Canvas thread

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.

Thanks for the information.
Steve

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

Plonk

Be my guest.... ;-)
Beverly

'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

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

I'm glad to see someone is still conscious here. For the last three months, there has been very little posting.
Steve

This group has always been slower than news:alt.sewing, and I follow them both.