Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:04:38 -0500
Reply-To: Don Thomas <don_thomas@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Thomas <don_thomas@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Friday rant: fabric stores and sewing
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I too have started sewing recently and have found it exactly the same as
carpentry and machining as far as fun, usefulness and skill set. My brother
had me get him going during the holidays.
Don
82 Westy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Felder" <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 8:08 PM
Subject: Friday rant: fabric stores and sewing
Today there was a thread on what to use to attach one fabric to
another. All kinds of glues were discussed. Sewing was mentioned a few
times, and in two of those posts it was mentioned that fabric stores
are the haunts of women, etc. Like the kitchen was thirty years ago.
I recently figured out how to sew. It didn't take long. I inherited my
grandmother's 1926 Singer 101 and have put it to good use. I am a
pretty good mechanic and woodworker, and I see no difference between
those pursuits and sewing, or welding, or masonry to name a few.
I have not been in a fabric store in a long long time, but I'm sure I
will be again. I am a known face in my local upholstery shop. In the
last several months, my sewing projects have included
• nine hours of restitching a $2000+ pool cover
• a kayak hatch cover like you can't buy in a store
• a wheelchair cushion zipper, saving $200
• a roll to hold all the pieces of my westy's removable seat track covers
• reupholstery of a kitchen booth seat
• a padded cover for my bulkhead-mounted Olympian Wave III in my westy
and more.
This is already over 3 grand worth of savings not counting the number
of small items I've repaired. If you are excluding the acquisition of
a sewing machine (dirt cheap) to your tool set because you think
sewing is beneath you, and you are already process-minded and
mechanically inclined, you are missing out on something that will help
you immensely.
I will soon replace the zipper in my westy poptop screen, sew a tyvek
weather cover for my westy and sew a roll skirt for my kayak.
Anything you want to know about it is on a youtube video. You can get
into it for less than $50. It isn't rocket science.
Jim
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