Working with Vinyl Covers

[Mojo]

I just got my first shipment of Soluna, the new cover material sold by Miami. It is a 19 oz vinyl coated fabric.

I have a couple questions for those of you who are experienced with vinyl coverings such as Herculite, Weathermax, etc.

1.) What do you use to mark on the vinyl with ? I have a hell of a time getting tailors chalk to mark and stick.

2.) Secondly, when making folds around the edges, do you use anything to hold the folds in place while sewing ? Obviously your not going to crease this stuff like acrylics.

Any help or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks ya'll,

Chris

[MinUph]

You can always mark the back of vinyl with a pencil. Or the face with a china marker. As for folding it there is no way that I know of to hold it there except your fingers. You will get the feel of it in short order. It ain't fabric :)

[Mike]

china marker or grease pencil . as far a folding only when im topstitching with my hands

[Rich]

I used to use staples to hold two or more layers of vinyl together before sewing until I found that those little spring clips used for holding multiple layers of paper in place are easier. They come in different sizes, but the smallest ones work for my application. You might want to try a larger version on awnings, but all of them have a pretty strong grip.
Rich

[Mojo]

Rich:

I have two boxes of those spring clips. I use them all the time to hold material together for seaming as well as clipping off the ends of rolls while I am sewing edges. I think I would go nuts if someone stole my clips. :)

In regards to the folds, I guess I am going to have to get used to it. I also want to give my impressions on the Soluna. If your looking for a heavy duty vinyl cover material this stuff is it. At 19 oz's it is thicker and heavier then Tuffstuff.

Mike, since your one of MiamiMikes customers, give him a call and ask him to ship you a small cut and a sample card. It would seem you would have some applications for this material in your line of work.

Chris