Posted by: bmadau
Stuff Sacks! - 03/17/11 04:04 PM
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
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