To all you sewing lot...

Any bag-makers out there interested in waxed cotton fabric? We have some rolls in SE London/Deptford SE8, previously used for zip-up cases. I'd love to use but the wax will contaminate surfaces and machines which sew lightweights/waterproof fabrics.

Dark olive and Navy blue, £5 pm

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That's a nice blue. I'd have some if I was nearby.

No worries to post if you don’t mind me folding, can’t be too expensive

I'd go for 2m worth, will pm you

What weight is it? Still around?
If it wasn't for Brexit I might go for a roll, and then maybe make some Jackets.
But all shipping is so expensive and customs are idiots, so I don't think it's worth it. But would love to help you shift it and put to good use.

would take some off your hands if this is still going? am local so could collect

Did anyone hear from @Chopsicle regarding this? I need to make a frame bag in the near future and don't think I've got enough material left in my supplies

Sorry!! Been on my list for too long, absolutely, love to get this out to folks to use

The hesitation had been because I need to put down plastic before rolling out and cutting, to avoid getting the oily/wax coating onto surfaces in the studio.

…but @moocher you picked ripples in the cosmos. I’m in studio this afternoon cutting new timber shelving & sanding, so perfect to get the dust sheet out for this. Can sort today for you & anyone else.

Cool. I'll have 4m of the blue please

sweet! could I grab 3m of each please?

ooh, possibly interested - do you know (roughly) how heavy it is? looking for some fairly heavy for bagmaking (like 18oz?) (in se4 so can collect)

EDIT: not sure it's what I'm after for this thing, but I'll def take 2m of the olive anyway & use for something else if you're cutting

Anyone got a lead for some rubber/pvc backed black canvas? Or, anything good for sewing up into a frame bag?

I've bought this material before, but they dont have black

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264358227344?var=563962309250

I guess Dralon wouldn’t be close enough?

Maybe, I don't know much about it to be honest. The pcv backed stuff above was nice because it had a decent thickness. I've got loads of black waxed canvas but it's relatively thin.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask so apologies if not! I'm tired of getting a massive bruise on my hip from lugging my bass drum pedal around with it's shitty shoulder strap. I was thinking about bodging some backpack straps on to it. The case looks like this, it has a solid plastic back to it. Reckon I can just drill a couple of holes in it to attach some straps? Anything else to consider?

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Am after a new 'domestic' style sewing machine to complement the big industrial one. What should I buy?

What's your budget?

It's for a shared space, so I need to get a couple of quotes.

From a very cursory search I've seen a Singer for example for around £200.

I guess a question is, is there much more value to be had at say £400?

Second hand Bernina if you can find one.
830 is so good.

I'd avoid digital ones, and I'd try and look at them physically somewhere if poss. The gap between the needle and main body can be quite narrow on some machines.

@moocher what will you be doing with it?

I love the older Pfaff domestic machines and have a 1222 and a 1229. They are relatively easy to work on, clean, and adjust - although one thing to lookout for is they have a plastic drive gear which (not surprisingly) breaks after 50 years. It's easy to replace with new parts on ebay,

I use mine mainly for bar-tacking, and have modded one by removing the base plate, bolting it to bench, so it's just an arm to use on tricky accessories. The arm is probably the smallest I've seen on a domestic machine.

The reason I like them is they have a unique feature with a neat dropdown feedfoot, which really helps to stabilise things for bar-tacking and thicker fabrics or cord. The motor definitely has decent bit of power - definitely more than a Bernina 1090 of a similar era I have - so its surprisingly consistent on thick layers.

Afraid I haven't used any of the new heavier domestic machines (only the flyweight plastic-y ones, which don't bear thinking about) to compare to, but the old Pfaff are great machines if you can either find one in good nick or aren't afraid of a bit of trouble-shooting.

Edit @moocher I just remembered I did a post on my 1222 when I was doing the drive gear replacement, which might be helpful to see what’s involved
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMBDX7xFnng
The later 1229 model hasn’t shown any signs of this plastic fatigue

Thanks for the replies. It would be a general purpose one, mending and making at the lighter end of the scale. A general allrounder. We have a Highlead for heavy duty stuff but because it has a large table it's hard to do smaller, internal jobs (like patching the jeans from the inside, for example)

Bonus pic of tonight's project. Will be a bag, but early days.

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I've made a couple of little things in the past on my mum's old machine from when she was younger. There was a basically unused singer 4432 going for £50 on local Facebook so nabbed that and will hopefully use it rather than just leave it in a cupboard, on a test it flew through heavier fabric and webbing the old machine struggled with. I just need to get from the good idea stage to the actually making shit stage more often.

Also do the bike mechanic thing and give it some oil after all those years!

Frister Rossman cub 7. I learnt on my mum's in the 80s/90s and have just bought the identical model on eBay and it is absolutely fantastic. She is still using hers too