Poi length issues

I have an interesting problem when measuring myself for my poi length so i can buy my new poi i discovered that the length i should get (wrist to upper arm) does not take in to account that parts of me stick out past the upper arm measuring point.
Do any of the other ladies have this problem and if so how have you managed to work around it? I also have problems shooting pool because of the same parts. Please any help would be appreciated because I'm not going to buy my poi till i figure this out.
Genie

Genie, I know how you feel! I have REALLY large 'sticky outy girly bits' I feel they impede my poi greatly (trying to do chaser is just a pain!) I've decided to shorten my poi a bit to compensate- and it seems to work for me.

That would be my advice- if you are buying leashes that are a set standard length, they'll need to be adjusted for you anyway- so if you get them and make them your size, then play with them some- you'll work out if they need an adjustment, if you have trouble spinning around your girls

Go and play with other peoples poi until you find a length you like and a poi style you like. Make your own lovely non fire poi and then order the length you want. People hold and use poi differently as well and so slightly different grips may help. Freeing your arms up a bit away from your body (air those armpits) may give you a few extra cm to get past your lovely bits.
I find its my butt and head that get in the way mostly..

Maybe if you try making them with long socks and a pair of tennis balls first, then you'd get an idea of what length you need (wrap them round your hands until they's comfortable to spin with, then measure)?

Cheap and easy way to find out!

Thank you all for the advice. I do have some home made sock poi, and yes the arms are wide open. I have a feeling there will be some moves i just can't do. As for measuring the sock poi, what about the stretch? Im guessing that POI on ball chain does not stretch.
Oh and Gnor, my butt gets in the way also... but it does not hurt as bad when the tennis ball smacks into it, more padding i guess.... lol
Genie

Make cone poi from cloth, Im not a big fan of string, especially when you are starting out as it tangles heaps. Theres a thread here somewhere on cone poi if you are interested. Choose cloth with no stretch if you want no bounce in your poi and you can customise them how you like. I make furry ones (see in my gallery) , plain ones and all sorts from a very simple pattern designed by one of the members on HOP (Dom I think).
Good luck!

Hi Genie,

Make poi longer than you think you need. It is easier to shorten something yourself, by tying knots (temporarily) in it to get the right length, cutting, stitching or resewing. If you get something too short and you need it longer then it's a lot more hassle to get it longer and it will frustrate you.
Cone poi are great
click here for Dom's cone poi design

All the best

Malcolm

What he wrote

Cone poi .....its about the shape

These are called sock poi.....Id call them cone poi as they are cone shaped not from socks.....confuddlement. The link Malcolm put above leads to a thread with a pattern by Dom.
Make the poi from a non stretchy fabric and you have non stretchy poi. There are some lush satins out there. I dont put handles on my cone poi unless asked but its about preference. Ive made them out of lots of fabric from satin to denim to sequins. I also make it without drawstring and with a slitto put the weight in, which is similar to the HOP "sock" poi.
Cone is simply a reference to the conelike shape I believe.

ahhh sock poi with out the leg hole .... hehehe
ok thanks, ill look into that... originally i wanted to buy the fluffy practice poi from HOP but the whole length issue came up.... but for now... my striped knee socks and tennis balls seem to be working ok... can take up the slack when i need to...
Thanks everybody for the help
Genie