OP
Taking up Sewing - Need Advice
- Thread starter NashvilleTJ
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OP
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OP
I've started designing and making the pattern for the cases for my half doors. Not the fanciest approach, but it should work... 
Now I just have to turn the outline into a pattern once I think through what I'm doing.
But now consistent with the title of the thread, I need some more advice. I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to fabric, and I've been trying to educate myself on what would work for this project. I'm looking for something heavy that will protect the doors a bit, but it does not have to be extreme. I'm thinking about adding padding, or doubling up the fabric on the bottom few inches of the cover (meaning the bottom section of the door), as that is where it will likely be set on the floor when moving it around using the handles I have planned.
So I need some guidance on fabric. I'm thinking about this - Cordura 1000D Mil-Spec Nylon. It's a 12-ounce fabric, and water resistant. Here it is on Sailrite's site:
https://www.sailrite.com/Cordura-1000D-Black-Solution-Dyed-Mil-Spec-60-Fabric
I'm looking for any input on this fabric choice, or other suggestions for a good fabric to use for this project. Regular canvass, duck canvass, waxed canvass? Steel and wood seem so simple in comparison...
I'm also looking for input on what thread I should use vis-a-vis the material selected. The thread that came with Sailrite's canvass kit was V-92 and V-69 bonded polyester thread. On the prototype I used the V-92. Is the V-92 heavy enough?
Thanks again in advance for the guidance.
Now I just have to turn the outline into a pattern once I think through what I'm doing.
But now consistent with the title of the thread, I need some more advice. I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to fabric, and I've been trying to educate myself on what would work for this project. I'm looking for something heavy that will protect the doors a bit, but it does not have to be extreme. I'm thinking about adding padding, or doubling up the fabric on the bottom few inches of the cover (meaning the bottom section of the door), as that is where it will likely be set on the floor when moving it around using the handles I have planned.
So I need some guidance on fabric. I'm thinking about this - Cordura 1000D Mil-Spec Nylon. It's a 12-ounce fabric, and water resistant. Here it is on Sailrite's site:
https://www.sailrite.com/Cordura-1000D-Black-Solution-Dyed-Mil-Spec-60-Fabric
I'm looking for any input on this fabric choice, or other suggestions for a good fabric to use for this project. Regular canvass, duck canvass, waxed canvass? Steel and wood seem so simple in comparison...
I'm also looking for input on what thread I should use vis-a-vis the material selected. The thread that came with Sailrite's canvass kit was V-92 and V-69 bonded polyester thread. On the prototype I used the V-92. Is the V-92 heavy enough?
Thanks again in advance for the guidance.
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OP
Just looking for projects to practice with the machine, I made a cover for the Sailrite. This used the last of the fabric from the old soft top. I'm learning a lot doing projects like this.
This week my wife was about to order a new $350 cover for a chaise lounge we have out back - so I ordered $150 in material and have yet another project. I told my wife I get to spend the $200 we saved....
I've ordered several fabric samples to help in the selection of the material for the half door covers - should be here early this week.
This week my wife was about to order a new $350 cover for a chaise lounge we have out back - so I ordered $150 in material and have yet another project. I told my wife I get to spend the $200 we saved....
I've ordered several fabric samples to help in the selection of the material for the half door covers - should be here early this week.
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Just looking for projects to practice with the machine, I made a cover for the Sailrite. This used the last of the fabric from the old soft top. I'm learning a lot doing projects like this.
View attachment 433924
This week my wife was about to order a new $350 cover for a chaise lounge we have out back - so I ordered $150 in material and have yet another project. I told my wife I get to spent the $200 we saved....
I've ordered several fabric samples to help in the selection of the material for the half door covers - should be here early this week.
Looks great. Next step embroidery, you can make the patches for your tool rolls.
This week my wife was about to order a new $350 cover for a chaise lounge we have out back - so I ordered $150 in material and have yet another project. I told my wife I get to spend the $200 we saved....
If she's like my wife, her response was, "didn't you just buy an expensive sewing machine?" I hate when that happens!
And it's very cool seeing you dive into this! I went through a sewing phase back when I spent a lot of time in the backcountry and wanted custom lightweight gear. After a few projects, I found it too frustrating, mainly because I didn't invest in a decent machine. A backcountry hunting buddy of mine bought an expensive Juki machine, and then a Juki bar-tack machine, so these days I just have him sew my stuff for me!
OP
Well, I received the fabric samples I ordered - 1000D Cordura, 1000D mil-spec Cordura, Sunbrella 9oz, 12 oz Canvas Cotton Duck - and I'm not happy with any of them. The 1000D Cordura is not as heavy as I expected.
The best so far is the 28oz Sailcloth from my old soft top. That would be perfect for the half door cases. It's tough, thick, and soft on the inside - (somebody stop me before I order 3 or 4 soft tops just for the material...). I have found similar material for sale for soft tops, and considering that. It's around $30/yard.
Anyone have any recommendations for a heavy material for these cases, or any idea of a good source for material similar to the Sailcloth in the soft tops?
@jscherb - any advice on material for my half door case project?
Thanks.
The best so far is the 28oz Sailcloth from my old soft top. That would be perfect for the half door cases. It's tough, thick, and soft on the inside - (somebody stop me before I order 3 or 4 soft tops just for the material...
). I have found similar material for sale for soft tops, and considering that. It's around $30/yard.Anyone have any recommendations for a heavy material for these cases, or any idea of a good source for material similar to the Sailcloth in the soft tops?
@jscherb - any advice on material for my half door case project?
Thanks.
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For some bags I use "arctic vinyl" which can be found at Joann fabrics. It's not prohibitively expensive (about $30/yard but often there are coupons for 20% off or more, get the Joann app). What's nice about it is that it doesn't get stiff in cold weather like many vinyls do. It isn't as strong as soft top fabric but it's worked well for me for storage bags for things like the stove I use with my Trail Kitchen:
I just checked Joann and there's a 40% coupon right now. You have to be aware of what else might be on sale, for example if this fabric was on sale for 10% off, they won't honor the coupon on it.
You could also check out duck fabric at Joann, they have a decent selection of both cotton and some outdoor versions in polyester that you might like.
A very nice fabric for Jeep projects is Sunbrella. It's available at Sailrite (and other places), here's their description:
It starts at about $30 per yard, so it's not exactly cheap, but it's a very high quality fabric. Here's one example from Sailrite: https://www.sailrite.com/Sunbrella-4608-0000-Jet-Black-46. I used it for the "covered wagon" top for my military replica trailer:
But nothing beats soft top fabric. You can buy it by the yard, but it's very expensive ($60-$80/yard). A search will turn up multiple sources online for it.
You need to set up some searches on eBay, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, etc., looking for used soft tops. I've bought quite a few for $50 or less because zippers we bad or they had a hole somewhere. Another thing to keep an eye out for is used bikini tops and tonneau covers, I've bought several on eBay for $30-$40 and that's well worth it for the fabric you get.
In addition to the used soft tops I've bought, I got lucky when the local Jeep dealer moved to a new location - they called me and asked if I wanted a bunch of soft tops they had in their storage room. This is what they gave me (for free):
Included were three factory twill tops and several standard tops. There are lots of Jeep projects used soft top can be recycled into, permit me to show a few... for example, some of that haul went into new twill soft sides for the LJ Safari Cab and some of the twill went became a spare tire gear/trash bag.
A little more mundane project was this socket rail roll. Soft top fabric is great for projects like this because dirt and grease just wipes off:
I've got auxiliary batteries mounted over the inner fenders of both my JKU and my LJ; instead of putting the batteries in marine battery boxes I made covers for them (with MOLLE) out of soft top fabric:
Buy all the used soft tops you can find cheap and all the used tonneau/bikini tops you can find for cheaper. You'll find lots of uses for the fabric and you can't buy it any cheaper than used/damaged tops. I included a lot of examples above, maybe they'll give you more ideas of things to use make with new sewing machine
.
OP
For some bags I use "arctic vinyl" which can be found at Joann fabrics. It's not prohibitively expensive (about $30/yard but often there are coupons for 20% off or more, get the Joann app). What's nice about it is that it doesn't get stiff in cold weather like many vinyls do. It isn't as strong as soft top fabric but it's worked well for me for storage bags for things like the stove I use with my Trail Kitchen:
View attachment 434351
I just checked Joann and there's a 40% coupon right now. You have to be aware of what else might be on sale, for example if this fabric was on sale for 10% off, they won't honor the coupon on it.
View attachment 434352
You could also check out duck fabric at Joann, they have a decent selection of both cotton and some outdoor versions in polyester that you might like.
A very nice fabric for Jeep projects is Sunbrella. It's available at Sailrite (and other places), here's their description:
It starts at about $30 per yard, so it's not exactly cheap, but it's a very high quality fabric. Here's one example from Sailrite: https://www.sailrite.com/Sunbrella-4608-0000-Jet-Black-46. I used it for the "covered wagon" top for my military replica trailer:
View attachment 434353
But nothing beats soft top fabric. You can buy it by the yard, but it's very expensive ($60-$80/yard). A search will turn up multiple sources online for it.
You need to set up some searches on eBay, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, etc., looking for used soft tops. I've bought quite a few for $50 or less because zippers we bad or they had a hole somewhere. Another thing to keep an eye out for is used bikini tops and tonneau covers, I've bought several on eBay for $30-$40 and that's well worth it for the fabric you get.
In addition to the used soft tops I've bought, I got lucky when the local Jeep dealer moved to a new location - they called me and asked if I wanted a bunch of soft tops they had in their storage room. This is what they gave me (for free):
View attachment 434354
Included were three factory twill tops and several standard tops. There are lots of Jeep projects used soft top can be recycled into, permit me to show a few... for example, some of that haul went into new twill soft sides for the LJ Safari Cab and some of the twill went became a spare tire gear/trash bag.
View attachment 434355
View attachment 434356
A little more mundane project was this socket rail roll. Soft top fabric is great for projects like this because dirt and grease just wipes off:
View attachment 434357
I've got auxiliary batteries mounted over the inner fenders of both my JKU and my LJ; instead of putting the batteries in marine battery boxes I made covers for them (with MOLLE) out of soft top fabric:
View attachment 434358
Buy all the used soft tops you can find cheap and all the used tonneau/bikini tops you can find for cheaper. You'll find lots of uses for the fabric and you can't buy it any cheaper than used/damaged tops. I included a lot of examples above, maybe they'll give you more ideas of things to use make with new sewing machine
Thanks again Jeff - great info as always. I did think about used tops as a source - glad you confirmed that as a good idea. I did enjoy using that material on the two projects I've done thus far.
OP
Great idea - but to heck with the dealerships - thanks to this forum I know where a whole bunch of TJ’s are parked!
OP
...
This week my wife was about to order a new $350 cover for a chaise lounge we have out back - so I ordered $150 in material and have yet another project. I told my wife I get to spend the $200 we saved....
...
I'm learning a lot each time I do a new project. The takeaway from this project (other than my now pocketed $200
) was all about tensioning. This 9oz canvas is a far lighter fabric than the soft top material, and although I thought I had backed off the tension and reset it correctly - it was still way too high. You can see the puckering on the long side top seam which was caused by the improper tension.What I learned is that it is better to back way off on the tension until it is clearly too light (meaning it is not pulling the knot into the back side of the stitch), and then slowly increasing it to sneak up on the proper tension. I did that before sewing the short side top seams, and it worked much better.
He is a brief look at the machine in operation, and a brief commentary on my current life choices...
Wife was cleaning out the re-usable grocery bags Sunday and was ready to toss a few with handles ripped off and I was like hey, I can fix that no problem. 10 minutes later she's like holy shit, lol...
Some tips on sewing storage bags FWIW...
I recently designed and sewed a theft-resistant storage bag, I posted about it here: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/theft-resistant-storage-bags.71503/ . This is a photo of the finished bag in my JKU, visit the link to see photos of it in my LJ:
This is a work-in-progress photo and description of some details that may help people with their own sewing projects:
The main shell of the bag hasn't been cut from the roll of fabric yet but the outline and key details have been drawn on the fabric with a water-soluable marking pencil from Sailrite (https://www.sailrite.com/Scribe-All-Water-Soluble-Marking-Pencil-White). Once the project is done, the lines will wipe off with a damp cloth.
On the right is the zipper assembly with a zipper lock in place (that's part of what makes the bag theft-resistant, see the link above). The main shell forms the front, bottom, back and flap and the zipper assembly is the top and sides.
The hardware and other details are laid out on the fabric and their locations are also marked with the pencil.
Before I begin a project like this I do a detailed design, usually with drawings done on my computer. I transfer the design to the fabric with the pencil, and I write a sewing script to make sure everything gets done in the best sequence. Don't want to go to sew some part of it and realize that one part should have been sewn before other parts were sewn, so thinking through a script pretty much always pays off. The script is the white piece of paper on the left.
A few more photos of the final product in my JKU. Photos in the link above show it in my LJ.
When I write the sewing script, I focus on steps that need to be done before other steps, and on building subassemblies. After sewing the bag above I did a theft-resistant roll bar bag. I ordered a special tamper-resistant zipper for it and while waiting for the zipper to arrive, I was able to complete most of the bag.
In this next photo, the main shell has the attachment points for the roll bar straps sewed to it as well as the Overland Outfitters emblems (since a lot of my designs get picked up by them, I include their emblems on most of my prototypes). Each end is cut out and the stitch line is drawn on them; one end also has leather reinforcement sewed to the back to accept a hasp for zipper lock. The cam buckles which will secure the straps are sitting on the shell for now, they get sewn to the webbing straps as one of the last steps.
When the zipper arrived, I sewed it to the shell (top and bottom of the shell in the above photo) and then sewed the shell and the sides together, trimming that seam with the leather piping at the top of the photo. I also sewed a flap over the zipper to improve weather resistance, that's not in the photo. After doing those few steps I'll riveted the hasp in place.
A trick for sewing the round ends in place with the piping - step 1 is to sew the piping to the round end pieces. I staple the piping around the stitch line with the bead facing inward and then stitch the piping in place just outside the bead and then remove the staples. Then with the bag shell inside out, I staple the end assembly to the bag with the piping side facing inward because it's inside out, and I sew the end to the bag going back over the same line of stitching and then remove the staples. In both cases the staples hold the assembly together so they can be sewed accurately.
Photos of the finished roll bar bag in the LJ are also in the thread linked to above, and here's a photo of it in the JKU along with the first bag:
Doing things in subassemblies like this and following a well thought out sewing script makes projects like these bags pretty simple and greatly reduces the possibility of error.
These aren't MOLLE bags but it you're making custom MOLLE bags you can save some time by buying ready-made MOLLE straps. Different colors and lengths can be found on eBay and they're not too expensive.
I recently designed and sewed a theft-resistant storage bag, I posted about it here: https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/theft-resistant-storage-bags.71503/ . This is a photo of the finished bag in my JKU, visit the link to see photos of it in my LJ:
This is a work-in-progress photo and description of some details that may help people with their own sewing projects:
The main shell of the bag hasn't been cut from the roll of fabric yet but the outline and key details have been drawn on the fabric with a water-soluable marking pencil from Sailrite (https://www.sailrite.com/Scribe-All-Water-Soluble-Marking-Pencil-White). Once the project is done, the lines will wipe off with a damp cloth.
On the right is the zipper assembly with a zipper lock in place (that's part of what makes the bag theft-resistant, see the link above). The main shell forms the front, bottom, back and flap and the zipper assembly is the top and sides.
The hardware and other details are laid out on the fabric and their locations are also marked with the pencil.
Before I begin a project like this I do a detailed design, usually with drawings done on my computer. I transfer the design to the fabric with the pencil, and I write a sewing script to make sure everything gets done in the best sequence. Don't want to go to sew some part of it and realize that one part should have been sewn before other parts were sewn, so thinking through a script pretty much always pays off. The script is the white piece of paper on the left.
A few more photos of the final product in my JKU. Photos in the link above show it in my LJ.
When I write the sewing script, I focus on steps that need to be done before other steps, and on building subassemblies. After sewing the bag above I did a theft-resistant roll bar bag. I ordered a special tamper-resistant zipper for it and while waiting for the zipper to arrive, I was able to complete most of the bag.
In this next photo, the main shell has the attachment points for the roll bar straps sewed to it as well as the Overland Outfitters emblems (since a lot of my designs get picked up by them, I include their emblems on most of my prototypes). Each end is cut out and the stitch line is drawn on them; one end also has leather reinforcement sewed to the back to accept a hasp for zipper lock. The cam buckles which will secure the straps are sitting on the shell for now, they get sewn to the webbing straps as one of the last steps.
When the zipper arrived, I sewed it to the shell (top and bottom of the shell in the above photo) and then sewed the shell and the sides together, trimming that seam with the leather piping at the top of the photo. I also sewed a flap over the zipper to improve weather resistance, that's not in the photo. After doing those few steps I'll riveted the hasp in place.
A trick for sewing the round ends in place with the piping - step 1 is to sew the piping to the round end pieces. I staple the piping around the stitch line with the bead facing inward and then stitch the piping in place just outside the bead and then remove the staples. Then with the bag shell inside out, I staple the end assembly to the bag with the piping side facing inward because it's inside out, and I sew the end to the bag going back over the same line of stitching and then remove the staples. In both cases the staples hold the assembly together so they can be sewed accurately.
Photos of the finished roll bar bag in the LJ are also in the thread linked to above, and here's a photo of it in the JKU along with the first bag:
Doing things in subassemblies like this and following a well thought out sewing script makes projects like these bags pretty simple and greatly reduces the possibility of error.
These aren't MOLLE bags but it you're making custom MOLLE bags you can save some time by buying ready-made MOLLE straps. Different colors and lengths can be found on eBay and they're not too expensive.
OP
$30 per yard is a very good price for Sailcloth soft top fabric, great score.
It's a 16-oz. DWR-treated (Durable Water Resistant) ripstop polyester. It's very UV resistant as well. Overland Outfitters sent me 5 meters of it for experiments and prototypes, it's the fabric they're using for their new line of "Storage On the Spare" products. It's a very robust fabric and sews very nicely.
A few photos of OO's new products sewn in this fabric:
I've searched for this fabric and haven't been able to find it in the U.S. - OO sourced the fabric in India, which is where their factory is. All of the polyester ripstop I've found in this country is much thinner than the OO fabric.
1000-denier coated Cordura nylon is somewhat similar to this and is easy to find, but it doesn't have the ripstop threads in it, it's very succeptible to UV damage and it isn't as thick or stiff as this fabric. Cordura is used a lot for military gear like MOLLE bags but it's not as nice a fabric as the OO fabric but if UV resistance isn't a top priority, Cordura can be a good choice.
If you plan to use Cordura out in the sun, it's a good idea to protect it with something like Scotchgard Outdoor Sun & Water Shield to prevent or at least slow the UV fading process.
I have used coated Cordura for a number of things and when I do use those things outdoors I spray them with Scotchgard. Here's something I did in Cordura...
You may be familiar with the "Rotopax bulge, which happens when Rotopax fuel containers get warmed by the sun:
My idea was to make an insulated cover form-fitted to the Rotopax container. I did this concept drawing as a first step:
I sewed a prototype, and lined it with insulating foam between two layers of Cordura.
The design included MOLLE on the outside so extra pouches or gear could be carried on it.
And while I was at it I sewed a large matching MOLLE bag, intended for recovery gear but really could be used for anything:
Mounted on the tailgate of my son's JK 2dr (we were also testing the swing-up hardtop windows I was in the process of designing at the time):
Cordura worked out very well for that Rotopax project, and works fine but UV precautions need to be taken because nylon is very susceptible to UV damage and fading.
OP
Thanks for the textile info, Jeff - and great projects as usual. I picked up a sample of the Cordura 1000 D from Sailrite, and also the 1000 D mill-spec version - neither was as heavy as I expected.
The fabric I picked up was the Haartz Sailcloth from Global Upolstery Supply - but I found it at a few places at around the same cost. It's pretty close to the Jeep TJ Sailcloth.
https://globalupholstery.com/products/sailcloth-texture-vinyl-topping?variant=44564025213235
Did the Rotopax cover eliminate the bulge?