Materials from Walmart?

**sclittlefield** · 09-21-2009, 07:56

Originally Posted by squidstew

Thank you sclittlefield. That was the information I was looking for. At the moment, I don't have a credit card to mail-order stuff. And might I possibly find taffeta in the $1/yd bin at Walmart? And is the $1 bin stuff clearly labled or would I have to just know how to identify it (as I'm sure you can tell, I've never bought fabric from Walmart, or anywhere for that matter).

The clearance bin (it's $1.50 up my way) has absolutely no labels. You have to know your material to know what you're getting - sometimes the worker there has a bit of a clue, but usually not. But like Ramblinrev said, most anything will work as long as it's synthetic.

Remember... in the outdoors: "Cotton kills!"

And those directions Ramblinrev put out a post or two up are spot on - I use a W-fold of the fabric and a double sheet bend with the suspension cord on my hammocks and have never had an issue with it.

Originally Posted by squidstew

The reason I ask about sewing is because I intend to use double layers, to slip a pad in, rather than laying directly on it, having it either shift due to me moving around, or stick to me due to sweat. I will also need to sew (maybe not immediately, but eventually) accessories for the hammock, ie. hamock sock, skins or a blackbishop bag, bivy, and I may eventually make myself a bigger pack.

You'll definitely want a sewing machine for the tarp. Boy would that be a long process by hand. But it could be done. If you can borrow one, that's certainly the cheapest way. There are lots of moms with sewing machines that they don't use very often.

Unless you go into production in a big way, a crappy machine will work just fine for what we do here. But remember - we don't sew, we build gear. You're looking for a "high speed stabbing device" as opposed to a sewing machine.

Oh, and if you want to get going by hand before you invest in a machine, here's a way to do a double layer hammock that shouldn't take forever. Don't bother with the button holes in this design pic.

**Ramblinrev** · 09-21-2009, 08:32

They _do_ make a fusible tape that can be used in place of stitches although I have never used it. I have used fusible interfacing and that kind of thing so I would think the tape should be feasible for seams. You need to be very careful with it on synthetic fabric tho because it is heat activated. You want to get the iron hot enuf to activate the adhesive yet not so hot as to damage the synthetic fabric. Another alternative would be something like "tacky glue" (yes that's a brand name). My concern with that is while it is a fabric glue it is designed for dry use only. Presumably the hammock would stay dry but I am not sure I would trust it with my butt in the air. By and large I think (personal statement) a sewing machine is preferable to the alternatives. But I would be interested to hear if someone used the heat tape for a tarp ridge line. Note... you might not be able to use the heat tape on Silnyl. As I said I have not used it.

**KerMegan** · 09-21-2009, 12:06

Remember... in the outdoors: "Cotton kills!"

umm- possibly more accurate to say "Cotton Chills!" which in the winter time can kill you through hypothermia, but in the summer could save you from heat stress. Cotton in Summer is so much nicer than sweating in poly...(or wear wool for comfort anytime!)
Just a couple of cents worth, KM

**sclittlefield** · 09-21-2009, 14:18

Originally Posted by KerMegan

Remember... in the outdoors: "Cotton kills!"

umm- possibly more accurate to say "Cotton Chills!" which in the winter time can kill you through hypothermia, but in the summer could save you from heat stress. Cotton in Summer is so much nicer than sweating in poly...(or wear wool for comfort anytime!)
Just a couple of cents worth, KM

That's a good point KM. Certainly the 'freeze to death' aspect of cotton is most of the "cotton kills" issue - the other is that it rots (causing severe structural problems) in long term outdoor environments far worse than synthetics.

And even though I personally hate cotton even in the summer - you're right on. Thanks for putting a little more meat on the statement.

**squidstew** · 09-22-2009, 12:08

The reason I had planned to steer shy of the cheap machines is that I've read another thread (can't remember if it was here or PBF), as well as several sewing machine reviews indicating that the cheaper machines just can't handle fabrics like ripstop and silnylon.

**KerMegan** · 09-22-2009, 12:32

those are difficlut for most machines- has to do with the fabric advance mechanism- aka feed dogs; they were designed to work with commonly available cotton/poly/silk fabrics- all of which have some thickness or texture. nylon, esp sil, has very little of either charateristic. the solution is a change in material handling technique- keep a bit of tension on the fabric as it is being sewn- ie hold it taunt (taut?) umm.. tight both in front and behind the needle, and draw it along with the sewing process. additional tip- hold the two ends of the thread under a bit of tension as you take the first stitch or two.this will help prevent snarls and such uner the feed plate.

the problem with gear making on modern machines it the multiple layers of sometimes sizeable fabric- versus the internal nylon gears- not strong enough for extended stresses. great for quilts and skirts, not always up to packs and tents.
HTH! KM

**KerMegan** · 09-22-2009, 12:33

sorry bout those typos..

**Frawg** · 09-22-2009, 12:37

Originally Posted by KerMegan

sorry bout those typos..

No sweat! ... and the word is 'taut'.

**Ramblinrev** · 09-22-2009, 13:05

Having worked with both sil and a very fine China Silk IMO the charateristics of the two are very similar. The problem with the cheap WW machines are two fold... 1) The motors are not very powerful. Now this impacts the ability of the machine to handle the heavy tasks of webbing and such. The work aound on the is to hand turn the fly wheel when the machine bogs down. Yeah it's a pain but it can be done and for the most part it's not that difficult. A good sharp needle will make that task easier. The low power motor combined with potentially weak gears could spell a short life to the machine. But if the cost/life trade off is acceptable (to me it is not) then fine. The other major problem is they are very light weight in terms of poundage. Nice for the homemaker casual user who is doing short light projects. But when you are working on a twelve foot flat felled seam on a tarp that is hard to control for sheer volume of fabric the last thing you need is for the machine to bounce around and creep across the table from the vibrations. I have to chase my wife's serger across the table and it is annoying as heck.

Again I am a self-confessed sewing machine snob so take that into consideration. I would rather have a solid used machine in good condition than a cheap=o new machine that I can't work hard.