New Appreciation

[Mojo]

I have a new appreciation today for all of you canvas people who work with large pieces of fabric.

I had to stitch some lengths today that were the biggest I have ever encountered ( but much smaller then what many of you have sewn ). I had two that were 150 inches and you learn in a hurry how to roll and sew. :)

I am glad I do not have to do many large pieces. It makes my shop seem small. :)

Any advice on how you handle these large pieces of fabric and feed them through your machine without running your stitching lines all over hells half acre ?

Chris

[JuneC]

You get really tired arms and shoulders for at least the first 2 years.  Left shoulder in particular from pulling and lifting.  Right now, if I stand in a tank-top looking at the mirror with arms relaxed, that muscle that runs up from the back of the shoulder blade to the base of my neck is probably an inch higher than on the right.  I have no doubt it will wreak havoc with my neck and back as I get older from having that one muscle overdeveloped.   There's no way it can help but pull my spine out of alignment. 

Anymore, I'm passing on some of the big jobs I get asked to quote.  Last one I did was a full cover for a Sea Ray 240 SunDeck (3 lengths of 60" Sunbrella at over 300 inches long each) and I said to myself - never again.  I prefer marine upholstery.

June

[SHHR]

On a regular occasion I repair pool covers for a local pool company. They specialize with in ground pools and have a lot of automatic covers in use. Many times the edges get torn up or the thread simply lets go so I'll either re-stitch a cover or install new edges that slip into a track. It's nothing for these covers to be 40'+ in length that needs at least two passes on each side. The covers are too big to fit at my sewing table, so I have to move my machine to the middle of the shop and on really big covers move the machine to one of my overhead doors. It takes a lot of effort to move the material through the machine alone (sometimes I get my wife to try and hold it straight while I sew) It's a very heavy vinyl and is usually filthy too. I usually just take plenty of time to work it through though so everything comes out straight and the company doesn't mind paying what I want to do it.
Kyle

[Rich]

Old, filthy pool covers, I can't think of anything much worse than those! Especially when all those shock springs get hooked on the edge of the bench.
Mojo, I'll be doing some sunshades in a few weeks that measure 12'x15' each. That oughta be fun!
Rich

[lamx]

I feel your pain - I am working on my first (and last) boat cover for a friend who wouldn't take no for an answer.  If I were to take on this type of work in the future, I would probably set up like a sail loft and either sink a sewing machine in a pit in the floor so the bed of the machine is level with the floor, like



or construct a huge, slippery table like



As it was, I put a 4x8 sheet of plywood on two saw horses beside my machine to raise the fabric up almost to the level of the machine bed.  Made things much easier, but not the ideal solution.

Ed

[bobbin]

A veteran of awning work, I regularly work with very long runs of fabric.  I highly recommend 3/4" double stick tape and a long arm stapler, Chris.  I take about a 4" fold along a selvedge and then continue the roll toward the other selvedge.   Leaving about 2 1/2-3' unrolled, line the edge of the the rolled piece over the taped selvedge of the other piece.  Carefully peel the tape, pressing as you go.  Acrylics don't stick particularly well, but will "hold" long enough for you staple the 2 pcs. together.  When you have done that, begin rolling the taped pc. in toward the seam you are planning to stitch.  When I am faced with joining runs for a very large "blank" I always begin by sticking and stapling 2 runs and then joining the "sets of 2 runs" together.  This allows me work with pcs. that are of equal weight and therefore feed more evenly under the needle.  Make sense?  If you prefer, you can simply take a 1/2" seam and then topstitch the allowance to one side.  This is a stronger seam since the first line of stitching is always "hidden" from the sun.  (this is what I do when making awnings for myself, when I don't call a local shop and have the acrylic heat welded). 

I did a huge poolcover the other day, and the real trick to handling big, bulky, heavy items is to think before you plunge in!  You really need to "work smart".  To that end, if you are planning to work on very large pcs. of canvas it would behoove you to purchase a long arm machine, one that will allow you to roll more runs and still feed it through the machine with relative ease.  It also helps to have a machine outfitted with a puller that can be lowered at will and keeps even tension on the runs as they pass under the needle. 

You get used to the work and you will find that it's easier to control the stitching if you keep your left arm under the work and lessen the weight your machine is attempting to pull toward and ultimately under the needle. 

[Darren Henry]

I am glad I do not have to do many large pieces. It makes my shop seem small. Smiley

Ain't 'ya glad you're not still in the trailer ?  ;D

Ed is dead on the money. I don't care how many screws and bolts you can snap off; trying to wrestle that much "canvas" over a standard sewing machine table is bloody hard slogging. That's why I was asking if you had rigged a drop leaf to the side of the machine as well when you posted pics of the new shop. My old set up was much like yours but I had that 3X4 work table that I slid up to the left of the machine/end of cutting table and a drop leaf that filled in the void under my left elbow. Even that made a huge difference.

One of the first jobs I had down here was to construct a 20X24 foot tarp out of vintex (Y'all call it 18 oz herculite down there) . There is a 12 inch-ish table on the front and left of the machine. That's it, that's all. As luck would have it Dad drove down for supper (he's only an hour away now) and showed up way early. I'm glad now that I pulled as much wire for him etc..(he was an electrician) as a kid because he sure heaved puddles of herculite for me that night.  ;) I let him have the bigger steak  ;)

I still don't have the tables set up to my liking but I do at least now have a "catch table" in front of the machine so when I make RV awnings (way bigger than my cutting table ) I go over and cut them on the floor in one of the service bays , lay A on top of B, staple the edges together, Then roll the top layer to within 6" of the seam and then the bottom layer until it touches the top layer. I run it through the machine, put a small bead of latex glue in the salvage to seal the stitch holes and then just flop the top roll inside the throat of the machine and top stitch.

[Mike8560]

My tables are 16' long   8' behind mt needle  and 8' infront.
When sewing long piece. I'll cut my first length roll it up and just sew off the roll behind me on the spool

The storm screens I just shortened last week taking a foot or so off the bottom edge were about 40' long three of them. Good thing I didn't have to sew in the middle of the screens

The worst job I remember was about 10 panels for a resort dinin patio in Honduras.
Ther were about 15 long by  10 tall all done in patio 500. Like herculite 80 very very  heavy!
Stuff that big you have to roll it up two way one so it's not wider then the table and the other so it dosent fall
off the ends.

[PDQ]

Not sure if I've posted our benches before:
http://milfordpreschoolplus.co.uk/scs/odds_sods/031.JPG

Now, if I could only keep them clear from junk then large covers wouldn't be a problem, much. :)

[Mojo]

Not sure if I've posted our benches before:
http://milfordpreschoolplus.co.uk/scs/odds_sods/031.JPG

Now, if I could only keep them clear from junk then large covers wouldn't be a problem, much. :)

How do you get to your machine ?   :)

That round part of your table that wraps around the machine is awesome. Very cool idea.

Chris

[PDQ]

Not sure if I've posted our benches before:
http://milfordpreschoolplus.co.uk/scs/odds_sods/031.JPG

Now, if I could only keep them clear from junk then large covers wouldn't be a problem, much. :)

How do you get to your machine ?   :)

That round part of your table that wraps around the machine is awesome. Very cool idea.

Chris

The sections behind the machine are extenders that are attached by using piano hinges (drop leaf). They are only used for large covers. :)

[R.A.F. CaNvAs]

I see what you mean PDQ.  You wouldn't want to do anything bigger than a winch cover in that place .
Heres the little set up we have down here,
It kinda works OK until it falls off the bench.   ;)

[fragged8]

hey RAF

I'd kill for space like that .

How did the full burka canvas come into being :-)
is it your boat or a customer ?

where you have sewn the zipper across the top and down the side of the sprayhood
you think about sewing it into the seam of the sprayhood ? I know it would be more
of a PITA but i was thinking of doing it on my bogey green hood.

Rich

[Can-Vas]

Biggest I've had was a full winter cover for a big motor-yacht (converted commercial fishboat) - it was basically 2o ft by 40 ft.  Really had to think of the order I was sewing panels when putting it together so I wouldn't get stuck having to sew into the middle...    :o

[PDQ]

I see what you mean PDQ.  You wouldn't want to do anything bigger than a winch cover in that place .

Now come on, RAF. With each bench at 14' x 9', a small quantity of winch covers is fine. Lee Cloths on the other hand are a major problem. ;)