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Thread: First Timer

  1. #1
    Registered User VT-Mike's Avatar
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    Question First Timer

    I'm starting my first big sewing project today! Making a silnylon tarptent from pattern bought online.
    I've practiced cutting and sewing with 5 mil plastic. Any tips?

  2. #2
    Registered User Samson's Avatar
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    measure twice? lol. post some pics
    I hold my wife's purse at the mall to stay close to my testes.

  3. #3
    Registered User VT-Mike's Avatar
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    will do, it'll be awhile though. instructions estimate about 40 hrs. so might need to double it for a newbie!

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    Use lots of pins. It's very slippery.

  5. #5

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    I have been using a very thin smear of silicone to glue my seams before I sew em. I let it cure over night before running it on my machine, it makes it much easier to handle n my seams come out nice n straight n neat.

    This silny is like mercury, it just wants to run uncontrolably. I found pins just didn't work for me, pop out as I move the material n get jamed in my machine's foot casuing me to run uneven seams that just never line up properly... but then again I'm not very experianced at sewing and my machine is a 100 year old fussy Singer without the fancy bells n whistles of more modern ones today.


    .

  6. #6
    Registered User VT-Mike's Avatar
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    Thanks for the advice! I just spent 2 hrs tracing and cutting the no-see-um. Sewing that tomorrow, then on to silny.

  7. #7
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    make sure to take a yard or so sample piece to make a seam, then sew that. Some machines start to slip with silnylon as you go along, and you can't get back control over it. Sew VERY slowly, if your machine doesn't let you sew very slowly, I would stop and get one that does. The slower you go, the less slippage problem you have. Insert the pins head away from the direction of sewing, so you can pull them out easily as you proceed. Each time you stop to pull one out, make sure the needle is all the way down, in the fabric, so it holds it. But make sure to practice doing a few longish seams before you start on the real tent, you might find that what you thought would happen isn't happening. Also, #10 needles, smallest you can get away with, 9 if you can get your thread through it. For tougher areas like tie outs, switch to a 12. Hopefully you are using good quality thread, like the guterman that diygearsupply.com sells. Or the large rolls that owfinc sells.

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