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  1. #1
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    Sewing a rolled hem on 1.1 Silpoly

    To quote Kenny Rogers:

    "...know when to walk away, know when to run."


    (Pretty sure I need a Jellyfish to call my own!)
    Last edited by TominMN; 08-24-2022 at 14:26.

  2. #2

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    Makes one truly appreciate the talent of some of our cottage vendors who make big tarps from this stuff. To continue your quote “you gotta count your money” and gladly give it to a talented vendor to make one for you.

    But… if you want to continue to play and practice, I found that a rolled hem foot for the sewing machine makes it easier. Still a PITA. After too many hours of frustration, I still don’t have a tarp I’m proud of (or that I’d use), but it has rolled hems and it looks kinda “tarp-ish”. I’d never have gotten there without that rolled hem foot. Watching Jellyfish videos crushes my ego - she makes it seem so easy.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by SubaruWx View Post
    ... I still don’t have a tarp I’m proud of (or that I’d use), but it has rolled hems and it looks kinda “tarp-ish”. ...
    Oh, I WILL use this rainfly! (Some day...)

    Quote Originally Posted by SubaruWx View Post

    ... Watching Jellyfish videos crushes my ego - she makes it seem so easy.
    Pros make everything look easy!
    Last edited by TominMN; 08-24-2022 at 19:08.

  4. #4
    psyculman's Avatar
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    A few things which greatly improved quality of sewing silnylon, which is very slippery, very thin, and seems like trying to sew water sometimes.
    1. reduce foot feed down pressure from what is normal for regular weight fabrics
    2. reduce thread tension to about a "3" setting
    3. use a "walking foot" attachment (produces a big improvement)
    4. pass fabric through with as slight as possible use of left hand guidance, meaning enough to keep fabric aligned, but with NO stretching
    5. if your machine has a "differential feed" adjustment, experiment with that setting
    6. sometimes a rolled hem attachment is not worth using, sometimes it is
    7. change to a new, sharp needle
    8. use a wide stitch length (3) or more, NOT a real close setting of 1 or 2
    9. use a zigzag stitch
    10. use a piece of printer or news paper under the pieces being sewn, this keeps the fabric from pulling down into the lower feeder
    11. pins. yup, they happen. For curves, for small areas. For sanity. I understand concerns, it COULD leak. But, a lot of times that's not a factor, Pins happen

    There are many nuisances, I still wind up with a big birds nest more than I care to admit, the seam ripper is my most used tool.
    Last edited by psyculman; 08-25-2022 at 00:11.
    Since I retired, some times I stay awake all day, some times all night.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by psyculman View Post
    A few things which greatly improved quality of sewing silnylon, which is very slippery, very thin, and seems like trying to sew water sometimes.
    ...
    4. pass fabric through with as slight as possible use of left hand guidance, meaning enough to keep fabric aligned, but with NO stretching
    ...

    There are many nuisances, I still wind up with a big birds nest more than I care to admit, the seam ripper is my most used tool.
    Now, that's my first problem. I need a left-handed sewing machine! I'm a southpaw. I have left-handed scissors and a left-handed circular saw. The left-handed hammer was the easiest to come by but some of these righty tools can be pretty frustrating.

    In general, your recommendations make a lot of sense. That and practice, practice, practice.

    Thanks.

    Seriously, that Silpoly is so slippery that even trying to just guide it seems to be just enough to impede the feed.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Cruiser51's Avatar
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    Granted sewing silnylon or silpoly tarp material can be a bit daunting to keep aligned. I tried the walking foot, without any real joy, same with the rolled hem attachment ...that is likely a skill level issue though. Also, tried the 2 sided tape, gunked up the needle ... so no joy there.

    I ended up just pinning the edge, while holding one edge with weight or tape .... just to give a bit of positional stability, this stuff likes to move. The biggest improvement I found is by using both hands to tension (just a little) the fabric as it feeds through the machine. Once you start a seam, reach back and grab the sewn part and using your other hand use it to add a bit of tension to the part being sewn, being careful to tension the fabric while not changing the feed rate.

    Make sure your needle is new (or near so) ... also if you haven't done a cleaning on your machine, look up a few videos and get that done .... it's easy to ignore/forget the maintenance part with a sewing machine, but if you want it to work well, it needs to be clean and oiled. Evert time I go looking for the cause of "rats nests" on my machine (Singer 4411), it always comes back as a tension issue and the advice is always the same 1) leave the tension in the middle range 2) make sure it is threaded properly ... making sure the thread is well seated in the tension plates, if you aren't sure, watch a few videos on that.

    But by far the biggest improvement I had was putting a slight tension on the fabric, using both hands, as it feeds through ... this allows you to hold the double hem tight as it feeds and provides a better surface for the needle to pierce and will pretty much eliminate that tendency for the material to get pulled into the bottom plate.


    Brian

  7. #7
    Senior Member gargoyle's Avatar
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    Put machine in reverse and turn it around.
    Problem solved
    Ambulo tua ambulo.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by gargoyle View Post
    Put machine in reverse and turn it around.
    Problem solved
    Duh! Why didn't I think of that?


    I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous!
    Last edited by TominMN; 08-24-2022 at 19:07.

  9. #9
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    “But by far the biggest improvement I had was putting a slight tension on the fabric, using both hands, as it feeds through ... this allows you to hold the double hem tight as it feeds and provides a better surface for the needle to pierce and will pretty much eliminate that tendency for the material to get pulled into the bottom plate.”

    I do this and it works. Took a little practice to keep tension between my hands while allowing the feed to function normally I.e not pulling it through.

  10. #10
    PopcornFool's Avatar
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    I used to pin, pin, pin, pin, pin. Hated it! But it was generally better than any other alternative. Then I discovered Magic Clips. Magic Clips are truly magical. The real ones (Taylor Seville) with the flat metal ends are much better than the cheap plastic Chinese knockoffs. They hold thin fabrics really well and they are much easier to use than pins.

    I found them on Amazon, but wish I had made the trek to a sewing store or Wally World instead so I could have seen the different sizes. I ordered the Small size initially and found them to be monstrously too big for what I wanted to use them for (hammock, tarp, and quilt hems; stuff sacks and bishop bags; and similar). I recommend the Minis or the Extra Smalls.

    I use them for pretty much all my projects now. I used them when making my latest tarp out of Membrane SilPoly (.93 oz), and they worked great! And Membrane SilPoly is some wickedly thin, slippery stuff!! They're worth considering IMHO. They aren't a panacea, but I can honestly say they have cut my swearing in half.
    ~ All I want is affordable, simple, ultralight luxury. That’s not asking too much is it?

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