I love reading amateur BJJ Blogs. Since JuJitsu Gis (sometimes referred to as a Kimono) cost to much money (over $90 for a medium-quality Gi), I’ve been trying to find a way to sew a Gi myself.
It needs to be tough, since the material is grabbed, pulled and worn constantly. Taekwondo, Kung-Fu or Kempo Gis are made mainly to be worn as clothing. In JuJitsu and Judo, the material is used as a way of bringing someone to the ground, controlling the other person’s movements or submitting them.
Searching for “JuJitsu Fabric” or “Judo fabric” brought up a TON of companies from Alibaba.com based in places like Pakistan or China. I was surprise a lot of these companies are familiar with the different weaves of fabric. Some companies even offered “Pearl Weave”, which is a higher quality of weave- it looks like a bumpy surface. I think it wicks sweat better and moves over the skin better?
Most JuJitsu Gi jackets are listed as different weaves and weights: single weave, double weave and golden weave. Single weave is lighter, cooler, wears quicker, cheaper and easier for the opponent to grab. Double weave is obviously thicker, hotter and harder to grab. For some tournaments, double-weave Gis are required. I even found some rules specifying the Gi cannot be torn or have holes. (Makes sense- imagine breaking a finger because it got caught in an opponent’s old pair of pants during a match)
The downside is most of the companies require 30-100 units in an order at $35-80 for a complete Gi- and that is before shipping. I bought a product from China and the shipping for a small box was only a couple dollars. Hopefully I can find a company that will ship me fabric for cheap.
I haven’t been able to find anyone online that walks through the process of sewing their own Gi. The closest I found was a mom noting she bought a pattern and used white denim, commenting on the pattern that “my son loves it- it snaps when he punches”; but that doesn’t sound like a grappling Gi. All I can find are people looking for patterns and others being told they will need to use an industrial sewing machine.