Learning to sew

[swoody126]

years ... many years ago, i started learning to sew w/ the denim pieces we ended up with when we made cut off shorts

heavier & basically free

marble bags, tool bags, fishing reel bags, gear bags...

most had draw strings, though some had tie strips attached

the material was easy to sew & the finished product wasn't intended to be a fashion piece

cheap cotton thread was my only expense

as time went on, the projects became more important & the materials began costing $$$

the above is written to emphasize the importance of beginning simply & slowly graduating to more intricate projects, w/ finer materials

stuff sacks, stake bags, tool bags... etc would be easy to begin with

as for the machine, i would follow the suggestions in the links, above, & look for a good used one

hopefully you will be able to hook up w/ an original owner who will show you that/how it works and lead you thru a couple easy stitching samples

i was in a sewing shop just 2 days ago(Moriarty, NM) where there were several injectors under $100 and the shop owner would take you thru their paces, if you bought from him

i was lucky to stumble into that shop because he had new leather belts to fit my 100± year old Singer Treadle machines, which are slated to begin my 1st DIY HAMMOCK PROJECT

GOOD LUCK w/ your quest

sw

[pandorasfox1]

Do you know any thing about kenmore sewing mach..?

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[pandorasfox1]

So there no one . Oh well there I
No one here to day .........

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[pandorasfox1]

I love sewing it takes me to my happy place ....

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[Red Haired Booper]

Basic sewing skills are really all you need to start most of the DIY hammocking projects that I've seen. Just be aware that it will take time, and to take your time to do it right. Don't rush through and mess up, because seam ripping is not fun. Also, most fabrics used in these projects are slippery and difficult to work with, so it will take a lot of patience. You don't need an expensive machine, I've had mine for 15 years and it only cost $100. If you have a Costco membership, they sometimes have good machines for a decent price.

[Canoefor2]

I started when I was 5 sitting on my grandmothers lap sewing wedding dresses and then continued with my father fixing dress pants. I will tell you one thing it is a skill that you will always be happy with. I would suggest that is you attend a church check and see if there is a sewing group that meet or ask around and see if anyone one knows a good seamstress in the group and go to them and start by asking some questions. Most likely they will help you get started and a it will also become a great resource as you get complicated projects as well. There was a group at my Church that did quilts and when I was working on a down quilt I needed to sew in the individual squares to hold the down in place. After talking to the person with a 20 foot free arm machine (used for quilting) she allowed me to come over and use it and together we evened the down out and sewn in the squares. She was delighted as she learned that you could do that as well. However, a word of caution, you may have to help on a sewing project at the Church. This is also a great way to get a machine as sometime the people will want to up-grade and you can get a great used machine.

[District Outdoors]

I just bought a machine myself along with some 1000d Cordura remnants from eBay and various other supplies so I can make a few bike bags (and other projects I have in mind) to save money and get exactly what I want. So far, I've spent enough to buy one of the bags I want but the plus side is now that I can make the other five bags for 1/4 of the cost of good quality pre-made stuff. The links on the previous page, more specifically the second link, is exactly what I've been searching for.

[Tacblades]

I am not sure if its helpful but i have a youtube channel all about sewing you own gear with tutorials and also how to buy a machine.

Any machine will do to start with you may even find one stored away in a family members house?

Check out a vid on how to make a stuff sack.
https://youtu.be/vaGZAd4iaj0

How to buy a machine
https://youtu.be/M4OXMvUUQh8

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[Rphen]

"you may even find one stored away in a family members house?"

That's exactly how I discovered mine. I mentioned to my wife that I was thinking about trying to learn to sew some outdoor gear. After she stopped laughing, she said she thought we had a sewing machine tucked away someplace in the garage that her mother gave us for a wedding gift. I tore apart the garage and found it. In a box that had never been opened was a brand new Singer 6212C. That machine had been in a box for 30 years! Plugged it in and it wouldn't turn. Took it into the shop, oiled it up and it runs like a champ. The shop told me it has all steel gears and I could sew boat sails with it if I wanted to. Now to learn to sew.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Sewing itself is the easy part. Getting the machine setup is probably the trickiest thing about sewing. Fiddling with thread tension is easily the most frustrating part of it. After that the pinning and sewing are stupid easy with a decent machine. The other hard part can be logistics too but there's so many detailed guides that hold your hand through each step, it shouldn't be too hard.