Sewing Show & Tell....Thread

I know there's a few of us around here with some interest in sewing. This thread will get a ton of traction with all...5 of us I have accounted for so far I'm sure! Whatever you make, show it off! Talk about gear modifications, means & methods, material selection, machines, etc.

I'll start off with my small amount of background. I'm not a professional AT ALL, and I learn from tips from my mother, and from youtube. Over the past couple years I've just dabbled in modifications and repairs to clothing and gear. Last year I picked up a Janome HD-3000 knowing I'd like to get into some more heavy duty projects that the old kenmore just couldn't handle. Maybe in the future I'll have to upgrade to something with a walking foot, for now this does the job.



My first project was making a soft topper for the bed rack. I don't have much for construction pics but you can check out the finished product. Made of tonneau cover material which is surprisingly cost effective at $10/yd for 72" wide, I think I paid $50 for all the materials. The gripes I'd give it so far is the stretch and strength. Next time I might try something more traditional like the sunbrella stuff or another nylon or poly weave.







In this last pic you can kinda see how it's all secured. I used tek screws into that 2" wide strip of flat bar with washers to avoid tearing of the tonneau material.




Second project I just finished was a DIY transit bag for the Indel-B TF41. I used some no-name, medium weight poly fabric off Amazon and then backed it with insul-shine which has a a reflective layer and an insulating layer.

For this fridge cover project I learned a couple things. How important it is to mark out your pattern, even if you're winging it, it makes it much easier to cut and stitch in straight lines. I used some double fold bias tape on the inside curved edges and twill tape on the outside corners. If I were to do it again I probably would have used velcro flaps on the top rather than a zipper.







And here's a couple in the truck.








This thing makes cutting a dream.



And here's some of my practicing with 0.875" double fold bias tape. I found that the thinner 0.5" bias tape was easier to work with. It requires you to be a bit more accurate with stitching, but it is much easier to bend around tight/square corners.


Let's see what you got!

@Crom @GHOST SHIP @DrFunker @Blackout14





Here's a shot or two of the 2nd topper I made and a big write-up full of details/close ups.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-soft-topper-ver2.561502/









New (As of Spring 2018) Singer 111G156 walking foot sewing machine that can sew through 16+ layers of 1000D coated cordura.









Behind the seat trash bag (Everyone needs an in-cab trash)






Some visor organizers I made for friends and family.

 

I'll have to post pics of some of my machines. Honey does most of the sewing for the family, but I usually do my own project because I'm picky like that.

 

@wildfyr3

Thanks for the thread! Your projects have come out really well. The transit bag is awesome!

My projects were small but very fulfilling. I made a slip cover for a tomahawk that I carry. And I made a sling for a camera that I bought. My material was some authentic military camo stuff I picked up. Can't remember the details.

If I ever come across the pics of the items I made I'll post them. It was several years ago... will have to search.

 

Wow! A sewing thread! Awesome! My fiance gifted me a singer 4432 machine last year and I've had a lot of fun with it. I started making climbing gear (non load bearing at first then graduated to load bearing equipment once I was comfortable with my skills and the physics involved).

Anyhow, a recent truck project was a truck bed tent. Here's a picture...

The main panel is just a tarp from REI but I cut and stitched two ripstop nylon panels (the blue part) for a door and stitched some velcro the entire length of the closure for an easy (although noisy) opening.

 

So nice. Thanks for getting this going!

 

How challenging is ripstop to work with?

 

Who would've though a sewing thread would get traction right away? I think it goes along with the DIY spirit of this site though. If everyone knew how to sew and weld, our awesome vendors would go out of business!

 

@wildfyr3 Tell me more about the insul-shine product. Is it backed with insulation at all. Difficult to work with?
Gave me inspiration to make a cover for my cooler.

 

Welding is on the list too.
Was mentioning to my mother today how once I got the sewing machine threaded up it was a lot like jig-sawing.
She was pleasantly surprised and happy to hear that I got a machine today. Don't know why I waited so damn long to get one.

 

i can sew the holes in my socks up but not very good.

 

Joe, would it be effective to seam seal the pieces together before stitching, maybe? Or would that just creating a giant fucking gooey mess?

 

This is currently my favorite thread.

 

Ahhh taping, yes! Great idea.

 

(For those that don't know)
Just picked up this guy today at Joanne's Fabrics for 30% off.
Super happy that I got it and excited about the possibilities.

 

I don't have experience with the ripstop but I do think taping is the way to go, almost universally. Is the taping you're talking about basting tape?

https://warmcompany.com/products/warm-home/insul-shine

The insul-shine does have some insulation to it, more like batting than a heavy insulation. Its a poly batting sonically welded to a metalized polyester film. The Warm Company makes it and they make a handful of other similar products that might be even better at insulating.

For my fridge cover I had my 6 panels made up and basted the insulation around the perimeter to the outside canvas. My one tip on using the stuff is to cut it oversized first even if by just a half inch. Then cut it after the seam is stitched. I found if I was trying to leave 1/4" seam that it would get caught by the presser foot and kinda wrinkle the metal film. Not any real problem but it would make it a better finished project.

 

Great advice.

 

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Looks like you could stand up in there too. Did you have any problems with the stretching of the ripstop and stitching it?

 

To be honest, I had spent the better part of the last week before my last camping trip designing and building the platform for the bed and the PVC frame. I wound up sewing the doors in the hour before we hit the road. I felt rushed so I stuck to the simplest techniques I know for stitching seams and tacking joints and I didn't get to measure as many times as I would have liked. It actually wound up being a little small relative to the end of the structure as you can see. Not a big deal because the tarp just bends around the front a little but I would have liked the door to start right at the frame so I could tack on a few little velcro loops to fasten it to the frame. I might give it another shot when I'm not so rushed.

 

OP...



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