what fabric to use for a dogi?

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[Willow]

greetings,

I am wanting to make my own dogi, however I am having a difficult time figuring out what type of fabric would be best and finding a location to purchase such fabric. I have looked at three fabric stores in my area and none contain appropriate fabric for a dogi. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

arigato
willow

[Janet Rosen]

Hi Willow.
You cannot find the fabric used for judogi for sale in the US unless you are willing to buy a bolt, in which case you can find somebody to act as a middleman between you and the mills in Pakistan where it is all woven. The minimum order last time I checked was 50 meters. If you decide you want to go that route, I can probably put you in touch with a jujitsu school/gi maker who would be an honest intermediary.
What I have found useful substitutions are natural undyed hemp or organic cotton, in either twill or herringbone weaves. There are a number of companies selling them online retail by the yard.
I have bought hemp from http://www.hempbasics.com/
and both hemp and cotton from http://www.nearseanaturals.com/
I have NEVER seen a good gi fabric in a local fabric store, even here in the SF area.

[maxwelljones]

I've considered doing this myself, but of course, the material used in a judo uwagi is unlike anything else I've ever seen. It's designed to be strong enough to not rip when someone uses it to throw you. The trousers are made of a comparatively lightweight fabric like the cotton twill mine are made of; their purpose is to protect your legs from the surface of the mat.

I can't speak from experience, but many people wear karategi for aikido. The uwagi are made from the same material as the trousers: a cotton canvas or twill. You could probably make a good karategi on your own.

[Willow]

greetings, thank you for the information.

Janet, I would greatly appreciate any information you could give me on how to get in touch with the mill in Pakistan for in the future. Currently, I think that I will go with some hemp fabric for a temporary solution.
Thank you again,
-willow