Four-way stretch, seams placed for the apparatus
Gymnastics: a leotard is judged on how it stays put through a routine
A leotard has more in common with a wrestling singlet than with anything else we make: a single stretch garment with almost no seams, worn tight, printed edge to edge. What is different is the movement. A gymnast inverts, twists and lands, and the leotard has to stay exactly where it was through all of it.
That puts the specification into the leg opening, the neckline and the strap, because those are the three places a leotard shifts.
Where a leotard moves, and how we stop it
The leg opening is the first. Cut too high it rides; cut too low it looks wrong; bound with a folded hem it rolls. We bind the leg opening with a stretch binding that grips without an elastic, in the design colour, and we cut it to the club’s preference within the range the judging rules allow.
The neckline and strap are the second. A neckline that gaps in a handstand is a pattern fault, and the fix is in the drafting: the front is cut slightly shorter than a standing figure suggests, so it lies flat inverted. Straps are bound the same way as the leg, and on a competition leotard they are often a mesh or a contrast panel, which we sublimate as part of the design rather than sew on.
The knit is a four-way stretch polyester-spandex that returns to shape, and every leotard is sublimated for the same reason a singlet is: a printed design on a stretch knit cracks along the stretch, and a dyed one does not.
What we make for a club
- Competition leotard
- Long or short sleeve, full design, mesh or contrast panels sublimated in. Sized per gymnast.
- Training leotard
- Sleeveless or cap sleeve, simpler design, ordered in larger quantities for the daily session.
- Men’s singlet
- A competition singlet with matching shorts or stirrup pants, cut to the apparatus rules.
- Warm-ups
- Jacket and pants for between rotations. $59.99 a piece, in the club design.
- Sizing
- Child through adult from separate blocks, by height and torso length rather than by age.
- Turnaround
- Two to three weeks from approved artwork. Stretch fabric is cut slowly.
Rhinestones and where the design should stop
Competition leotards are often finished with rhinestones or a metallic panel. We do not apply rhinestones, and we say so plainly, because a stone applied in a factory and a stone applied by a club’s own finisher are different jobs and the second is usually better. What we do is leave the design clean where stones are going, so a finisher has a flat surface.
Metallic and foil effects we reproduce in sublimation as a printed effect rather than a real foil, because a real foil on a stretch knit cracks. The mockup shows which is which, so a club is not surprised.
Sizing a squad
Height and torso, per gymnast
Not age. Two gymnasts of the same age are frequently two sizes apart.
Three tried on
Small, middle and large gymnast in three sizes, then the rest placed. It is ten minutes and it is accurate.
Growth over a season
Order for the competition month, not the ordering month, and hold one spare in the middle sizes.
Training in quantity
Training leotards are worn daily. Order more than one per gymnast.
What we make for gymnastics, and what it costs
Prices are per piece and include the design work. Every garment has a minimum of 10 pieces; sizes can be mixed within it. A garment marked quoted is priced per order, because its cut and design coverage change the work.
| Garment | What it is | Per piece | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gymnastics Leotards | Competition and training leotards in four-way stretch, sublimated to the club design. | quoted | 10 pcs |
| Men's Gymnastics Singlets & Shorts | Singlet with matching shorts or stirrup pants, cut to the apparatus rules. | quoted | 10 pcs |
| Gymnastics Warm-Ups | Jacket and pants worn between rotations, in the club colours. | $59.99 $84.49 | 10 pcs |
Gymnastics questions
Do you apply rhinestones?
No, and we say so up front. We leave the design flat where stones are going so a club’s finisher has a clean surface.
Will the leg opening roll?
No. It is bound with a stretch binding rather than a folded hem, which is what rolls.
Can the straps be mesh?
Yes, as a sublimated mesh or contrast panel that is part of the design.
Do you make men’s gymnastics kit?
Yes — singlets with shorts or stirrup pants, cut to the apparatus rules.
How do we size a leotard?
By height and torso length rather than by age, with three gymnasts tried on and the rest placed from them.
What do warm-ups cost?
$59.99 a piece for a jacket or pants, reduced from $84.49.
What is the minimum?
Ten pieces of one garment. Ten training leotards in ten sizes is fine.
Will the design crack when the leotard stretches?
No. It is dyed into the fibre and stretches with it.
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