The Sewing Place

Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....

Lilian

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #30 on: January 10, 2021, 20:03:15 PM »
@Gavin e you have done extremely well.  You are a natural. that bag looks very professional, well done!  :toast:
Willing but not always able :)

Gavin e

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #31 on: January 22, 2021, 09:00:16 AM »
I’m giving the dinghy cover a go - and I’ve deliberately over engineered it to make sure I practice all the techniques I need for the main boat covers.

All is going well, but my question is......

How am I supposed to know when the damn bobbin is about to run out of thread?  It’s happened a couple of times now.  Annoying.

I’ve then been unpicking that bit of work on the assumption that I’m supposed to?  If I don’t I figure I run the risk of it all pulling apart in the future as the end isn’t backsewn or whatever it’s called?

Having to unpick six foot of nice stitches is demoralising...  any handy hints, or do I just need to keep checking and waste the thread when things are running close?

Sheilago

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #32 on: January 22, 2021, 09:21:18 AM »
I’m just reading this thread for the first time, @Gavin e and I must admit when I read the first post with the pictures of the boat and read of your plans, I thought ‘oh dear’! I really thought you were being over ambitious.

You have done brilliantly and as others say you are obviously a natural: using a vintage machine for the first time, working out your own pattern pieces and sewing very difficult fabric. Amazing!

Ploshkin

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #33 on: January 22, 2021, 09:25:51 AM »
Do you need to unpick it all?  Could you overlap an inch or two of the new stitching sewing into the same holes then pull the threads through to the underside to tie off? It wouldn't notice once you're not looking at it close up.

You'll have to get in the habit of checking the bobbin before you start on a long seam.  If you are doing a lot of stitching it's useful to have a couple of bobbins already wound before you start.  It saves unthreading the machine in the middle of the job.

Oh, I've just seen the bag!  Absolutely fabulous!
« Last Edit: January 22, 2021, 09:28:41 AM by Ploshkin »
Life's too short for ironing.

Iminei

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #34 on: January 22, 2021, 09:39:14 AM »
How am I supposed to know when the damn bobbin is about to run out of thread? 

The Splurgess makes a different sound .... which is inevitably followed by a different sound from myself!!!!  :laughing:
The Imperfect Perfectionist sews again

Gavin e

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #35 on: January 22, 2021, 10:53:46 AM »

You have done brilliantly and as others say you are obviously a natural: using a vintage machine for the first time, working out your own pattern pieces and sewing very difficult fabric. Amazing!

Thanks, but while I appreciate the positive comments and they are encouraging, I must point out that it would be a mistake to assume I am some kind of sewing natural who just whizzes this stuff out... it’s all rather tricky, there has been much swearing, many mistakes, and frequent times where the work has required a ‘good hard stare....’

I’ve fitted the wrong zips, sewn bits together the wrong way up, made the machine go bang (still don’t know what that was but nothing seems broken?), melted a foot pedal (the smell of burning plastic was the first clue I had that my foot was shortly going to catch fire) , cut handles too short.... the list goes on, with plenty of sewing debris floating in my wake.

But hey - we learn.

It’s also all taken a lot of hours.  Many many hours... 

The idea that the noise changes when the bobbin is low on thread is interesting, but I tend to sew while listening to podcasts so I guess that’s why I haven’t noticed.

And as for ‘pulling threads through to the underside to tie off’..... I’ll have to research that as I’m not sure my fingers can cope with trying such tiny knots - I’m used to boat ropes!  I need the stitches to be firm because things are going to have to cope with gale force winds, the weight of water etc.....the pressures will be strong at times.

I guess I’ll just need to keep checking, even though that means removing the bobbin case each time to check - or am I missing a trick there too?

Hoping to finish the dinghy cover in the next couple of days, so will add photos when finished.  But don’t be surprised if it’s not finished soon - every time it seems to be going well I come across the next unforeseen setback....

toileandtrouble

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #36 on: January 22, 2021, 11:15:27 AM »
I have had an idea, which may or may not work..   When you are going to fill a bobbin, perhaps you could get a marker and colour the second 30cm or so, let it dry and then wind it on to the bobbin.  When you see the coloured bit come through, you are that close to the end.  You can stop there and pull the coloured bit back, if you want, but get ready to fit a new full bobbin. Of course, it would depend on if you mind a bit of coloured stitching and if you can see the bobbin thread peeking through.  Or check underneath  once in a while when you suspect it is getting low.  If you use washable colour, then no problem, if you are going to wash the item.  Anyhow, off to try that on my next attempt.
Yarn down:  1000g
Fabric down:  29m

Greybird

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #37 on: January 22, 2021, 11:39:18 AM »
Yes, Toileandtroubles idea is a good one - use a Frixion pen to mark it and waft the iron near it afterwards to make the mark disappear. If you can't manage to tie off threads after pulling them through to the underside, dab a bit of fabric glue on where they come through. If you've given it a good overlap it should be just as good.

My machine doesn't make a different noise when the bobbin runs out. It's a top loading bobbin though and you can lift the fabric you're stitching out of the way to see if it's running low.

All of those mistakes you made will have been the best way to learn and every one of us on here will have made the same ones.

sewmuchmore

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #38 on: January 22, 2021, 19:03:25 PM »
@Gavin e , have only just come across your thread, it's good to see another boat owner on the forum. I too have completely reupholstered our boat. If you haven't already seen this site and this
 i can recommend both of them, the chap at Hawke House is very helpful
It's not easy being this perfekt

Janet

Gavin e

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #39 on: January 23, 2021, 00:14:58 AM »
@Gavin e , have only just come across your thread, it's good to see another boat owner on the forum. I too have completely reupholstered our boat. If you haven't already seen this site and this
 i can recommend both of them, the chap at Hawke House is very helpful

I’ve already spent money with Pro fabrics.... but hawke house is new to me and well worth looking at.  Thanks. 

I like the idea of a little colour change thread to give me bobbin warning time - but it will only work if I can find something that shows up against dark navy thread on dark navy canvas.  I’ll see what I can find and look up a frixion pen too - never heard of one!

Greybird

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #40 on: January 23, 2021, 10:18:19 AM »
@Gavin e the Frixion pen won't work if it's dark navy I'm afraid - it won't show up. I have been using a sliver of soap to mark dark fabrics with (somebody's tip on here a while a go). You could try that on a stretch of the thread but it might be rubbed off when it pulls through the fabric.

Frixion pens are great on lighter colours. When you apply heat to the mark it disappears. You need to try it on a scrap first though, because on some fabrics it leaves a "shadow".

Hummingbird

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #41 on: January 23, 2021, 13:02:56 PM »
You might find a regular coloured pencil works on dark thread - try white, yellow or orange? I use them to mark dark fabrics in areas that will eventually be hidden at the end of the job.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2021, 08:55:43 AM by Hummingbird »

Gavin e

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #42 on: February 21, 2021, 09:44:52 AM »
So the sofa is finished....

Took a little longer than anticipated what with one thing and another and general ‘pesky virus’ related boat access issues, but hey, there are worse things to worry about than restricted boat visits.  My good lady wife is as pleased as punch with the results and that’s all that really matters.

I learned a hell of a lot on this project and had a few head scratchy moments as I tried to work out how to do certain jobs, but I got there in the end.  My original plan had been to keep the design as plain and simple as possible, and to ignore the ‘fancy stitching’ on the sofa seats that give them enhanced shaping, but as soon as I stripped off the first of the original covers it was clear that the foam underneath had been sliced into separate pieces to create those shapes and so I would have to work out how to copy the original designs or the sofa base would lose a lot of its support strength.  In the end it wasn’t all that tricky, but as a newbie I found I had to really carefully deconstruct the old covers so I could see how they had been folded and sewn so that the stitches would not be visible in the end.

I’m very pleased with the end results.  With materials and labour we were quoted around £2000 to have the sofa re-covered, and I’ve spent around £800, which includes the sewing machine and scissors and thread and...... you can probably guess the rest of what I needed.  So not a cheap project, but still an absolute bargain in many ways. 

I love my new electric staple gun.

I hate removing old staples, and there were lots of them.... really really lots.

If I have any concern it is a little self doubt as to whether the new covers will stretch or go baggy with time - but I don’t think they should.  I copied the original sizes exactly and they were pretty tight to get on, so should be fine.  I hope.

To be honest, if you look closely at each section you can see which were the first ones as I gradually got better, but they are all good enough and nobody will ever notice except me.

I had lots of help from the people on here, and would not have attempted this without you all, so thank you so so much for all of the advice and tips.

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Greybird

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #43 on: February 21, 2021, 09:52:06 AM »
Very impressive - well done! I'm not surprised your wife is pleased with it. I hope that won't be the end of your journey though - what's next?

Elnnina

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #44 on: February 21, 2021, 10:01:07 AM »
Well done, you are right to feel extremely proud of your effort, and delighted that your wife has approved of the sofa as well.  Good luck with the next part of this mammoth job.