DIY Home Gym Equipment

By Gavin Worth

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY.

Table of contents
• Supply list/description of instructions (slide #0)
• "The sewing machine" (slide #1-2)
• Project #1, part 1, weighted bags (slides #3-10)
• Project #1, part 2, kettle bell bag (slides #10-18)
• Project #2, Weighted vest (slides #19-30)
0
Supplies list
-Two fabrics one thicker and more durable and one thinner and easier to sew
(preferably recycled material), I chose old towels and bed sheets
-up to 50lb of gravel (unwashed is significantly cheaper)
-scissors
-fabric pen
-thread
All instructions in this manual will be
-seem ripper explained using scaled orthographic
-sewing machine drawings on graph paper and written
-ruler explanations alongside
-scale
1 Sewing machines are expensive

-A sewing machine is a big-ticket item, new ones can be

many hundreds of dollars
-Buying used is the best option on a budget, functional
used sewing machines can be bought for just around
100$ as shown
-resale is always an option if you no longer need a sewing
machine when done
-If you choose to keep it, it’s a great tool to have in the
house from clothing repairs to making curtains they are
very versatile tools

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

2
Getting to know
the sewing
machine
-Before starting this project I hadn't touched a
sewing machine in over 5 years, and it's safe
to say I picked it up very easily
-Once you understand the basics you'll be set
to make pretty much anything you want, and
the techniques used in these projects are very
beginner friendly
-to get started in understanding the basics I've
linked a video bellow which will be useful

https://youtu.be/oD_KpZm7OaM
tps://youtu.be/oD_KpZm7OaMe/oD_KpZm7OaM
3
Item #1 DIY adjustable
kettle bells
-The most expensive item in a gym, dumbbells and
kettle bells can go for upwards of 2$ per pound
-A standard home gym has weights that go up to 50lb in
5lb increments, if you do the math that’s about 550$
before tax
-You could always go buy adjustable dumbbells but
that’s still about 200$ before tax. I was able DIY this
item for well under 50$.
4
Part #1 Weighted bean
bags
The first half of this tutorial is going to focus on the
creation of the weight itself, or the (bean bags)
What you'll need
-sewing machine and thread
-thin recycled fabric (old bed sheets works well)
-up to 50lb in smooth gravel (to prevent tears in your
material)
-scale
-scissors
-Fabric marker or pencil
-ruler
 5

-First trace out a 6.5" by 13" rectangle on your

material using a marker and ruler, note that these
dimensions include space for error while sewing so
there's no need to make them extra large

-then cut out the material with scissors following the

lines traced on the material as a guide
 6
-Once your material is cut to size lay it
vertically and fold in half from top to
bottom

-Your material (folded) should now look like

this with the new dimensions as follows

-now is also a good time to do a quick cleanup

of edges if any cuts were off by a bit (make
sure the fabric retains its square shape)
 -Now sew both vertical open sides shut, 7
keeping as close to the edge of the
fabric as possible

-double back at the start and end of

each stich to prevent the s thread from
coming loose

-once done sewing cut off the excess threading and flip the bag inside out,
pushing out the corners fully from the inside so that the bag again makes a
square shape
 (Note that in these next steps the square is now slightly taller
than is wide, this is normal and due to the technique being 8
used)
-Now sew halfway across the top leaving only
half of it open (this will make the filling step
much easier)

-depending on the gravel you purchased you may

need to wash it before this step, if so a colander
and hose outdoors works best

-Once the gravel is clean and dry measure out 2lb

as close as you can, a few grams off isn't an issue

-some scales only do grams and kg so if that’s the

case you are looking for 907 grams
9
-Now funnel the weighed gravel into the
bag and try push all of it to the far side of
where you are going to sew to make
stitching it up easier

-using one had, try keep the gravel out of

the path of the needle while keeping your
hands safe as well

-sew up the remaining section of the bag

once again doubling back at the
beginning and end of the stich to prevent
the threading from coming loose
10
-clean up excess threading with scissors
and then you are done

-there is more than likely to be

inconsistencies in the size of your bags
but all that matters is that the weight is
consistent, and the quality of your
stiches are consistent

-make up to how ever many bags you

see fit but for a beginner 20lb total
should be a good start
11
Part #2 Kettle bell/bag
-As this kettle bell/bag will be taking a lot of weight it is important
to state now that all stiches on this item should be gone over
twice if not three times to promote the longevity of its use

• What you'll need

• -sewing machine and thread
• -thick recycled fabric (old towels works well)
• -scissors
• -Fabric marker or pencil
• -ruler
 12
-Start by tracing out a 42x13” rectangle on your
fabric

-once again, these dimensions account for minor

errors down the line so no need to cut larger than
this
-cut out the material with scissors ensuring that
you follow your guidelines traced on

-This thicker fabric may be more difficult to cut so

take your time to prevent any large errors or
injuries
-Now with your material laying 13
vertical fold it in half from bottom to
top

-your material should now look like

the image to the right with the
dimensions listed

-you can now cut any excess fabric or

errors that don’t line up in this step,
making sure the rectangle retains its
squared corners
 14

-With the same orientation as all prior

steps sew the two sides shut 13 inches up
from the bottom as shown in the diagram

-your stich should be pretty consistently

half an inch from the edge of the fabric

-once again go over these stiches 2-3 times

to ensure they are strong
 -now fold the wider 8-inch section
at the top inwards in half on both
sides

-for reference the picture to the

right is what the result will look
like

-the fabric should now look like

the diagram to the right with the
dimensions listed

15
-Now sew two rectangles within one of the doubled up sections
as shown

-The outer rectangle should be as close to the edge as possible

-the inner rectangle is up to you, this will be the size of the

handle so you can adjust the size to your own hand

-it is very important that all these stiches are gone over 3 or 4
times

-once you’ve completed one handle stitching move to the other

side that’s doubled up and do the same

-once again final product to the left for reference 16

-once again, this next step is reliant on
how big you want your handles

-using scissors cut out a rounded whole

following relatively close to your
stiches from earlier

-do this for both individually handles

doing your best to make them, line up
when done

-you can trance the whole of your first

cut on top the handle behind for better
accuracy
17
-Your product should look something like
this

-now is a good time to test your dumbbells

strength, load it up with weight and try
swing it around a bit

-if you hear tearing or ripping, your stiches

were most likely not strong enough, this
happened to me the first time

-luckily, the materials are very cheap, so you

can always start again
18
19
Item #2 Weighted vest

Once again, since this item will be holding weight its recommended that
you double up all stiches to prevent tears

• What you'll need

• -sewing machine and thread
• -thick recycled fabric (old towels works well)
• -scissors
• -Fabric marker or pencil
• -ruler
• -up to 20 pounds of gravel
• -scale
-first using scissors, cut out a 50x24 inch piece 20
of thick fabric making sure your cuts are
square

-Note that room for error is accounted for

once again so don’t cut the fabric larger than
this
-now cut a hole with a 10" diameter (or
whatever size hole suites your neck
comfortably) centered on the fabric

-To find the center you can draw two straight

lines from the halfway point on both sides of
the fabric as shown
 21
-Cut out another rectangle
using thick fabric, this time
28x18"

-once again room for error is

accounted for

-then fold the fabric from

bottom to top in half, your
fabrics dimensions should
now look as shown in the
second photo
23

-now sew all edges shut, sewing as close to

the edge as possible

-these stiches don’t necessarily have to be

doubled up as this fabric will be sewed
again later
 24

-All stiches from here on out should be

gone over 2-3 times

-now sew that rectangle centered on the

larger piece, covering your neck hole

-for reference the distance the rectangle

should be from all sides is shown in the
diagram
-Using scissors cut out a 25
hole through the newly
stitched fabric that lines up
with the original hole cut
out (shown on the left)

-Than stich a new rectangle

through both layers of
fabric, staying close to the
circles cut (shown to the
right)

-once you’ve completed

those steps flip the material
over to the other side
26
-Cut out two pieces -Stich each piece at
of thick fabric with each end of the
14x24” dimensions larger piece of
as shown bellow fabric

-making to
pouches, leaving
the side pointed at
the neck hole
open, Shown to
the right
 27

-On both ends where the new pouches have

been sewn, you are now going vertically divide
each pouch into 4 even sections

-the dimensions are as shown to the left

-again these stiches should be gone over 2-3

times
-Now weigh out 2lb
increments of gravel
using a scale

-fill up each sectioned

pouch with those 2lb
increments of gravel
-2lb increments
-Note that this photo recommended
shows all of them filled Which is about 907
at once, but it is much grams if your scale
easier if you do this step only does metric
and the next filling them
one at a time 28
 29

-Now sew shut the individual sections at the

top as shown

-if you wish to add more weight you can fill

and sew shut the top row of pouches as well,
but 16lb of added body weight should be
good for most body weight exercises to start
30
-it is unlikely your final product for this item will
look perfect as it is much more complicated than
the previous items, mine definitely isn’t perfect

-all that matters is that the vest serves its purpose

-Now is a good time to test it out though, go do

some weighted pull ups or lunges or squats and
see how yours functions

-This item can be used in any regular body weight

exercises