working with nylon

“i finally got around to making my down quilt-bag.

how do you keep the edges of nylon from fraying?

i've got about a 1/2 inch seam right now. will it continue to fray right out from under my stitches and ruin my bag?”

“you need to do the seams so that there is no raw edge showing or yes it will continue to fray. Sewing types have a term for it and there is some technique to make it easy, but I don't know how myself.”

“I would guess that some kind of hot knife cutter would seal the frayed edges.”

“1. There's a product called fray check you can use. That's probably the easiest. 2.You can use pinking shears on the seam edges. 3. Find someone with a serger to finish the seams or sew a zigzag stitch on the edge of the seam”

“I think you need to roll the seams or something like that. I have a sewing machine with a special foot that does that.

The other thing is that you might try using some fuseable interfacing or the fray check (it's like a liquidy glue). I learned to sew on my own, so hopefully someone else can give you better info....”

“Hem or lapped seam??”

“oops. I meant a "rolled hem", not seam roller... LOL

Here's a link that might help:

http://sewing.about.com/library/sewnews/qa/aaqa0101c.htm

it shows how to do it by hand.

edit:

here's the sewing machine foot I was talking about:

http://sewing.about.com/library/sewnews/library/aatech0803.htm
last edited: 10/07/04 12:03:02 PM”

“what's this fray check that you speak of?

is it like a glue or something ?
can i get it at walmart?

how effective are pinking shears? they'd probably the easiest solution right? especially since i still have room to spare on my edges?”

“When I made my down quilt I folded the fabric over about 3/8" and sewed it shut. This is all I did to the edges. The only problem with this is you have to go all around the bag for each side and then sew the two sides together. You wind up going around the bag 3x with stitches. It looks a little, uh, busy on mine.”

“love the edit feature!!!

You can get the Fray-Check at Joann's Fabrics, Minnesota Fabrics, etc.. any type of fabric store should have it.
It comes in a little bottle and is essentially like a type of glue--but permanent and can go through washing with no problem. I'd apply a little just to the edges of the frayed area....
last edited: 10/07/04 12:04:57 PM”

“Finishing nylon with a rolled seam is tricky because of slipperiness.”

“I've done a rolled seam on slippery fabrics before. The trick, however, is to do it BEFORE you begin putting things together. Although it still might work as long as you work slowly and carefully.”

“i think i'll get some fray check for this project, and get get one of the fancy foots for the future

muchos gracias to all”

“i have a surger that would do the trick...also seam check works (its like a glue)”

“I've worked with various fabrics, cotton, nylon/water resistent fabrics, et.al.

IMHO fray-check works best on fabrics like cotton.

Anything synthetic for outdoor use, I use a hot knife.

Rolled edges only seem to slow the fraying.”

“Looks like they need to put Home Ec back in high school, if there still is such a thing (I can't do any more than sew on buttons).”

“sew it together so all your seams are on the outside, wrong side of the fabric on the inside.. trim seam allowance to 1/4" and turn insideout. sew all the seams again so your first seam allowance is hidden. voila!! a french seam!
if it was me, i'd have used a hotknife - use less fabric and easier too.”

“Helinka, I'm impressed with your knowledge of the french seam used predominantly in sewing sheer fabrics and lingerie!”

“can you get one of these hot knives at walmart, or are they mainly specialty store items?

roughly how much do they cost? easy to use?”

“I take a candle and run the edge of the cut nylon along the flame so as to melt the cut nylon edge.
The key here is CARE. Leave the nylon on the flame to long and it catches on fire. I blow the small fires out pretty easy. ;-)

Then I use a rolled seam. I fold once and run a line of stiches down it, fold again and run another line of stiches. I use LOTS of pins to hold everything together.”

“I take a candle and run the edge of the cut nylon along the flame so as to melt the cut nylon edge.
The key here is CARE. Leave the nylon on the flame to long and it catches on fire. I blow the small fires out pretty easy. ;-)

you're much braver than me stomper!

i'd prolly end up burning down my house that way.”

“I bought a hot knife for $10 at a craft store. Wouldn't use anything else to cuy nylon. Works GREAT.”

“It's called a lap-felled seam if I'm not mistaken, basically rolled twice under and then sewed. Even with a hot knife, it will start to fray after a while if that edge is exposed to abrasion. Check out the lightweight.net site on the make your own gear page. Lots of good info there...”

“I would never leave an exposed edge with nylon... but the hot-cutting makes the nylon a helluvalot easier to work with imho.”

“I'm interested in having something made outta nylon. As much as I would love to sew, I totally suck at it. So, I'm trying to find someone locally that will work w/ silnylon. Not having much luck...”

“I sew for myself and family members, but don't think I can be paid enough to get me to sew for others. ;-)”

“tara, i went here and got this kit to get started. well worth the 12 bucks IMO.

http://www.thru-hiker.com/MaterialDetail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=MG116&subcat=Kits


i still don't know much about sewing in general, but i've gotten a lot better at working with silnylon.”

“tara - you don't have to be good at it for tarps, quilts, stuff sacks, or anything like that. I've mad sil stuff sacks that look decent. I've made a down quilt out of ripstop and next fall will probalby make a sub 2#, 10* sleeping bag. It's like Nike, Just Do It. Start with stuff sacks, then try a tarp and just keep trying more difficult projects. I'll probably try some type of insulated pullover next.”

“hey dayhiker, did you make your quilt just like the directions? did you find the temp rating to be true? i made mine according to 0* degree recommendations. the things only weighs 1.6 lbs. i'm pretty pumped to try it out, but i'm a little nervous that anything weighing only 1.6 lbs could be good down to 0*

i'm thinking of adding elastic cinchable straps to mine like this:





last edited: 10/08/04 11:06:38 AM”

“Tara..
I have 2 sewing machines (One was inherited)
and one of them has the special foot to do the rolled hems. Maybe sometime this winter when it's cold and yucky outside, you can come over and we can try making some gear! I learned to sew by myself, I don't do anything too fancy, but I used to swing dance and make some of my own clothes. As long as the directions are clear, I'm sure we would be fine! (Just takes some practice, that's all!)”

“SacO - LOL, I thought those pictures were of some very fine 'homemade' bags by you.
nunatakusa, lol.”

“shuh. right.

hey, will that fray check stick to silnylon too?”

“Yep, it's a liquid that solidifies.”

“You can also make your own "fray check" with GE Silicone II (Clear 100% Silicone) diluted with mineral spirits. Plus you can use it as your seam sealer.”

“The rating is way off. AYCE even says that somewhere. I made mine with directions for 20*, I think it was. Mine has a finished weight of 21oz which is 1.3#. I've used mine to 40* and would go to mid 30's, but that's about it.

I folded the top edge down to make a tube and ran some chord through it. I have a chord lock connecting the two ends together so that I can cinch it tight. It works really well. I'll never carry a sleeping bag again for temps 40* and above.”

“ps, what is sacoseverdheads non Halloween name? sacco?”

“ya, sacoseverdheads is my halloween name (sacco's)

are you a cold/hot sleeper?”

“Mine has 3" to 3.5" of loft, if memory serves. I'd say I'm an average sleeper. I also have a 20* campmor down bag that will probably keep me warm to 30*? I don't know if that's any type of indication though on the campmor bag.

What's your loft? It sounds like you might can go to or just below freezing with this. The thing you run into is that the quilt itself is very warm but it's sometimes hard to prevent drafts and you lose a good bit of heat around your neck since you don't have the head portion like a bag does. I actually considered making one and have velcro straps that could attach to the quilt. I decided against it since I'm probably going to make a 10* bag sometime this next summer.”

“PS, I don't have any good pictures of mine. I might can take some tomorrow and then stick them on webshots.”

“btw - congrats on completing the project. I was pretty apprehensive about making mine. I contacted Jeremy Padgett, the guy who designed the thing on thru-hiker.com, and it turns out he lives about 90 minutes from me. I had to go through his town to go to a conference about 3 weeks before I was going to build the thing and he let me stop by and check his out. It really gave me a boost of confidence to see this thing in person. Doing this project sight unseen is a huge accomplishment.”

“thanks, i must say i'm pretty darn proud of myself :)

i've only made a couple of tarps and stuff sacks before this.


i've got 4" of loft. i'm hoping i can get at least near 0* with it after i attach my elastic velcro bands. i was also thinking of making a fleece liner for when it gets below freezin.

maybe i'll add 3 elastic bands, one right at the top to cinch it up since it actually goes nearly a foot over my head.

i'm thinking about making a 40* one for the summer now.”

“You can probably get below freezing with this and a poly prop top and bottom. I wouldn't try it down to 0* without also having a least a 20* bag as a backup. If it's too cold you can sandwich them.

Personally, I'd use this for summer too. You'll only save 0.5# by going to a lighter one and it'll cost over $100. That's a pretty low $/wt type of number there. The good thing about the quilts is that if it's hot you can just kick it off you. That's why I used the chord and chord lock. It's adjustable.

That's pretty much what my experience level was/is too.”

“good point on the $/wt, but the mrs. could use this one for the summer and i could use the new lighter one.

i plan on trying it right on the front porch when it starts getting cold.

my elastic velcro bands will be adjustable too

if you do get a chance it'd be cool to see some pics. i made mine all black so i don't think it will show up on my point and click camera too well with out any contrasting colors.

oh, and congrats to you too!
last edited: 10/11/04 1:56:24 PM”

“Thanks. I did mine last Thanksgiving weekend. I got to use it for the first time at Savage Gulf, TN in January.

Mine is grey and black. The office conference room table is a hunter type of color. If it doesn't show up too well there then I can unroll some plotter paper and put it on top of a 3'x8' piece of paper.”