To all you sewing lot...

I got my binder today, took some light dremeling to extend the adjustment range a bit but it works fine. Not sure if I'll be getting a special foot, works fine without and I'd prefer not to have to swap foots anyway. Might order it to see if it makes any difference.

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Also look at Ace Supplies for UK buckles and velcro

This looks like an awesome gadget!

Thanks, yeah some of the Highlead models do look quite compelling.

My 60's Bernina has died and is not worth repairing according to the local repair place. The pedal has given out and to be honest it used to struggle with Cordura seams once they got somewhat thick, despite it being old/heavy/supposedly a good Singer 201k alike

How knackered is it?! Pedal replacement is easy, generic domestic pedal is £15, and just transfer the cables, like-for-like. The contacts do wear over time, making the control inconsistent, and make the power appear to diminish because it's not connecting at max.

Which model Bernina is it? I've got an old one (70's/80's) which seems to suffer from relatively low pressure on the presser foot, which means it doesn't handle thicker fabrics/seams too well. Been meaning to look and see if I can compress the spring more or replace/upgrade it, to get it back to a good, reliable level.

If possible I'd recommend keeping it. I find a quality domestic compliments an industrial, with the option to do zig-zag, bar-tacks etc if needed ....or if one packs up!

Hey - thanks for the reply

It's a Bernina 700 - purchased, according to it's guarantee, in 1966

woof! Looks fun :) Without knowing what the prognosis was from the service centre*, I'd say take a look online for tutorials, common faults/parts that wear. There's a tonne of youtube stuff on timing, and servicing, and it's always interesting to learn about how a machine works - and 'thinks'! - if you have the time.

Could be that the professional time it takes to get tip top (ie 4hrs @£50ph or similar) plus parts means it's not worth it on paper - ?

*if it's belching smoke and swarf, perhaps it's time is up.

My first basket bag out in the world! Made for a friend in Margate (pictured) for her birthday recently and it's the first thing I've made where I feel like yeah, this is actually halfway decent. Only thing that came out a bit messy was the binding stitching is a bit far away from the edge of the tape, but did at least manage to get all the way around without it coming away from the material and swing-away attachment arrived yesterday (thanks @Tijmen) so excited to give it another go soon.

1000d outer, heavy PVC lining, with attachment by over-top strap and/or underneath ones, depending on load size.

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man looks sweet ! That orange on the front is real nice, what kind of material is that?

Looks mint!

big cheers! orange pocket is actually I think 600D unlined cordura that I had from when I started, with a little ripstop lining on both sides.

Looks great - and the old bottom bracket U-brake by the look of it, I had one on an old Rockhopper, god awful thing.

I'm planning on making a basket bag and want to give it some structure with closed cell foam. Design will be similar to a Wizard Works Alakazam or Realm Basket Bag.

Has anyone here used foam in a bag before? What thickness did you use?

Full disclaimer, I haven't used it before, or made a bag like that, but I don't think you need much at all to boost the structure/shape. The different thicknesses of closed cell foam are for padding and reducing impact of the cargo into the body, whereas a basket bag just needs to support itself and contents(?). I think the thinnest of the foam options (4mm?), sandwiched in, would make a very sturdy panel with loads of bounce?

You could embrace seam construction, purposefully making beefier French/bound/rolled seams to create more structure. Could also double up the fabric, and use a contact adhesive to put in support panels, exactly where you need it, minus seam allowance to make it possible to sew? And belt stiffener might be handy for specific strength - like across the base or opening.

I might be completely wrong about all this - and maybe it's combination of different techniques for different types of strength around the bag - but just some ideas.

Look forward to seeing how it turns out!

I'm using 4mm Evazote wherever I use stiffening panels, my first instict was a sheet of HDPE for stiffness with a sheet of foam against rattling in the bottom and a ~15cm high strip of foam around the sides. But I tend to overdo stiffeners (Hello my name is Tijmen and I'm a recovering addict) so on second thought I'd lose the HDPE sheet and just go for a 15cm high open box of foam.

In my experience 4mm is more than enough, the main reason I put in stiffeners is for the bag to keep shape when empty, keeping shape when full is more a case of good packing and not something you'd want to force with inserts.

Thanks both - I'll start with 4mm foam and see how it goes.

I'm still trying to work out the construction and quite how the shell, foam and liner interact with each other. I hadn't thought about gluing the foam in place so that's another idea to look in to.

I'd use a floating liner, only stitch it to the shell at the top edge, should be more than suitably waterproof without having to get into seam sealing and it saves you a lot of seams that need finishing.

If you find a spray adhesive that plays well with foam and fabric I'd be keen to know! Alternatively you can sew the foam panels onto the seam allowances, just the corners would be enough probably.

My Arkel bar bag has a square of evazote loose under the removable floating liner. As an aside, it has a small hole in the middle of foam,with a small "half button-hole" in the underside of outer material for drainage.

I used to get glues/adhesives for accessories/footwear at Batchelors (London). Pretty sure they'd have a recommendation for a pliable permanent spray if you did want to try this way ....just make sure you've got good ventilation

https://jtbatchelor.com/

Alternatively, has anyone used a heat-set bonding film like Beamis or Framis, for something like this? I've got plenty of Bondaweb, which is a fibrous/feathery hot-melt film (I sometimes apply 2x, 3x layers to build up more adhesion), but never got hold of any of the proper thick/solid film.

playing around with this machine, but already out of thread

I want to get a big old reel of thread, like a mile or something. strong general purpose stuff, good for leather, canvas etc

any suggestions? thanks

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terrible photos sorry

I don't work with leather but I use Alterfil S50 as my general purpose thread, Nylbond 60 is a good contender.

https://shop.solentsew.co.uk/thread/bonded-polyester.html

thanks both, i dont see any UK stockists of Alterfil, but Nylbond is availible

lots of pretty colours at that link danb posted :)

I preferred polyester to nylon as it doesn't soak up water (and stretch) like nylon dies when wet - hence its popularity for sailmaking.