Does anyone have any tips for sewing bug netting so that it doesn't stretch while sewing it.... Its my last fontier in hammock making and any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Does anyone have any tips for sewing bug netting so that it doesn't stretch while sewing it.... Its my last fontier in hammock making and any advice will be greatly appreciated.
What I lack in knowledge I MORE than make up for with opinions.
Green Therapy
I've been told it is possibe to put the noweeum netting between two pieces of paper and then carried on sewing. You can then tear away the paper leaving the netting nicely seamed.
I was paranoid the first time I sewed NoSeeUm because I had heard that it was difficult to sew. Nothing can be further from the truth. I find it as easy to work with as fabric.
To help with the stretching, you could pin it while you sew. I also find that if you don't keep tension on the netting as it feeds through the sewing machine, stretching really isn't a problem. Just let the machine feed the netting through at it's own pace.
Different types of netting my stretch more than others. I remember Hammock Engineer said that the Nano NoSeeUm he used in making his quilts, that he got from Thru-hiker.com, was more prone to stretching. That's where pinning the netting to the fabric would come in handy.
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." -Terry Pratchett
I'm thinking of making a bug screen for my ENO double hammock. Unfortunately, the shops near to home charge about $11 per yard for the full width stuff. Instead of buying a piece and then cutting it into one long strip as per Speer instructions and having so much left over, I wondered whether I could run seams across the bug net so that I could only by half the material? I have sewed flat-felled seams with fabric, but wonder about the viability of doing it with no-see-um?
Anyone used the Speer-type velcro system for a bug net for their ENO?
Mark.
sure, you can do that. I've sewn no-seeum to itself. I'd guess a flat-felled seam would be straightforward.Originally Posted by Hack
Grizz
I have to strongly second what hc4u wrote:
I actually find noseeum easier to sew than many other fabrics I have worked with. Disclaimer: I have always used a walking foot or more recently, the integrated dual-feed system on the Pfaff, and I think it helps to minimize stretching.
not all machines have walking foot attachments available. If you know you are doing a lot of silnylon or bugnet sewing then it would be worth checking into the availability before purchasing a machine. If a walking foot is not available a roller foot might serve to an extent.
It's not soo much that the walking foot reduces stretching as it helps prevent the layers of fabric from moving at different speeds. This frequently happens when using very light slippery fabrics. BTW, I have seen and heard of people who have taken a thin piece of paper and added it between the two layers of fabric This provides more friction between the layers and hence more equal movement through the machine. This is only really needed on the first stitch pass. On subsequent passes the fabic is already stitched together and so moves through together. The paper does not seriously impair the stitch as the first pass is not the pass that provides the strength for the seam. The paper rips apart like perforated paper and leaves little if no residue in the seam.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
Yeah, it's not hard and really forgiving. Nanoseeum from thru-hiker stretches a lot, regular noseeum doesn't that much.
Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".
Does anyone have any secrets to keeping the bugnetting out of the bobbin area? I can put approx. 5 or so stitches and then the bugnetting is stuck. I have tried different thread and losened the tension (major no-no) slightly. Any ideas? Please...
Here is the stuff that I am trying to work with.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___86662
Last edited by Splinter; 07-08-2008 at 17:20.
"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
- Yoda
Depend on how technical you are and what features your machine has. Assuming you have a zig-zag machine, if you have interchangeable throat plates you can try using the straight stitch throat plate. That has a smaller opening and should present less of a problem. You could try using a sharper needle so there is less pressure and more peircing from the needle. You could take some masking tape and put it along the seams so you sew through the masking tape. (That is create problems from the sticky on the masking tape. Not the best recommendation. You could place a piece of paper across the throat plate and tape it out of the way of the needle. (no sticky on the needle) You can place one hand in front of the machine and one behind to hold a constant tension on the fabric as you "pull" it through. Or some combination of all that plus what ever someone else comes up with.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks