Thru-Hiker

A trick for gripping Silnylon

2012-05-05T23:23:55Z

Just a fyi,
While moving a tarp through the living room last week I noticed it got hung up on my couch.

So I did a little experimenting and discovered that microfiber cloth and silnylon grip each other nicely, very much like static cling.

Working with patterns and sewing certainly got easier when handling the material.

Exits and Junctions

2012-05-02T13:30:29Z

Finishing up a new Kinsman and have a couple of questions…

Drawcord Exits:
My drawcord exits always look really tacky. (pics attached). I have yet to figure out a way to neatly accomodate the drawcord exit holes with the French seam. The problem seems to stem from when I fold it in 1/2” along the bottom hemline. While this makes it stiffer for the drawcord to come through, it also creates a bulky fold in the fabric which has to eventually be merged into the French seam. Is there a trick to smoothly integrate the fabric from the exit holes into the French seam?

Seam Junctions:
I am always a little puzzled about how to sew over seam junctions, such as the shoulder yoke seam and collar seam on the “Stabilize the Neckline” step. (ie, you’re stitching along the collar and then run into the seam which connects the front and back at the shoulder yoke)

Should both sides of the perpendicular seam seam allowance you encounter (the shoulder yoke, in this case) just be folded down and sewn over? It seems like if you fold both sides down in the same direction and sew over them, it often creates a visible tuck in outer shell (could be my bad sewing technique). Or is it better to just finger press each side open (opposite directions) and sew them down that way?

Other ideas: sew up to the perpendicular yoke seam, stop, pull out the needle, jump to the other side, and restart there. Or snip the yoke seam allowance fabric right where the seam line will be, and then just stitch straight through. (this would leave the long section between the collar and sleeve seams free from being sewn down; the short sections at the ends would be sewn down)

Is there a best way to deal with these seam junctions?

thread and needle suggestion?

2012-04-08T15:23:43Z

So I’m embarking on an epic quest that is nearly destined to fail and/or hit major road blocks haha. I’m going to make myself a down quilt, stuff sack, and ground cloth to upgrade my backpacking gear. I placed an order for the down quilt kit here last week and can’t wait to get it and start working away!

I’m just curious as to what thread you all would suggest, if any? when searching on amazon there are a gazillion different 100% polyester threads and I don’t know if one would be better than another or its all just moot. Also, the best needle to use would be a size 9, am I correct?

and of course, any general tips on practicing my sewing skills (or just sewing my bag at all)? I haven’t used a sewing machine in years and definitely need to get some practice in before I start to work with my new gear.

Backcountry Blanket/Quilt conundrum

2012-03-25T12:28:28Z

Hello and good day everyone! This is my first post on Thru-Hiker so you will have to excuse the ignorance! My question is this….I am trying to make a backcountry blanket, similar in style to Nunatuk’s BCB(TM). My wife and i have recently had a baby, so she won the argument, and i now have to make it large enough for 3 of us or no overnight hiking for us as a family. I still am going to make more of an Arc Ghost(TM) style for my solo trips. I have got the following supplies-5.5Lbs of 850FP. goose down-and on order-15 yards of momentum 90mr-15 yards of momentum 90T. now i live in Canada,(no, i don’t live anywhere near the AT…..i just really like this site for no nonsense info,and enjoy L.W. B.P.). Now, what should i be using for the baffles? Seems to me that no-nanoseeum meshes are NOT very strong as baffle material. Is there something that i am missing? Should i be looking elsewhere for materials for baffles, maybe the cloth style mesh(heavier)? I am trying to end up with a final weight of approx. 2 LBS. for a 2 person+baby quilt. Anywho, anyone that can help, please feel free to chime in,any info will help. Thank you, and happy hiking! westcoasthiker

Preserving master pattern

2008-02-25T13:38:34Z

Do y’all have any tips on preserving pattern pieces? I’m about to start work on a pair of shorts and there are a lot more fitting variables than other projects I’ve done. I’d hate to cut up the pattern, not have my test pair fit, and then not have the original pattern available.

—Byron

Liberty Ridge Jacket Report

2012-02-19T03:20:26Z

I just finished making my Liberty Ridge Jacket. This was my first experience sewing from a pattern. It was a little more difficult than I expected but overall I am happy with the results. Taking the advice I read on this site I sewed it first with a painters drop cloth. I am glad I did because after realizing how large the large is I ended up making myself the medium which fits great. Perhaps the most important thing I learned is that taking the time to iron and pin carefully pays dividends when sewing. I also learned that you cannot forego singeing the fabric after cutting it. About halfway through things started to unravel pretty bad and I had to go over it with a butane lighter. I’ll get an alcohol lamp before my next project.

I’m using this jacket for running so prefer to have it drape loosely rather than have an elastic waist. I used some of the leftover fabric and made it into binding tape. When it came time to sew the cuffs I had a difficult time figuring out how to do it. I ended up sewing the elastic fabric into a loop and putting it and the sleeve around an appropriately sized bottle I had around (mason jar would probably work well). This made it pretty easy to pin it all the way around before sewing. After sewing the first pass, I trimmed the raw edge of the sleeve to .25”, folded the elastic to the inside and stitched through the ditch to encase the raw edge. Not sure if this is what was intended but it seems to have worked.

As I wrote above. I’m really happy with the result, especially as this was my first sewing project. There are a couple mistakes that I made that no-one else notices but I can’t help but see every time I look at it. I might make another one just to try and get a little closer to perfect.

Thanks for the great kit and the great information on this site.

Teryk

Just how waterproof is Momentum90?

2012-02-19T19:13:39Z

I just finished my Liberty Ridge Jacket and it is perfect for my needs. So far I’ve used it for two runs in light rain and it breathes well and has kept the rain off. I was showing it to a co-worker of mine and he really likes the design and weight of it. He’s doing a 1 month bike trip along the pacific coast in late summer/early fall and wants me to make him some rain gear. It would be his primary/only rain gear during a season in which he could run into some pretty serious rains for the first half of the trip.

If I seal the seams is Momentum90 up to the task? As a test I made a depression in my jacket and poured in a quart of water. Almost immediately water was beading through the seams which I expected but not long after water appeared to bead through the fabric a bit as well. Is this even a valid test?

Teryk

Apex vs CS vs 3D/Delta etc

2012-01-26T18:20:23Z

OK Thru-Hikers, some time has passed by now since Climashield XP arrived and now there is a new CS on the market, Apex.

Just thought I would check and see what opinions were on this ever advancing and changing synthetic insulation.

Any opinions yet on if this Apex stuff is any improvement at all over the XP? The ratings for loft and CLO that Ayce lists seem virtually identical to XP, if memory serves. So what are the advances, if any? Maybe more durable, maintaining loft longer(does one dare hope?). Maybe more compressible? Or did they just decide to give XP a different name and it is actually the same stuff?

On that durability/maintaining loft question: has any one noticed if their XP or Combat have been holding their loft any better than PG Delta, or PG 3D or any of the previous incarnations of Polarguard? Though actually, some folks say that the newer versions, with thinner and hollow fibers, were even worse than the earliest PG at maintaining loft.

Any way, what do you folks think? Apex better than XP or Combat, and both of those holding their loft any better than 3D/Delta?

2 Free Packs (gone!)

2011-11-15T14:15:18Z

Hey folks - I’ve got two old homemade packs that are free to a good home. They are nothing special; my first two homemade packs when I was learning the ropes. One is light and well used (1000+ miles) but still has some life left. The other has little wear and tear (less than 200 miles) and is made of heavier cordura (200d) since it was intended more for mountaineering. They both were designed to use a Dana Designs Bomb Pack hip belt and between the two packs I only have one belt as I just used them interchangeably. I’d prefer these go to someone in need like scouts or something like that but would send to anyone I suppose. They are designed to work with a rolled up pad (tube style)for suspension. I ask for shipping cost to cover postage. Please email me for pics or other info

kenpuhn (at) hotmail (dot) com

20 degree Quilt questions

2012-01-16T10:48:06Z

Hi Everyone,

I was lucky enough to get a Thru-Hiker quilt kit for xmas and looking through the online instructions I have a couple of questions.

I want a 2.5” loft so hopefully it will be good to 20 degrees. Does this mean I need to make the baffles 2.5” high, or is it a bit less so the down can fill the chambers and puff it out to 2.5”?

The instructions say to cut 6” strips for the baffles, do I really need 2 inch seam allowances? would 1” be enough to double back? I can sew pretty straight.

Last one is regarding length, I understand that when filled with down the quilt will loose some length due to the puffyness. How much length roughly will be lost? I’m 6’3” so want to make sure it ends up being long enough for me.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Cheers,
Simon