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  1. #1
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    Post First time diy and so many questions

    Hey all. Hope every one is doing well.

    So here’s the thing, with zero sewing experience I have decided to dive in head first and attempt to construct an entire gear set for my self and wanted to start this thread as a kind of progress report I can share and a place to gather answers to the plethora of questions I am bound to have.

    I have purchased most of the matterials I will need to put together a new 11’ hammock, suspension, Bugnet, down fill top and under quilts, pack cover, rain kilt, and various stuff sacks. (tarp will come later). Tho I have done a fair amount of reasearch via HF and YouTube I still have about 1 000 000 questions.

    The first few are on fabric types, thread types, needle selection and stitch length

    I have Robic 1.2 for my hammock body, Calendared 1.0 hyper D and 1.1 ripstop nylon for quilts with .67 noseeum mesh for baffles, .9 mesh for Bugnet , Camo 1.6 silpoly pu4000 for water proof projects, and gutermann mara 70 to put it all together.

    My question is what is the most suited combination of needle size, thread type and stitch length on each type of fabric or application to use as I want to design each project as professionally and refined as possible.
    Where will your adventure lead you? I stoped at heaven, but still have a long way to go.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by Knaughtii View Post
    So here’s the thing, with zero sewing experience ... I want to design each project as professionally and refined as possible.
    Admirable ambition, though bordering on impossible to achieve if by "design" you're including the fabrication and you want the actual finished gear to be anywhere near as refined as what you would get from the "pros". If you're patient, persistent, and have a natural knack for DIY stuff you could come up with a great setup. But sewing big pieces of slippery, ultralight fabric, is not easy. Getting nice, polished, professional looking seams takes a good bit of practice even with normal fabrics.

    I'm not trying to discourage you from making your own stuff at all. Just have realistic expectations. If you actually make that much gear, by the time you finish your last piece you'll probably already have improved enough to look back at the first thing you made and think "that looks terrible, I could do so much better". But it might be perfectly functional, just not as pretty.

    I'm a bit of a DIY nut myself, and I've done a variety of interesting sewing projects in the past. I've got a shop full of dangerous power tools, a saw mill, a forge and blacksmith tools, and lets not even start talking electronics. The little bit I've recently done sewing hammock gear (mesh tarp skins, sil-nylon hammock skins and backpack cover) is enough to know that I could make about anything I want to if I'm willing to spend the time, but it's not going to come out looking anywhere near as nice as my Warbonnet and Dutchware gear. For some things that's OK and I do it anyway because I just enjoy DIY projects.

    You might find a variety of recommendations (sometimes conflicting) on the best needle size / thread type / etc for a given type of stitch in a given fabric. But it gets more complicated when you're doing hems with varied layer counts and joining multiple types of materials. The recommendations I will give (and take this as my free $0.02 which might not even be worth that much) are : Have some extra material to practice on, and keep practicing until you're happy with the results. Get to know your machine, get a feel for how the tension interacts with the fabric, how different textures stretch and slide as you feed your work piece. Destructive testing is your friend. Use whatever guidelines you can find online as a starting point, but don't expect them to be a perfect fit for your needs and don't be afraid to find your own "best" settings. And if you really get into this, be prepared for friends and family to start thinking about staging an intervention (which you might be able to easily forestall by handing out a few homemade hammocks....)

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    The needle is keyed to the thread much more than to the fabric. For the usual Geuterman Mara 70 that's a size 14 needle per the manufacturer. A lot of people to keep it simple use Mara 70 for everything. It works and is easy to source from the DIY suppliers and means you can worry about just one needle size. It's probably overkill for things like stuff sacks but definitely use it for hammocks and backpacks. Because I do other non hammock sewing I use Mara 70 for my heavy stuff like backpacks and hammocks and then Mara 100 (sew-all) for things like stuff sacks or clothing and that uses a smaller needle. Before I branched out into other sewing it was all Mara 70 and size 14 needles from me. Almost my whole kit became DIY made stuff.

    Rough consensus on the last stitch size length thread was something around 2.5 - 3mm depending on the person. I usually run 2.5 myself.

    Edit* Also like mentioned above your first stuff will probably be functional but might not look the best. I've made 6 quilts so far and there's always room for improvement. That said I would take any of my six out and know they would work fine it's just that some look more DIY than others. Complicated things like back packs are there own special beast.
    Last edited by MoldyFrog; 04-18-2018 at 22:53.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Knaughtii View Post
    My question is what is the most suited combination of needle size, thread type and stitch length on each type of fabric or application to use as I want to design each project as professionally and refined as possible.
    One more thing : there's one "needle size" and "thread type" I can wholeheartedly recommend and which IMHO you can achieve very refined and professional looking results with just a little research and practice : loop turner,
    splicing hooks, Amsteel, and 1.75 mm Dyneema line. There's all kinds of useful bits (whoopie slings, ridgelines, ... ) you can make with these, basic splicing skills are a lot easier to learn than sewing, and it takes a lot less practice to make stuff that looks just as good as the "pros".

    The downside is that this might get you hooked on wanting a lot of new Dutch Bling to go on your lines (wait, no, that's actually a good thing... yessss..... Bliiiinnnngggg.... CREAK (cough)
    no Dear, I'm not getting addicted to another - what? Order a Dutch Bling Printed Pillow? Of course not, how sil... DON'T OPEN THAT BOX...
    um, sorry, gotta go now )

    - James

  5. #5
    Senior Member Karla "with a k"'s Avatar
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    I was once like you, young padawan. Here's a thread on my experience: https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...mers-DIY-story
    ◘ May 17-19: BACONFEST @ Interstate WI SP ◘ Oct 3-6: miCHILIgan @ Middleville, MI ◘ YouTube: karlawithak216 ◘ Instagram: i.am.karla.with.a.k ◘ 97 months

  6. #6
    Member
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    I've got three words for you. Jellyfish, Jellyfish and Jellyfish. I've watched each of her videos at least three times and some of them many more.

    Not only did I learn a lot about how to make gear, I also learned how to avoid many simple newbie mistakes.

    I made a set of gear last spring and am already starting on a new and improved set for this year.

  7. #7
    Senior Member drifter's Avatar
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    As you pointed out you have zero sewing experience, so don't expect your work to look as good as our vendors that do this every day. All you are trying to do is make your stuff functional and stay together. Crooked seams and other "not perfect" steps are what gives the gear character and makes it personally yours. My gear has A LOT of personalty but they work just as good as store bought.
    My ego said, SURE you can.
    Half way in my body said OH NO YOU CAN'T

    Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

    My YouTube

  8. #8
    Member TreeRing's Avatar
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    Another newbie here - good luck to you! This stuff is fun! (Disclaimer...working with down does not look fun, so I haven't tried it).

    +1 for watching Jellyfish videos - they have been invaluable to me. I would suggest practicing a few simple hems on a non-outdoor fabric just to get the feel of the machine. When that seems comfortable, start with the easy stuff like the hammock and stuff sacks. A simple hammock is nothing more than three rolled hems - no sweat. A stuff sack is similar. but you roll down and hem the corners first. Take your time and be careful at the end of the fabric (yes I have sucked ripstop into the bottom of my wife's fancy German sewing machine a la Karla's awesome yellow pajama post linked above, but lessons were learned).

    Final note about quality: when I got into this I knew that there would be a learning curve and that my technique would improve over time. I asked myself whether it was going to bother me in a few years camping when I looked down and saw crooked seams or other cosmetic distractions. For me the answer was no...I can look up at the birds instead! In my mind, crooked seams are no different than the faded cliché of a tattoo I got in the late 80s...just a reminder of where I have been and how far I have come. It's all part of the ride, so enjoy...

  9. #9
    Senior Member kitsapcowboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DiceCaller View Post
    I've got three words for you. Jellyfish, Jellyfish and Jellyfish...
    Ditto.

    The only other thing I can add after having tried a few DIY projects to date is that no amount of pretty sewing can help you recover from a bad design.

    The devil is in the details, so inches and degrees matter, and they can have a substantial effect in the field if your top quilt is a couple of inches too short or your asym tarp is a couple of degrees too narrow over the gathered ends.

    Cowboy's Rule of Original DIY Projects:

    "If you didn't spend more time designing than building, you should have gone back to the drawing board."
    Smart graphic design for all your needs by BGD

  10. #10
    Senior Member
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    Yes, plan plan plan. Buy more material than you think you'll need. Worst case you'll have some extra stuff sack material. Even better if you can get any old grandma fabrics from garage sales or such you can use that fabric. I've bought a few totes of fabric from garage sales cheap. That old floral print is horrible now a days and it will sew a little different than say an ultra light fabric but I can use that fabric for my test blanks. Trim it and sew it up, verify the stuff sack will fit the quilt you just made. Nothing worse than being proud of a nice stuff sack and then realizing it's two inches too short and you have to start over. Took me three tries to make my hanging food sack. Just stupid oversights on my part but they happen.

    I try to make a blank from my garage sale fabrics on most projects (except for giant things like hammocks or tarps). Always on something new like say a synthetic insulated sleeping hood I've been poking at getting finished. Really helpful for backpacks too. I'm like most people and like to pretend I'll be really good at any new endeavor. Sewing is easier than I had thought but sadly I'm no sewing savant. Like mentioned earlier my stuff I've made has by and large always been serviceable but it's far from what you can see from the cottage guys. That's understandable though, I sit behind a desk 8 hours a day and they are sewing 8 hours a day.

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