First of all, you need to understand my mother was a home-ec teacher and made all the clothes for my brother & me until I was in the 4th grade. She even made outfits for all my Barbie dolls. To this day, she sews quilts for third world countries and I have NEVER had her teach me to sew. (I like to think it was my way of rebelling and to ensure I'd never become my mother.) I enter exhibit A: Matching yellow PJs my mother made for us:
Well, I need a shorter hammock to fit underneath the new tarp I picked up at an REI garage sale. Being the frugal German Lutheran that I am, I saw videos showing how easy it is to make a DIY hammock. Also, encouraged by fellow hangers, I decided to tackle this project! (Yes, I'm pointing at you @BananaHammock & @Intimidator)
From the bottom & back of my closet, I dug out the inherited 1979 JC Penny Model #6925 sewing machine from my dead Grandma Lilly, gathered up my fabric from RipStopByTheRoll and turned down the opportunity for a group hang last weekend to teach myself how to sew. I WOULD learn to SEW! (even if I became a bit like my mother)
I felt pretty confident being able to start with some simple stuff sacks (with the RBTR DIY $10 starter kit) and having watched a dozen or so YouTube videos. I knew my mother was only a phone call away (just as a back up).
I sat down to learn how to thread a bobbin and the rest of the contraption, but I couldn't find any videos on how to thread such a vintage model and ended up reading from the original instruction manual. (Thank you Grandma for keeping everything together!)
My first attempt at threading the gadget did not go as planned as this happened:
My bestest camping buddy happens to be an excellent seamstress & when she saw my bent needle Facebook post, she came over immediately with a replacement. After cleaning & oiling this (almost 40) year old appliance, fiddle & futzed around with the tension, slight motor issues - not moving the needle up & down, she was able to sew an entire seam on a scrap piece of ripstop. Before she departed, I gave it a whirl and when I completed my own row, I was confident enough to send her home.
I was hungry and decided to make a quick sandwich and apparently my machine was hungry too because it took a bite out of my stuff sack!
This is definitely NOT fun to deal with!
Dear Kyle (from RipStopByTheRoll) your on-line HOW-To videos made this project look EASY & you did not cover how to fix THIS! Luckily, I am a very smart independent woman and will loosen screws until I figure it out.
I'm not sure who told me DIY projects are very rewarding and fulfilling. I did not feel rewarded nor fulfilled when the next events happened.
Second bite:
And apparently I hadn't learned my lesson yet, because ...... 3rd bite
At this rate, I wouldn't HAVE any material left to practice on! Before I threw this old piece of junk out of the window, I decided to count to 10. Isn't that what people are taught in anger management classes? I can only assume so because I wanted to pick up this piece of metal and shake it until it had shaken baby syndrome. There wasn't a relaxed bone in my body after dealing with three bites from this ravenous contraption. I wanted to throw her in a huge pool of hot melted lava. I could picture her sinking down like The Terminator while I stood smiling as her foot pedal finally submerged.
I opted to step away from the JC Penny #6925 and go to bed.
Day Two: Mother Knows Best
While my mom has never sewn a hammock, tarp, or a stuff sack, she did make all the silver shiny vests we wore in high school as we twirled the flags in Marching Band. She knows how to sew light weight fabric. Her suggestion? Put a piece of paper underneath. (She did suggest this right away, but you know me. I HAD TO DO IT MY WAY!)
And of course it worked. I was able to sew. My not-so-perfect stuff sack is done. What started as an 18 X 30 piece of fabric is now a 4X5 stuff sack.
I know I could end my lavish DIY career here and pay one of you fine folks to finish my hammock for me, but now I'm determined not to let this apparatus win!
Thank goodness I have three more remnants of material left and my camping buddy is lending her sewing machine to me next weekend. So, I'll be foregoing ANOTHER weekend of camping to get this DIY project done.
When I perfect these stuff sacks and feel confident enough to get my hammock done..... it will be the best night's sleep in a hammock I will have ever had.
....to be continued....
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by johnspenn
..........
Bookmarks