Help - itching inseams!
 

Okay, I know this question is only remotely connected with Europe, but there's a great wealth of knowledge amongst people who post here.

I (female, 45) recently bought two pairs of slacks (two of the same kind) for a trip I'm making next month to France and Belgium.

After wearing one pair all day yesterday, I find the upper inseams have chafed my legs like crazy. In the past when I've had this problem I just threw the slacks away in frustration, but there has to be a better solution. Any ideas? As I write this I'm wearing a pair of jogging shorts under my slacks just to stop the chafing, but that's not a practical or long-term solution.

Could a tailor do anything about this?

All advice welcome. Many thanks.

Vorkuta, in nicer terms but with the same opinion, I would say, rayon/cheaper fabrics can be very itchy/irritating to tender skin.
Sometimes it can just be the thread they use.
I cannot think of any way to avoid this distress unless you wear long panties/girdles kind of things to protect your skin or take them back.
I ... would take them back.

Maybe a pair of those silk underalls - the thigh-length ones - would work?

I'm not much of a seamstress, but it should be possible to have the seams bound -- tacked down and covered --with some kind of non-irritating tape.

I've found that even in expensive clothes, that some seams are stitched with plastic threads that cause me to itch, so I always check before purchase. I also must put masking tape over th metal closure of my jeans. I'm allergic to the metal. One reason I don't wear earrings, they must be 18K. I bought myself a pair years ago and lost one the first day I wore them.

Try a big slab of axle grease. If that don't work, buy bigger pants.

Degas is kind of on the right track. One temporary solution: get a bar of mild soap (nothing heavily perfumed) and rub it (dry, no water) over the inseams pretty heavily. It will coat the irritating fabric/threads.
The permanent solution is to junk the slacks, of course, but the soap may help in the meantime.

ROTFL Degas :-d

Take a pair of pantyhose and cut off the legs at a level below the chafing zone. Hose with runs or holes in feet are fine. Cheap, easy, lightweight.

That's what I have done and also to use with clothing that needs a sleek line with no panty-line showing. However some pantyhose roll up when you cut the legs off making the problem worse.

Actually, Eloise had something there. Some tailors used to line hems & seams with lace or other soft trim. It was for the sheer luxury for the woman -knowing the detailing was there. But I have done it by hand and it solved the problem. I used a soft jersey cotton or silk- about 1-2" wide. If the pants are otherwise a good fit and comfortable (breathable) to wear for a long and active day, it may be worth the effort to simply line the seams.

simply line the seams???
You must move here!

Often the seam is overlocked with polyester thread, which can be irritating. You can pull out the overlock but make sure the inseam does not go with it.

Gosh, I am amazed again by what I learn on the Fodor's forum.

cigalechanta- did I sound like that? It is quite a bit of work. I figure you sit down with some good music or a movie and you just sew from waist to knee. I guess I find it almost theraputic work.
If the fabric does not breathe for an entire day of exploring, I would toss 'em. The other alternative- better for me than tights or pantyhose, would be Coolmax leggings as a liner.
Cheers. :)

I meant it as a compliment. I'm not a seamstress( Sp?). I once bought the most beautiful moss green pané
velvet robe, lined with pach crepe de chine, at a church fare(flea market) I wore that robe for years and always felt great wearing it.

All of this talk about sewing impresses me! I am lucky to get a simple button sewn on correctly. Usually I will labor for hours over something only to find out I sewed it inside out :(

Author: hopscotch
Date: 09/19/2004, 12:20 am
Message:

Gosh, I am amazed again by what I learn on the Fodor's forum.


Yea, I know what you mean Hopscotch. For example who ever knew that axle grease comes in slabs?

Thanks everybody for your helpful ideas.

I have taken the slacks to a tailor, who said that the thread used to stitch the inseams is unusually rough. He is going to re-stitch them. I'll keep my fingers crossed, because in other respects the slacks are excellent. (And no, they're not too small...I like loose-fitting clothing.)

When I posted this question a few days ago, the first reply was a hurtful barb from a well-known person on this forum. I see that that reply has been deleted. Is it possible to delete one's own posts? (Though that would indicate that this person had a crisis of conscience, which seems unlikely). Or maybe there's a sympathetic forum referee...in which case, many thanks for deleting that unnecessary and hurtful post. To the rest of you, thanks for restoring my faith in human nature.

I'm glad to see that Fodor's is finally starting to take some action against some of Mr. Kingdom's venomous responses. It really is tiresome.