sewing tools for fixing a bag

Any awl will do what you want: make a hole. Make one if needed. Put a finishing nail o desired size in the end of a dowel or piece of broomstick and file it to a point for a quickie. Finish off the wood depending on if you want to keep it for further use. JPBill

It sounds like what my father had. He called it a sailmakers palm. I don't know if they are still being used in the lofts or not. They may have a newer device. Any sailing club could lead you to a source I would think. All the best. Don

"Paul Falconer" wrote : Hello all

I googled "sailor's palm" recently enough that I'm pretty sure they still exist; I vaguely recall learning that there are different kinds of palms for different jobs, and tools with different names that serve similar purposes.

I have a gadget called a "sewing awl", and the very first hit on Google assured me that these are still being made, but now they come with waxed polyester thread instead of waxed nylon.

A sewing awl is a heavy-duty pin vise with space in the handle for a small spool of thread. You use the pin vise to push a gigantic sewing-machine needle through leather or canvas. The vise part looks exactly like the chuck for a drill bit, so I don't see any reason you couldn't chuck up a real sewing-machine needle if you wanted to punch a smaller hole. Though the shank of a sewing-machine needle isn't round, which might cause trouble in centering. (But I think there are some industrial sewing-machine needles that aren't flat on one side. Heaven only knows how you get them into the machine properly.)

Joy Beeson

Sounds like a sailmakers' palm. And the "beading" is probably what is usually called piping -- piece of fabric wrapped over a cord, covered cord sticks out of the seam.

I find that I can pull needles through most cordura type nylonspretty easily unless it's a coated nylon. Or the fast fix, if you've got one handy, is a shoe repair place. They've got the machines to stitch it in just a few minutes. Probably cheaper than buying a palm.

Kay

Joy speaks of a "Speedy Stitcher". Still being made and about a 10 spot. I've used mine since 1952. JPBill

I have one but haven't quite sussed out how to use it.

Amazing, Joy you are great.