If you've ever carried a small diaper bag, and a toddler, you know the pain of accessing your phone. My wife wanted a pouch that attached with Velcro to her sling bag. I had some cordura fabric and waterproof zippers sitting around and I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Still learning so this 3hr project was the most fun 3 days I've had in awhile 😂

In a recent tent thread a couple of you asked to see pics of the hot tent I recently made. Here are some pics during construction and I’ll add more when I set it up next. I don’t have any pics of it with the stove jack and flap sewn in. I completed this project over a few weeks last winter. I was inspired by Snowtrekker tents, but adjusted the size a bit to ensure I had lots of room inside for two men to both sleep and hang around during the dark winter evenings when we winter camp. The footprint is 10’ x 12’ and the ridge pole is 6’ high.

The poles are from Easton aluminum and the angle pieces are steel and were welded by my nephew. I did the design using Sketchup. The canvas is 10 oz that I sourced from a local FabricLand. I did most of the sewing with my Singer HD, yes it can sew 8 layers of 10 oz canvas without much trouble. I serged all cut edges with my 4 thread serger. Fabric management was the biggest challenge, feeding a thick, rolled tent through the arm was sometimes difficult, but it always worked. I had my sewing machine sitting on a low 70s telephone table and I sat on a low stool in order to help reduce the gravity working against me.

I’m excited to use it this winter and to experience the luxury of a tent. Up until now I’ve only winter camped using a tarp shelter or no shelter at all. Getting up in the morning in -20 C to make coffee and breakfast with no real shelter takes a special kind of crazy to enjoy, and as I approach my late 50s that kind of craziness is starting to wane.

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DCF 1pole pyramid shelter

L 2600

H 1270

W 1600(1300+300)

227g

dcf 0.8 & 1.0, 1.43

woojin plastic

duraflex

atwood rope

What is this fabric? Looks lightweight and comfy. Looking to make climbing pants out of something similar. Thanks!

I regularly do 20-30 mile round trips to parks/skate spots. Throwing my board across my old Chrome back wasn't cutting it, it was rubbing the skin off my back and hurting my neck. I was considering buying a Fairdale skate pannier. Evidently the Fairdale rattles around, and unbalances the bicycle's weight. So after some measurements I ended up sewing this little taco style skate bag instead.

VX21 X-Pac was used for the exterior. Silicone coated Kevlar for the interior for where the griptape will contact. There's a bunch of slits in the bottom of the bag for tying the bag to the rack with paracord. The slits were reinforced with webbing. a couple zipper pockets on the top, enough for a cellphone and a flat repair kit

Two undone buckles and board slides smoothly right out the back of the bag. An old cut up yoga mat was sewn between the layers, so there's no noise or rattling, even on the terrible roads around here in Portland. Why buy when you can create? Sewing is awesome

Still learning so its far from perfect, Issues with edge bindings, getting correct measurements on gusset, order of operations etc.

But given it was made from recycled fabric from the good will I'm happy with it and I have enough fabric to make a few.

Outer fabric: recycled wardrobe thing (nylon canvas)
Inner fabric: recycled curtain (nylon + cotton)

Machines:
* Singer HD
* JUKI DNU-1541S

Hey everyone! Working on a 5-panel hat and trying to figure out how to get the crown to fit tighter/closer to the brim.

​I’m already using a zipper presser foot to get as close as possible, but it’s still not quite where I want it. Any tips, seam tricks, or construction adjustments that helped you solve this?

Hi, I’m making a roll top/docker cap.

Looking for advice and suggestions on the sweatband in particular

6 panels, the brim is one piece folded in half. No liner, seams covered on the inside with bias tape // outside top stitching.

Bias tape to cover the seam of the brim + hat base when sewn together, then folded inwards (to make the roll top). The twill tape is wide enough to cover the back hat strap (opening / size adjustment)

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I dont want to buy sweatbands (at least not yet) because I’m making finished test versions first, to make sure the sizing and pattern works.

Can I use bias tape to cover the seam/allowance of the brim + hat base, then attach twill tape against that for a sweatband?

Photos are an example of what I mean, one of the brim isn’t folded, and when the brim is folded (or sewn in place?)

Or are there better options? Using bias tape and twill tape?

I want to use cord loop webbing for a project I'm currently working on, but I was disappointed by the quality of what was commercially available. This afternoon I took a couple hours to make a jig for getting consistently spaced loops along 1/2in webbing. you can tension each side after weaving the cord through to get it nice and tight. after that, I hit the webbing/cord with a little super glue and let it dry. if I want a longer section, all I have to do is take the webbing off, move it over (leaving a few finished loops as a reference), and begin the process again.

Hey everybody. Here's a quick video on how I seam sealed my rain pants for my Iceland trip this year. I'm not going to say that this is 100% the recommended method, but I will say this worked fantastically for me and worked even better than when I seam sealed my goretex rain jacket without water.

Here's the gist:
1) Use a WPB fabric that will accept iron on seam tape (this fabric is 2.5 ply Ultrex)
2) Sew together your garment. Leave rolled hems like on the waist and ankle open and un-sewn.

3) Spray some water along the seam, lay the sticky side of the tape down on the seam, then spray some more water over the tape.

4) Use a dish towel to cover the tape. It helps keep the heat from getting too hot on the surrounding area and prevents the tape from sticking to the hot iron.
5) Use your home iron on a medium-high heat (depends on your iron) and press down on the tape area with some pressure, then iron along it and smooth it out.
6) Repeat 3-5 for all of the seams you want to tape. Let it cool down before moving it around too much or finishing sewing your garment.

I found someone do this on a very old YouTube video and had to give this a try versus just using the iron on dry tape. I seam taped my goretex jacket with a dry tape and the tape did not adhere well and is peeling off in some places. These rain pants got a good amount of use and the tape is perfectly adhered still.
Again, I'm not the expert on seam sealing tape with an iron, but this seemed to work pretty well and I thought I'd share. Side note, the Ultrex is a really nice and cheap WPB fabric ($7 / yd) and it worked great for these rain pants.

I know some of you have been looking for cord loop webbing and I was able to source some to the US. See my linked post.

cheers

My new tote bag is done. I designed it for going climbing in the forest while carrying crashpads (that's why it's taller than wider), but also for going to the gym. I added some zips mostly because I've never added zips to a tote bag, and also to see if they'll keep the contents showerproof.

There's a stretch mesh pocket on the rear to put sweaty climbing shoes while moving between boulders. Have mixed feelings about the pocket but I'll see it works.

Overall pretty happy with it. One thing I learned was adding pockets that reach the side seams definitely adds to thickness. I had to hand crank my little Necchi Lelia to pierce all six layers by the zip.

Inspired by u/teatuk, the pouch is made from ripstop from an old air sofa.

This is my first ever sewing project involving zippers. I followed the Prickly Gorse instructions, but not closely enough: managed to sew the pull tabs on the wrong side of the fabric (ripped them off once I realized it). Nonetheless, I'm happy how it turned out.

This is my second Project. The bag is made from an old shopping bag.
For the stuff i need to make me some coffee/food when i go camping.
I left the handle so i can put it an a tree to not lay it in the mud.

I got some Oxford 420D and 2000D fabric for making bikebags, and I can't find much info on which side should be outside for bike bags - the smooth or the rough side? (It's polyester coated with PVC)

Made my first bag, based the pattern off of my current brain dead chalk bucket. Lots of things I would do differently but love the way it came out. Took far too many hours. Working on the second now and it’s maybe going to take a quarter of the time.

This would be my V3 attempt, This time using Grid Fleece and Polyester Fabric (Not sure exactly what kind) My first two versions were made out of Tyvek and had a really bad velvet fabric that I did not like how it felt on my face + It was a little too noisy overall. I tried this lightweight nylon fabric from a Vintage Under Armor Windbreaker I repurposed for this project and to gather the hardware it came with so I gave this stuff sack pillow case a shot with what I had in hand tonight. Sitting at 1.43oz not too bad compared to an Exped Air Pillow (1.8oz) which only serves one purpose… I’m really happy with it, I can’t deny considering i’m still fairly new at sewing MYOG.

I'm on the hunt for some high quality fold over elastic or elastic for binding stretch mesh pockets. If you have a source that you're willing to share, please let me know!

I wanted to connect to bags one with horizontal webbing and the other with vertical webbing. I figured I could make a model and it worked! If anyone wants to print their own, feel free https://makerworld.com/en/models/3241712-90-degree-webbing-molle-connector

If you don't have a printer a lot of libraries have been adding them as a resource, I am also happy to print one for you if you want.

Recently got back into climbing after 20+ years away and I needed a new rope bag. Design is based on my million year old Metolius rope bag with tarp. It’s my first time designing something without a pattern. Fabric came from our 17 year old tent that was recently retired.

I love how it turned out! I do have a strap for over shoulder carry, but mostly it just goes in my pack. It’s held up well over the last 2 months of climbing.

Learned all about bar tacks and French rolled seams on this project.

I am working on a few Cordura/Leather watch straps. The idea is that the cordura is the top layer and is bonded to the leather inner layer then stitched along the outer edges like a watch strap is normally stitched. How should I be cutting the Cordura to keep it from fraying out, or am I over thinking this? I don't usually leave Cordura unbound in a bag or other project, so I am out of my element here. I had considered a hot knife, but I've read on this subreddit that those don't really do much long term, and I feel like the bands I've seen made like this don't have sealed edges, so I'm kind of thinking I'm way over thinking it.