Tough night for a noob

[Pro Vagabond]

So finally started hemming my fabric for the hammock . After an hour of getting the thread and bobbin tension set and stitch length correct, I'm off. One side done, moved on the other side. Half way through the second side, my thread bobbin breaks. No sweat. Oh wait, bobbin out. Time to refill the bobbin. filling, filling, fil...Crap! run out of thread! So I end up finishing the second side with a second color of thread. Lots of growing pains tonight, but I should have it all sewn tonight. Gotta love it!!

[Poppabear]

Hang in there you will get it done. When you do be sure to post some pictures of your creation.

[Shug]

Believe me .... no-one looks that closely! Only you will know. Say you planned it that way.........
Stay with it.
Good job there feller.
Shug

[Ramblinrev]

Heh... I usually end up using whatever thread is lying around the house. Often it is from a project my wife was working on so the spool is already seriously depleted. It is extremely important to have the bobbin thread and the spool thread be different colors so you can tell the difference when you have to rip things out. This helps keep the top side identified from the bottom side. The use of four colors of thread in one project helps keep the head end and foot end differentiated. (I go t a million of them.) What it comes down to is I've seen professional stitchers run out of thread unexpectedly. Sometimes it matters on clothes but even there, I'll mend my clothes with whatever happens to be in the machine when I need it.

[sandykayak]

Quest Outdoors recommended Gutermann polyester thread, but I recently found out that there's a special thread made for outdoor fabrics (e.g. sunbrella).

hmmm this may be too heavy for nylon projects. this is the type of spool I have bought in the home decor section of JoAnn's but the cost was more like $7, so this is cheaper.

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/p...ID=xprd1130441

this is interesting...glow-in-the-dark polyester thread
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/p...RODID=prd49568

[Pro Vagabond]

Not sure if it is my machine or my skill, but the heavy duty thread wouldn't "lay flat" no matter what I did. Once I switched to the lighter thread it layed flatter and didn't pucker.

OHHH, but I do like the glow in the dark thread!! I'm crazy enough to use it....

[Adia]

but I recently found out that there's a special thread made for outdoor fabrics (e.g. sunbrella).
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I used to work in a canvas shop and did A LOT of sewing using sunbrella. The thread we used was Gortex thread. Top thread was dry and bobbin thread was special coated with oil. We also worked with industrial machines. It worked great for that application, but on lighter fabrics it wouldn't work well and it really is some heavy stuff, so not great for the gram weenies out there.

[samiam2714]

My aunt does a lot of sewing. She spoke with a guy at a a repair shop. He said that you shouldn't use thread, that is more than a year old because it goes bad. I think that is more for cotton bases thread than the polyester we use. However I would still test your thread before using it.

[TinaLouise]

I just threw out a bunch of old spools of thread, all cotton based. On the other hand, I've got some pretty ancient spools of 100% polyester thread and they still seem to be just as strong as when they were new. Never throwed out any of them.

Try to use thread that's matched up for your sewing machine. Don't use heavy duty thread unless you know how to change the tension on your bobbin. Always use the same type (doesn't have to be the same color) of thread in the top of the machine as in the bobbin. And try out different needle sizes, some material needs a bigger needle, some need a smaller. And I've found that when sewing this DWR ripstop nylon, that I have to start out with a brand new needle.

Question: where did you find that glow in the dark thread??? Sounds like something I'd like to try on some of my gear.

TinaLouise