While most of my favorite homemade or modified bike projects come off the milling machine, many are done with a sewing machine instead. My fabric projects fall mostly into two categories, adding reflective tape to road outerwear or improving cool/cold weather clothing. This project is in the latter camp.
I've long enjoyed Nike's running shirts as road undershirts or mountain bike shirts. They make a long-sleeve running shirt that I really like, featuring excellent fabric and visibility. The bright orange is great for hunting season, and it has sleeve reflectors that I'd like to see on my road clothes. The only drawback is that I heat up a lot while riding, and Nike's design has no zipper at all. My favorite road jerseys have full zippers so they can be opened completely when needed.
I decided to add a full zipper to this shirt. I have limited sewing experience and am self-taught since a short class in 7th grade. This project was somewhat tricky because the Nike fabric is a very stretchy synthetic, while basic sewing technique assumes rigid materials that can be ironed, such as cotton. I've been developing some techniques for this over the years, and I have access to a rather good sewing machine for difficult fabrics.
Finding the zipper proved harder than I'd expected. A coarse, jacket-style zipper was easy to find, and that's what I used in the end. I searched the internet for a finer one, more like the excellent one used on Assos jerseys. I couldn't find anything like this, except for a hint that there are more options available for mass-production style work. Maybe another time I'll explore buying continuous zipper by the foot and assembling its termination components myself.
I'm happy with the results. For this project I wanted a wide final stitch to prevent fraying and distribute forces from the stretchy fabric, but the stitch itself doesn't need to stretch because the zipper tape can't. I found a stitch on the sewing machine that I'd never used before, and I really like both its look and technical properties in this application.Like most successful projects, I learned a bit and had fun doing it, then wound up with a piece of equipment that will help me for a long time. All these benefits are the justification for the time spent doing the work.
