First time diy and so many questions

[esmith]

I am also a newbie at DIY, I'm a couple of months ahead of you.

I'm drooling to get an order into Ripstop by the Roll but I know I am better off developing my skills on cheaper materials first so I went to my local fabric store and got some cheap medium to heavy weight polyester.

4 yards cost about $14 so I got enough to make a few hammocks to give away and when I do drop an order into RSBTR I will have some confidence I'm not just going to screw up the fabric.

Also, I second or third the Jellyfish recommendation. I'm on about my 9th Deluxe Tree Strap Bag. This is a great project and is advanced enough that you will really have to work at it to get it right. Everything you need to know she describes in detail. I admit I had to watch the video a few times as I walked my first attempts step by step with the video. All the info is there, listen carefully, She does not waste many words.

I am certainly seeing an improvement as I make more and more of these strap bags. I'm still using cheap or scrap materials for them but when I do have the proper rip stop I will be confident I understand the process and my machine so well I will be able to concentrate on how the new material handles.

I hope you enjoy your new found hobby, it is quite rewarding.

[DiceCaller]

If you want to practice on the real thing, RSBTR is discontinuing a lot of their 1.9 Ripstop. At $3.35 a yard it's hard to beat and has a nice hand.

[Knaughtii]

Holy moly, thanks for all the replies. Honestly this is my first time on a forum and had no idea what to expect. Cheers to all of you!

I understand I’m not going to make a pristine piece of equipment first time around and am bound to make a multitude of errors. But persistence, patience and humility is some thing I have. I definitely intend to do a lot more planing and development than actual sewing because to me, doing it is the easy part, getting it right is the learning process that intrigues me the most. I give all the props in the world to the professionals like warbonnet, Dutch, Loco Libre, HOGS, Tac Blades. With out them and the many others I wouldn’t be here or let alone in. Hammock.
I am thinking that my whole indever will take me a year to create. I’m in no rush and would rather collect as much guidance and information as I can along the way.
Thank you all again, off to watch some jelly fish

[Knaughtii]

Thanks James. I have already compleated a few splicing projects. Loop, shackles, dog bones, whoopies, and am currently looking into constrictor lines for a slr but not sure of the rout to go. That was going to be my next question. Pros and cons of a ucr vs a standard srl. And if the 2 have any differace of effect depending on the different end gathering techniques. And if the fabrics have any diverse effects.
I believe I am going to follow the warbonnet method.

[Roman3006]

Im another newbie I guess been practicing for a few weeks. I ordered some seconds and other fabrics from rip stop by the roll to practice on. It has helped alot. I was lucky found a old machine at goodwill and practiced for a few weeks on cloth from walmart and a size 14 needle and the mara 70 thread just one stitch line and hime after another. Im getting pretty good with reg cloth still lacking on some of the thinner stuff.

One word of advice stick with one sewing machine. I just bought a new one didnt really like the PFAFF I bought at goodwill. I now have a singer 4423 but it has slowed my learning curve some. I am about ready for my first hammock.

Take your time and practice alot, thread is cheap and the cloth at walmart is very cheap. I use small pieces so I can practice starting new lines hime etc... I still dont know what im doing really if something doesnt go right back to utube i go.

Another word of advice stay out of the local sew shops. They are all snobs and jerks and im being PC with this I wish I could really tell you how I feel about them but it be censored.LOL I would never ask them for anything.

[kitsapcowboy]

I now have a singer 4423 but it has slowed my learning curve some. I am about ready for my first hammock.

FWIW I do virtually all of my hammock sewing now on exactly that model of Singer. It is just about everything you need (and nothing you don't) to sew just about any type of outdoor gear project; it is relatively inexpensive, fairly strong, and pretty much tough as nails, and so fair mine has taken a fair amount of punishment with zero hiccups.

[4evrplan]

...I just bought a new one didnt really like the PFAFF I bought at goodwill...

Don't tell me that, my PFAFF is the only machine I've ever owned, so I don't have anything to compare it to, don't need to know what I'm missing.

Knaughtii, though I've been sewing for many years, my projects have been few and far between enough that I really still consider myself a beginner. One thing I do know though, is to start with the easiest project first and build from there. A hammock is about as simple as it gets, so it's a great start.

[TreeRing]

I just told my wife that someone got rid of their Pfaff for a Singer and got quite a look Guess it depends on the model and personal preference.

[Cruiser51]

I started the same journey last year, with a tarp project that I custom designed to fit my tentsile Flyte ... from the the videos and hype it all made sense and seemed pretty straight forward .... ordered the material and asked permission to use "our" sewing machine (Singer 4411) ... permission granted, fun begins.

- AS KC says, planning should take some time, it also should include "How" you plan to layout and size/cut the fabric ... it's surprising how large the pieces are and you need to think about how you are going to measure them
- You also need to have "the talk" with your sewing machine ... that conversation that puts you both on the same page. My first chat with the sewing machine lasted 3 days, in the end we agreed that if I learned to thread it properly, install the bobbin thread correctly, learn about tension, have a little patience and go slowly ... it would in turn actually work. I had so thread jams and such that I really thought it was broken .... it was just me all along, by the end of the project I had looked at enough articles and YouTubes, that I had gained a working knowledge of thread injecting
- If you can, take some fabric, similar to what you will be using and make a few stuff sacks. Plain or for the pieces you intend to build .... anything to get you on the machine with smaller projects to allow you to make these learning hiccups, you would not regret that investment in time. Think about it like driving a car ... for the first time, take a few trips around the block before you try and head out on the highway. Making a few mistakes on a smaller project is a simple shake of the head ... same mistake on an 12' seam is a swearing session.
- I learned a lot about sewing/techniques from the videos posted by JellyFish and a lot about designs from KC (Kitsapcowboy) .... don't try and re-invent the wheel, there is so much guidance here

For this year I decided to overhaul my gear, I have completed a TQ, a new hammock (11'6" ala KC), just stuffing the UQ today (with clew suspension ala Lev) and the tarp will be started tomorrow (ala KC Batwing) ... it doesn't take long to get pretty functional on the Thread injector, just takes some patience and practice.

Brian

[kitsapcowboy]

...and the tarp will be started tomorrow (ala KC Batwing) ... it doesn't take long to get pretty functional on the Thread injector, just takes some patience and practice.

Brian

Woot! Can't wait to see your results!