Replacing Elastic Straps

[hateclowns]

I need to replace the straps on my PAW knee pads, since the elastic is beyond stretched to death.

Unlike most other potential sewing jobs I've looked at, I haven't seen an obvious way of replacing.  The straps are already sewn inside the pads, so it isn't a "sew new straps to the material where the old ones attached." 

Besides attaching a new strap to a small piece of the old / connected strap, is there another method that doesn't involve opening up the pads entirely?

 

[creasecollector]

Maybe overlay new material on top of the old elastic so you can still keep the original connection point? Or fold it over and sew it together to tighten it up for now?

[dreadlocked1]

I would email PAW and ask her. 

[ArdeFIN]

That is sort of design not meant to be replaced or refurbished. If the furryvelcro ever got ripped out it also requires you to open the pad to get the sewing done. Or sew through padding and all but that is the quick'n'dirty method.

Is the edge in line with strap covered with binding? Openin the binding would get you to the seam where the strap is in?

The old rubberstrap is old, while you could move it to have a working part in use or tighten it up, it's still the old strap and will not last long. Replacing is the way to go.

[Puckstopper]

14 hours ago, hateclowns said:

Besides attaching a new strap to a small piece of the old / connected strap, is there another method that doesn't involve opening up the pads entirely?

I've done this twice with a pair of Brian's kneepads and it's worked out fine.  I left about 3" of the old elastic, folded it over, ran a stitch along it to keep in place,  and then sewed the new elastic to the old tab.

A couple of tips, having been through it twice:

1.  Use a contrasting color thread to attach the new velcro to the old.  This will make it easier if you have to correct a mistake or rip out the stitches down the road.

2.  Use a double layer of elastic for extra durability.  After re-doing my kneepads the first time and having that "like new" feeling, I wanted them tighter in just about 9 months.  Having doubled the elastic the second time they've stayed nice and snug for over 2 years now.

3.  Attach your velcro to the new strap before you attach the strap to the kneepad.   Seems obvious, but I did it the other way the first time and it was a PITA. 

4.  Use the right materials.  Again, seems obvious but investing a couple bucks in nylon thread and better elastic will make sure your repair works as intended.

Best of luck!

[hateclowns]

On 10/23/2020 at 4:27 AM, ArdeFIN said:

That is sort of design not meant to be replaced or refurbished. If the furryvelcro ever got ripped out it also requires you to open the pad to get the sewing done. Or sew through padding and all but that is the quick'n'dirty method.

Is the edge in line with strap covered with binding? Openin the binding would get you to the seam where the strap is in?

The old rubberstrap is old, while you could move it to have a working part in use or tighten it up, it's still the old strap and will not last long. Replacing is the way to go.

Yeah, the integrity of the internal seam was a question mark for me.  These pads are I think 8 years old, so I have no clue how well that holds up over time.

On 10/23/2020 at 9:19 AM, Puckstopper said:

I've done this twice with a pair of Brian's kneepads and it's worked out fine.  I left about 3" of the old elastic, folded it over, ran a stitch along it to keep in place,  and then sewed the new elastic to the old tab.

A couple of tips, having been through it twice:

1.  Use a contrasting color thread to attach the new velcro to the old.  This will make it easier if you have to correct a mistake or rip out the stitches down the road.

2.  Use a double layer of elastic for extra durability.  After re-doing my kneepads the first time and having that "like new" feeling, I wanted them tighter in just about 9 months.  Having doubled the elastic the second time they've stayed nice and snug for over 2 years now.

3.  Attach your velcro to the new strap before you attach the strap to the kneepad.   Seems obvious, but I did it the other way the first time and it was a PITA. 

4.  Use the right materials.  Again, seems obvious but investing a couple bucks in nylon thread and better elastic will make sure your repair works as intended.

Best of luck!

I kind of figured making a tab would be the way to go for now.   Though I was thinking of some options for future swaps.  So instead of sewing a new strap to the old strap / tab, I might add a connector to the tab - quick clip or one of those plastic rectangular pass-throughs for straps.  This way if the tab's seam does hold up, I can just replace the straps as needed without having to mess with the tab.

On 10/22/2020 at 11:20 PM, dreadlocked1 said:

I would email PAW and ask her. 

 I had thought about that briefly, then thought it might be kind of rude to ask how to avoid giving Sara more money.  She very well might not take it that way, but I was playing it politeness-safe.

I did think about contacting PAW about sending them in for strap replacement.  But based on the replacement strap prices, labor rates, and shipping costs, I'd probably just put those costs into replacing the knee pads completely.

If like Arde said, the internal seam doesn't hold up, I might then look into opening them up.  But more likely I might just buy a new set of knee pads.  Sara's stuff is fantastic, so while I'd like to make my money go further, I also don't mind supporting a great product.

[Colander]

2 hours ago, hateclowns said:

...I  kind of figured making a tab would be the way to go for now.   Though I was thinking of some options for future swaps.  So instead of sewing a new strap to the old strap / tab, I might add a connector to the tab - quick clip or one of those plastic rectangular pass-throughs for straps.  This way if the tab's seam does hold up, I can just replace the straps as needed without having to mess with the tab.

If you do this, I would leave say a 3-inch tab and sew a Velcro patch to it. Then you can make straps with the matching Velcro at both ends. Then if you have the elastic wear out or want to try different colours/sizes/elasticity it's an easy swap.

Also, I don't like using plastic clips near a possible impact point. A random shot at best could break it or worse drive the clip into some part of you

[hateclowns]

  

On 10/23/2020 at 1:52 PM, Colander said:

If you do this, I would leave say a 3-inch tab and sew a Velcro patch to it. Then you can make straps with the matching Velcro at both ends. Then if you have the elastic wear out or want to try different colours/sizes/elasticity it's an easy swap.

Also, I don't like using plastic clips near a possible impact point. A random shot at best could break it or worse drive the clip into some part of you

Yeah I realized a quick clip wasn't the way to go, more for the functionality than safety.  I'm still more likely to just use a rectangular plastic buckle.  I've been using plastic clips on my pads for years, so while something can definitely go wrong, it's worth the convenience for me.

Side question - in the past, any sewing I've done has been a) not very good and b) using whatever thread I found laying around.  I know for the Speedy Stitcher it's got that heavy duty stuff, but what is a recommended thread style for smaller needles?  I was thinking upholstery would be strong.

[ArdeFIN]

That "O" plastic ring would work pretty well too, you get the new elastic strap doubled if you use the original velcro. 

The elastic strap itself is pretty strong, so when the elasticity is gone the strap acts like normal nylon, thinner and weaker but for many spots strong enough to do the job. Like here, O-buckle and the ex-elastic doubled and sewn together might get the job done pretty well.

The elastic strap is awailable in many different types varying in every way from color to elasticity to thickness. The thick hockey gear elastic is pretty hard to find usually and many of the normal elastics aren't going to last that long in hockey gear.

All that said I'd sent PAW a message asking for the strap renewal. Just to know how much. It can be expensive but then you know it's worth doing yourself before getting to buy a whole new pair.

Edit: for thread question. I use 20 size threads of nylon or polypropylene if I remember right, I'll check that when I go to my "workshop". I also have size 10 but that is a bit thick to use, thicker than the original hockey gear thread is. 20 is a tad thinner. No wool or any organic I'd suggest, only nylon or polypropylene etc. 

Needle size is in direct regard to thread size. You can search the web for spreadsheet of sizes.

Edit2: this is what I mostly use with my sewing machine:

And here's the rack of used colors, the dark blue is "extra" but has had it's times of use too. Black and white can do the most.

 

[Colander]

Just to add to @ArdeFIN's comments above, I seem to recall reading that you want to use polyester (as he has) as it is good in wet-environments.

[Quadzilla32]

OP whatever you do please post some pictures. I too have a pair of 8+ year old PAW knee pads and they have held up great but like yours the elastic strapping is all but useless at holding the knee pad up. Right now I use them to kind of hold the knee pad in place but put socks over them then tape around the top and bottom. 

[creasecollector]

17 hours ago, Quadzilla32 said:

OP whatever you do please post some pictures. I too have a pair of 8+ year old PAW knee pads and they have held up great but like yours the elastic strapping is all but useless at holding the knee pad up. Right now I use them to kind of hold the knee pad in place but put socks over them then tape around the top and bottom. 

+1 

Pictures would be great if/when you find a solution that works for you OP.

[hateclowns]

Will do.

The downside is I am awful at this, so it will be unlikely that I will have amazing results.

On the other hand, if I can get anything sort of fixed, it will mean anyone can do it.

[hateclowns]

On 10/25/2020 at 11:17 AM, ArdeFIN said:

That "O" plastic ring would work pretty well too, you get the new elastic strap doubled if you use the original velcro. 

The elastic strap itself is pretty strong, so when the elasticity is gone the strap acts like normal nylon, thinner and weaker but for many spots strong enough to do the job. Like here, O-buckle and the ex-elastic doubled and sewn together might get the job done pretty well.

The elastic strap is awailable in many different types varying in every way from color to elasticity to thickness. The thick hockey gear elastic is pretty hard to find usually and many of the normal elastics aren't going to last that long in hockey gear.

All that said I'd sent PAW a message asking for the strap renewal. Just to know how much. It can be expensive but then you know it's worth doing yourself before getting to buy a whole new pair.

Edit: for thread question. I use 20 size threads of nylon or polypropylene if I remember right, I'll check that when I go to my "workshop". I also have size 10 but that is a bit thick to use, thicker than the original hockey gear thread is. 20 is a tad thinner. No wool or any organic I'd suggest, only nylon or polypropylene etc. 

Needle size is in direct regard to thread size. You can search the web for spreadsheet of sizes.

Edit2: this is what I mostly use with my sewing machine:

And here's the rack of used colors, the dark blue is "extra" but has had it's times of use too. Black and white can do the most.

 

Also I forgot to reply to this - thanks a lot for the info.

So it seems the lower the weight, the thicker / stronger it is relatively.  I had purchased some nylon upholstery thread on a whim, which turns out to be a 40 weight.  I'll see how that goes when playing around with testing the awl, and see if I want something stronger.

[hateclowns]

This was my first time with a Speedy Stitcher, or basically using anything that wasn't a normal needle, thread, and "I guess this is how you make a stitch" technique.  So not the most aesthetically gorgeous result, but not bad for my first real attempt. 

The most important thing is it came out how I needed it to, and if/when I need to replace the straps in the future, it's set up to involve less steps next time.

Not fully having what those in the industry might call "a plan", I bought a bunch of stuff off Amazon that looked like they might come in handy.  Good news is I didn't wind up with anything that will go to waste.  Even some strapping pieces with velcro meant to hang cables and stuff in the garage I thought might work (they didn't) will be able to be used for their intended purpose.

Anyway, to continue the "this is way too many words to talk about knee pads" journey:

For the four "bases", I cut the old straps, leaving about 1.5 inches from the original seams.    I found a set on Amazon that had plastic connectors and nylon strapping, that was like seat belt material.  I folded the original strap over one side of the tri glide, and covered it with the nylon webbing, then stitched it up.

 

 

Instead of stitching a single layer to the tri glide for the strap, I looped it through so it's double-layered.  I added the nylon base for the strap as well.

 

 

One thing worth mentioning.  I started out lazy, and just cut off the velcro from the old strap, without removing the old strap it was attached to.  Just stitched the whole thing to the new strap.  This would have been fine except this made it a bit too bulky for the lower straps to fit through the inside-knee slot.  So for the lower straps I removed the velcro piece entirely from the old strap, before adding it to the new strap.  As you can (sort of) see in the pic above, it makes a decent size difference.

If I need to replace these straps in the future, I'll use new velcro patches.

I sized the straps to be on the tighter end - they fit great now, but as they loosen over time I will have more room on the velcro to tighten them.

 

So @Quadzilla32 and maybe @creasecollector, these are definitely fixable.  And if you have done any mods in the past, this shouldn't take you much time at all.  Even with my trial and error and lack of skills, this was a couple hours to finish.

 

backwards knee pads for maximum triggering