin seam that is weak and won't sew well. Time is your friend with the cement. It gets a good bond instantly but after 24 hours it will take the stress of further work better.

Pay a lot of attention to the dry fit stage and use match marks to keep the bonding on target.

You can blind stitch with a curved needs. Usually, once cemented you can actually just pinch the seal a little and scoot across the seam with a straight needle.

Have fun,
Pete

 

[JamesBon92007]

Sounds like it should keep me busy for a while! If I stick to the orange colored thread that's already on it I think I should be able to see what I'm doing and end up with a good-looking stitch. The match marks are an excellent idea--I probably would not have thought of that. Meanwhile it seems that someone dumped 500,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ocean so I can take my time with the wetsuit.

 

[duckbill]

I think they just say that to thin the beach crowds now and then.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I cut apart one of my suits and completely re-fit it.

I ordered a custom suit from a guy down in Long Beach and the fit left a little to be desired (completely my fault for giving him the wrong measurements).
Anyway, I ended up cutting both sides of the top all the way up the sides and down the arms along the seams basically separating the suit in two pieces except for the attached hood. I removed neoprene in selectd areas and glued it back together. I was going to send it to someone to have it re-blind stiched or I was going to sit in front of the TV night after night and do it by hand, but I got lazy and it never happened.
That was about a year ago and I have been using the suit ever since without any stiching, just glued and it has held up fine.
In fact, I heard that stitching can cause suits to begin to tear at the holes where the thread goes in. I think the only reason they do it is because they don't want the nylon outer fabric to fray and look ugly. Personally I don't care about how the nylon looks. In fact I wish it wasn't there. I'd like it if it was skin inside and out if I had my choice, but that type of material is hard to find.

What I did was to put 2 coats on each side and let each coat dry for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then I slammed it together and put as much pressure on the seams as I could bonding them together. Be careful though, you only get one chance so make sure you stick it together where you want it.

Hot tip: using I white stabilo pencil to mark registration points at various spots along the seam really helps and removes a lot of guesswork.