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Try cutting on a piece of glass. Works well for sailcloth and nylon spinnaker fabrics.

Excellent advice!  Engel also recommends cutting on glass.  My only question is... where does one obtain a piece of glass big enough for a spinnaker, let alone a color guard flag?  And where the heck do you store such a big piece of glass?

Well... talked to Engel today!  Very informative conversation.  For $203.05 we can get a nice hand-held unit, a blade for curves, a blade for straight edges, plastic carrying case, and a brass wire brush.  Not as nice as the table top unit in the video, but very serviceable.

Presenting Engel's advice, plus all the information offered here, to our band director today.  Thanks so much!

You might want to check our Harbor freight if your looking for a cheapie hot knife. They sell one for around $ 20 and is used in crafts, etc. It will cut acrylic fabric but not very well. It works good on lighter materials though.

It has a blue handle and a long blade. Check that model out.

Thanks, Chris -- I'll check it out!

Maybe a thermostat controlled soldering iron will work?

Thank you, Allan -- good idea.  I will explore that as well!

I just found the hot knife of my dreams... *sigh*  It's cutting what appears to be a very lightweight material here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4kJMG0BxOQ

I will call Engel tomorrow for more information on the blade.  Maybe we can use it on a cheaper hand-held unit.



Edited to add... sadly, the "delicate materials" blade in the video is not interchangeable with any other unit and is way out of our price range.

Fantastic information... thanks so much!  I will definitely explore the knives you mentioned.

Neither of these have a switch that allows you to control the heat, so you have to pay attention and you have to have a safe way to set it aside as you move the fabric around!

Are you saying neither has a thermostat?

Fabric used for color guard flags is actually lighter than banner weight nylon.  Lame' is often used as an accent color -- that's how light it is.

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A little off topic here...

Our high school band received a generous anonymous donation, and I suggested using some of it to purchase a hot knife.  This would allow us to produce more professional-looking color guard flags than we have made previously.

I have never used a hot knife, and since I opened my big mouth... researching hot knives and learning how to use one is now MY job. HELP!

Fabric is "China Silk" (lightweight poly flag material, basically garment lining fabric).  Would we want this kind of knife, with a rod instead of a blade?



What do you use for a cutting surface?  Would a blade cut/melt cleanly through such thin fabric, or would the fabric bunch up in front of the blade?  Is it safe or wise to cut through several layers at once?

Trying to imagine every possible issue, but I don't even know what I don't know, so... ?


EDIT:  I originally said "nylon" -- fabric is actually POLYESTER.

Thanks, Paul!  That's enough to get me started.

If it helps anyone, I found a set of charts that compare sizes of different thread fibers:

www.industrialsewmachine.com/webdoc3/thread.htm#Chart (scroll down to see charts)

Could you tell me a little more about cotton thread?  I learned on whatever thread was at hand, and now use bonded poly exclusively because my machine hates soft (unbonded) poly and any kind of nylon.

I never tried threading my machine with cotton, though.  What sizes are equivalent to standard poly sizes?  Where can you still buy cotton?

Thanks guys, but I really can't take credit.  The site has a lot of good information.

Edited to add:  I worked with an upholsterer who used old cotton thread he had acquired from a closed shop.  This would have been over 20 years ago.  I sometimes wonder how his work has held up over the years... but I will say my mistakes tore out fairly easily.  Hmm...

From:  www.amefird.com/technical-tools/thread-education/thread-science

"Bonded" finish is an additional process performed on multifilament polyester and nylon threads where a special resin is added that encapsulates the filaments forming a tough, smooth protective coating on the surface of the thread. This bonding process adds significantly to the thread's ability to resist abrasion and greatly enhances ply security during sewing.

There's a shoe repair shop in a neighboring city.  Tiny mess of a place, but they do excellent work (they re-soled hubby's favorite shoes).  Mail order accounts for more than half their business now, and they are crazy-busy.

Heck, why not mention them:  Keosa Shoe Repair

Here are a few more shots of Coolaroo shades, as referenced in jojo's post:







Larger images here:  www.coolaroousa.com/view-product.do?product_id=799870399696.


I started first grade in 1970, right in the middle of the New Math era.  I'm pretty sure even the teacher didn't understand it.

...a women owned business would receive first priority in the bid process.

I personally know of two businesses where the wife legally owns the business (51%), but has nothing to do with it.  Operated entirely by the husband.

You can guess why.

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If it's a cushion, wouldn't it be faster just to serge the edges of the plates and boxing?  Assuming you have a serger, of course.  I started out serging all my cushion pieces until I realized it's usually overkill, but then you get those chenilles...

T-cushions are a little more challenging to serge, with those inside corners, but certainly not impossible.