Backlight for flat-felled/french seam sewing

[Jgdean]

First off a general thank you to all you who have posted on this forum and to the general backpacking community online. I’ve just started making my own gear based on what I’ve learned here. My lost recent project is a tarp for my hammock. I sewed the ridge line seam with a flat-felled/french seam following the instructions on DIYgearsupply. In the middle of my final row of stitching the bottom layer of fabric moved so it drifted about 1/2 inch off target. The error didn’t show on the front and the fabric is a dark olive so I could see through it. After I caught the error I took out about 5 inches of stitching (hoping a little seam sealer will make the tarp serviceable) and came up with the idea of putting a red headlamp under the fabric so I could see through. I finished off the seam fairly easily. I looked about a bit and didn’t find this idea so I thought I’d post it as a small payback for the heap of information I’ve gathered from other folks.

lined up right
IMG_7877.jpg

Here you can see the bottom layer of fabric is not folded tight to the previous stitching.
IMG_7876.jpg

I guess you could pin it before sewing but I couldn't bring myself to put more holes in the fabric.

[Trailrider74]

That's a good idea. I have been working on a DIY tarp and have had a similar issue. Ended up unpicking and hopefully some seam sealer will help make the tarp water proof.

Might try your back light.

[MAD777]

Simple but brilliant!

[IRONFISH45]

Great idea, I sew a couple of inches on the silnylon, check to make sure everything is lined up the I sew a couple more inches then check, that way I in theory catch the problem before I have sewn the entire seam. A dab of seam sealer should do the job on the extra needle holes.

[raiffnuke]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing.

[boulderv7]

Nice. Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

[AaronMB]

Ha. Great idea!

[VictoriaGuy]

Using the headlamp (cool light) is a clever idea - thanks!

It depends on the type of seam, but getting into the habit of 'pulling sideways' on the fabric -flat hands to tension the earlier line of stitching- can help.

With cotton or wool, you'd be pressing the earlier seam with the steam iron...but nylon doesn't really crease properly so it doesn't help much.

RamblinRev should be able to give some pointers on this...