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#147930 - 03/17/11 04:04 PM Stuff Sacks!
bmadau Offline
member

Registered: 09/14/05
Posts: 135
So- I caught the sewing bug...

Several years ago while I was at a Walmart with my wife, who was looking for fabric for a quilt, I was looking around the 2nds table. I found two bolts of ripstop nylon- one 30d in gray, and another 70d in black. The prince on the gray one was marked $1.99. I thought $1.99- but now, the whole bolt for 1.99. turns out to be about 10 yards of 48" wide material...crazy good deal!

So, I was cleaning up the garage and found it, dusted it off, and thought I should finally make something with it... My end goal is to make an 11' x 11' pyramid shelter, with a sewn in bathtub floor- but to get some sewing practice, I've been making some stuff sacks from a tutorial I found online.

I've made some improvements along the way as well. The first went directly by the plans online, but the edges are exposed on the inside and they started to fray immediately, and that didn't make me very happy. So, for Stuff Sack Part 2, I double hemmed the top seam where the draw string wend through, which was a help, but still, the rest of the inside seams still frayed. So, on my last one, I got all fancy used french seams on the rest of it, no more exposed edges!

For those who might not know- After sewing the draw string pocket tunnel thingy- I folded it in half, RIGHT SIDE OUT, and straight stitched it leaving a 1/4" seam allowance. I then turned it inside out, and sewed it again, slightly over 1/4" in, hiding the edges. Then I turned it right side out again, did the trick for the corners (to give it a square-ish bottom), and turned it inside out again to finish the french seam/hem (whatever).

My stitching is getting straighter and my seam allowances are getting more consistent. I'm finding fabric management is the hardest part of the job. And these little sacks that only use like 2' square-ish pieces of fabric are nothing compared to the comparable acres of fabric for a large 4 man shelter... I'll do a couple more stuff sacks for the practice, then I'll use the remainder of the fabric for a rectangular 8' x 10' tarp. If it turns out ok, I'll silicone coat it per the many diy instructions online. I'm really nervous about the 10' long flat felled seam. I tried one on a scrap of fabric and it turned out miserably.

BM

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#147932 - 03/17/11 04:31 PM Re: Stuff Sacks! [Re: bmadau]
Kent W Offline
member

Registered: 10/15/09
Posts: 607
Loc: IL.
The Key to making a great flat felled seem is to take your timepinning it nice and straight. Sewing is the easy part pinning stinks.I have such big fingers it is cumbersome. I therefore,staple seams with a stapler. Make sure staples are turned out not in. They will pull out like a straight pin then.

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#147938 - 03/17/11 05:34 PM Re: Stuff Sacks! [Re: Kent W]
bmadau Offline
member

Registered: 09/14/05
Posts: 135
Originally Posted By Kent W
The Key to making a great flat felled seem is to take your timepinning it nice and straight. Sewing is the easy part pinning stinks.I have such big fingers it is cumbersome. I therefore,staple seams with a stapler. Make sure staples are turned out not in. They will pull out like a straight pin then.


The staples don't tear large holes in the fabric? I was looking at some online fabric store (Seattle Fabrics maybe?) and they sold 1/4" wide double sided sticky tape for holding seams in place. I'll have to play around some more on some scraps.

Thanks,
BM

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#148046 - 03/20/11 10:12 AM Re: Stuff Sacks! [Re: bmadau]
Kent W Offline
member

Registered: 10/15/09
Posts: 607
Loc: IL.
No they dont make big holes. Try it next time. Seam tape my work on uncoated fabric. I doubt it will work on coated silnylon or ripstop? I treated seam of my cat tarp with silicone and whit gas mixture. It doesnt leak!

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#148054 - 03/20/11 11:23 AM Re: Stuff Sacks! [Re: Kent W]
CamperMom Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
Very little sticks to silnylon, other than another siliconized item. That is why sealers that work on silnylon are thinned silicone adhesive of some sort.

I used Kent's staple trick when I was making costumes for community theater. I had people put on clothes to be altered and custom-fit them with staples instead of pins. They stayed in better until I got the clothes home to stitch thme properly and it was a quick solution. I pulled the staples out as I sewed. I haven't tried it with silnylon, but it should be fine to staple INSIDE the seam allowance.

CM

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#148352 - 03/25/11 04:29 PM Re: Stuff Sacks! [Re: CamperMom]
bmadau Offline
member

Registered: 09/14/05
Posts: 135
Well, I did the 10' long flat felled seam, and it turned out relatively well- if only I could stitch a straighter line... But there are no bunched spots, and the seam is the right width. I didn't have that kind of stapler available, so I just carefully pinned it and pulled them out as I went. Luckily, I only got poked a few times...

Now, I'll hem the edges and siliconize it before I sew on the tie downs...

thanks for the tips!

BM

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