The Sewing Place

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

Elnnina

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #15 on: November 24, 2020, 23:40:34 PM »
There is a place called Pennine Outdoors and they specialise in exactly what they are called, i.e. fabrics, threads, sealants suitable for the great outdoors.  They may well be able to help you on suitable threads and sealants etc. for what you are trying to make.  Hope you soon get this sorted.  If Pennine cannot help do you have a Ship's Chandler anywhere near you as they might have suitable threads and sealants.

Gavin e

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #16 on: December 14, 2020, 23:10:19 PM »
Hello again.

It’s been a while since I posted so I thought I should give a little progress report...

There has been swearing.  Not as much as my wife was expecting, but I must confess to a small amount of profanity from time to time.

I somehow seem to have spent several days online trying to work out just what I need and I have managed to acquire a small mountain of kit.

I have also spent quite a lot of time getting to know my singer 201.  At first i couldn’t get the stitches to work - sometimes they looked great, and then thirty seconds later the machine jammed and I’d have to get the screwdriver out to remove yet another birds nest.  I just could not work out what to do to set the machine up in a way that gave me enough faith in my ability to produce a semi decent stitch every time.

In the end I decided that there must be something wrong - nothing terminal for the machine but something that wasn’t right - so I decided a really good service was required.  I took the thing apart, following several videos that I found on you tube, and during this process noticed that all of the machines they were playing with had the foot tension spring wound down way way tighter than it was on my machine.  This solved my issue with odd length stitches.

I then gradually worked out that my other issue was caused by my cotton reel being too heavy for the spring to really cope with.  I’m not sure if there is a proper way to move thread from a large reel onto a standard smaller reel, but I found that an electric drill on slow speed with the right size drill bit did the job nicely....

I then played with yet more off cuts of fabric until I was happy that things seemed to be working, although by this time I had run out of spare material and was  cutting lengths of fabric to practice on. 

Then it was time to make a start on the boat sofa.  I had planned to start with canvas work because that is all pretty much flat and lots of straight lines to sew - which sounds better to learn on - but I changed my mind for the simple reason that I was told to do the sofa first by my wife.  Well, not exactly ‘told’ but it was made quite clear that she would be a happier bunny if she was looking at a nice new sofa..... 

The first effort was not good.  I tried various things.  More swearing was required.

The sofa is made up of about twenty sections, and the first cushion I covered took a mere five hours... but I have worked out how to do it.  Now each piece is taking about and hour and a half to strip, pattern, sew and staple.  My ‘pin method’ is probably wrong and I am probably making something simple much more complicated than it needs to be, but I think the results are good enough for what we need.  [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]    [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]    [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  

I’ve managed to complete the first six pieces I bought home, although I do want to re do the first piece I did because it’s not up to standard.

I’m sure that I’ll find more head scratching moments as I try to get the seat cushions covered, but so far I’m happy.

Thanks again to all of those who helped with advice and suggestions, and gave me the belief that this was a project I could look at doing myself! 

Gavin

Lilian

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #17 on: December 14, 2020, 23:18:37 PM »
Well done @Gavin e they look wonderful. Glad you managed to sort out the machine.  When you say the cotton reel is too heavy are you using a large cone.  I have made a stand for the larger reels and using a wire coat hanger bent to a right angle and then a curly end so that the thread can be drawn from the top and directly to the machine.  This takes the strain off.  :vintage:
Willing but not always able :)

Lachica

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #18 on: December 14, 2020, 23:34:15 PM »
Looking great. I think you were wise to start on the sofa, the fabric is a good deal easier to handle in spite of the curves, which you've completed very well. If I use a large cone of thread on my sewing machine I use a thread stand, but before I knew what that was ( thanks to enablers on this forum) I used to put it in a mug. Your idea to use an electric drill to wind smaller reels is brilliant.
Mary
2020 stash: not gonna count, not gonna feel guilty.

Ploshkin

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #19 on: December 15, 2020, 07:42:31 AM »
That looks a great job.  Well done for persevering.  There is no 'wrong' way - if it works, it's right.  You will find your own ways of streamlining processes as you go along.  Don't get hung up on tiny bits that you're not entirely happy with or point them out to other people (I know, I do it) remember that no one sitting on the sofa is going to be examining it with a magnifying glass  :)
Life's too short for ironing.

Iminei

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #20 on: December 15, 2020, 08:26:13 AM »
Youre a better man than I am Gunga Din !!

Bravo! particularly by thinking outside the box    I’m not sure if there is a proper way to move thread from a large reel onto a standard smaller reel, but I found that an electric drill on slow speed with the right size drill bit did the job nicely....
The Imperfect Perfectionist sews again

Silver Rose

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #21 on: December 15, 2020, 08:59:06 AM »
Great job @Gavin e well done for persevering.
Still learning

StitchinTime

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #22 on: December 15, 2020, 09:09:07 AM »
Should the drill be required for more traditional activities, as others have said, you can put the cone of thread in a mug behind the machine. Adding a safety pin to the spool pin and running the thread through that can help the thread maintain the correct the path.



(Photo taken from this blog post)

Lilian

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2020, 11:03:39 AM »
I have been known to wind a bobbin from a cone and used that instead on the spool pin  :) :vintage:
Willing but not always able :)

Catllar

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #24 on: December 15, 2020, 13:30:06 PM »
I have found it useful to have 2 bobbin cases and then I keep one set loose for thicker threads and the tension on the other one is never touched. This saves much swearing and thread breaking too.
If life gives you lemons, add to gin and tonic !

RJR_38

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #25 on: December 19, 2020, 07:56:24 AM »
Congratulations! I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to tackle a sofa so early on in my sewing journey! To be fair I’m not even sure I could tackle one now. It looks great!

Gavin e

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #26 on: January 10, 2021, 18:46:20 PM »
Time for another update...

So the boat sofa is pretty much finished, other than the base unit which I need to work on in situ as I can’t get it home.  Of course, what with one thing and another I can’t get to the boat to complete the work, meaning the final push will have to wait for a while - but what the hell, there are much worse problems to be had.

In the meantime I decided to have a go at making my wife some new boat luggage, using some white leatherette and then lining the inside with the excess sofa material.  To add padding I snaffled a quilted mattress protector that my good lady wasn’t using, cut it to size and fitted it between the two.

A bit tricky to work out the shape, but I’m rather chuffed with the result!

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Ohsewsimple

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #27 on: January 10, 2021, 18:53:48 PM »
What a lovely idea.  And a lovely result. You sure you have no sewing experience?   :)  :thinking:

Lachica

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #28 on: January 10, 2021, 19:22:56 PM »
Very nice.
Mary
2020 stash: not gonna count, not gonna feel guilty.

Gavin e

Re: Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....
« Reply #29 on: January 10, 2021, 19:37:17 PM »
What a lovely idea.  And a lovely result. You sure you have no sewing experience?   :)  :thinking:

If I have any experience it was in a past life...  although I will admit to sewing on the odd button before....