Well, in the first place, are you sure that your sewing machine is up to
the challenge of sewing heavy-duty materials? If you bought it from
Walmart, it probably isn't.
But hopefully you have a nice commercial machine that will handle this
with aplomb. There is special UV-resistant outdoor-type thread. Any
place that sells fabric like Sunbrella and the like will have what you
need. Sailrite.com sells it, so does questoutfitters.com and probably
other places as well.
I'm getting ready to play around with my walking foot Singer to make some
awnings. What kind of thread should I get? I want strong, and UV
resistant. Is this something available at a local store? Maybe an
upholsterer's supply? There's one in Vegas near where I live. Or can I get
it online cheaper?
I don't want to spend an arm and a leg, but I do want good thread that will
last the longest. Brand names? Size/weight, or however it's rated. No
sense to cheap out if it will only last a few years.
Thanks in advance.
Steve
Where exactly in your original message did
you specify what model machine you were going to be using?
"...walking foot Singer..." is not exactly a lot of
information. I have a "walking foot" for my 1960 Singer
401A. "We" have seen lots of folks post messages about
their new "Industrial Singer" only to learn later that it's
actually a pile-of-junk-home-machine. I think Samantha was
just trying to warn you off of making a really big mistake.
In case you missed it, your previous messages (if any)
telling us about your machine, were not linked to this
thread. Chill!
Beverly
"Samantha Hill - take out TRASH to reply"
So, a Singer walking foot 111W155 isn't a machine capable of sewing a couple
of layers of canvas? Did you read my post at all? Why so negative?
Steve
You will want a size 69 at least, the 111W will handle up to 207 but that is
probably overkill for Awnings.
I would think a good place to start is the same source as the Sunbrella you
are using.
--
Ron Anderson A1 Sewing Machine
18 Dingman Rd., Sand Lake, NY 12153
If you're going to make comments, please post all that was written.
Instead, you only posted what I said, jumped on it, and commented on
Samantha's comments with no comments. She apparently has something against
Walmart that has nothing to do with the questions asked.
Getting some material, thread, and trying your machine is a "very big
mistake"? Wow, this sewing is pretty dangerous stuff!
Next time post the whole conversation so that we can follow you. Or try to.
Steve
'scuse me.....
Did all y'all miss the forty-eight bajillion posts Steve has made over
the last several months, and the accompanying threads, about picking
the right machine for this project?
It would be reasonable to assume that he has collated the advice,
considered it for awhile, and made his selection with the project in
mind.
As to the thread....
I find that for heavy projects cotton carpet thread works well, but it
sometimes is a bit of a problem in my heavy work machine. Bobbin
mostly. So I usually look for a linen thread at the leather or marine
shops. The thread from the marine shops is preferred by me, because
the thread for leather work is often only available heavily waxed(1).
There are a good many threads available for sailmaking and repair that
might be more suitable for your purposes than the plain linen I am
generally on the lookout for. The linen is as strong or stronger than
the cotton, at a lesser thickness, which is what I am generally after.
Aother option would be an outdoorsman's shop, something made for tents
perhaps?
NightMist
(1) the waxed is better for sewing leather, but the local shops sell
for handwork mostly, and you could almost make candles from the excess
that scrapes off when waxed thread for hand sewing leather goes
through a machine. Beter to get unwaxed, modify it myself, and save on
machine maintainance.
On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:04:18 -0800, Samantha Hill - take out TRASH to
--
Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.
You didn't mention the model number before. The reason I commented on
the machine was because once upon a time, I tried sewing something too
heavy with an otherwise decent home machine before and caused myself an
expensive repair.
But I didn't consider that post to be negative, because I did give you
the information you were looking for, right?
My comments had nothing to do with Walmart, unless you consider the fact
that they don't sell heavy-duty commercial sewing machines something
against them. I could just as easily said Target, which is a store
similar to Walmart, but not as many people would have recognized them.
I don't remember names that well, so yeah, I didn't connect them.
If I am at fault for not remembering everything that is discussed on the
newsgroup before answering a post, mea culpa.
(OP) decided to start an entirely new thread, with no
reference at all to what model SM he has or that he had
posted previous messages. But it's *our* fault, because we
failed to research his previous messages, right? No, I
didn't think so, either.
Beverly
Yes.
I set my newsreader to delete messages after 15 days. All
OP had to do was post again *in the same thread* he started
before, then there would have been continuity (or at least
context) to his information. He expects the entire world to
*remember* or *research* his previous contributions?
It would be reasonable for OP to continue the discussion *in
his original thread*....
B
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:54:19 -0800, Samantha Hill - take out TRASH to
Nah, I don't expect everybody to remember everything.
It is just traffic has been awfully slow here for a while, so Steve's
previous posts and the replies sort of stood out. Or so I thought.
Though I am not into awnings I read through a lot of it to see if
there was anything I could use. Thought there might be because I do
sew leather fairly frequently, and articles on heavy sewing jobs often
contain useful nuggets. So maybe I was paying more atention than
average.
NightMist
--
Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.
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