Posted by JimM on July 17, 2002 at 07:08:24:
In Reply to: Re: Making/sewing - boat canvas? posted by Steve on July 16, 2002 at 17:43:07:
"Jack of All Trades - Master of None"!
In my crazy snow-skiing days, my future wife needed ski-bibs. She had "non-standard" proportions and couldn't find anything to fit. We went to an outfitter that had a good stock of "Altra" (now defunct I believe) clothing kits. If you sew it yourself you can make it fit. Found bibs for her and a new pair for me, but I didn't hear any offers to sew mine for me! We worked out a deal, and we worked together on both, finishing a few hours before her first ski trip. I ended up with a better knack than she, was more meticulous and made more uniform seams than she could! Sewing turns out to be pretty easy with a good machine.
We inherited my Mom's 30-year old Singer, which bit the dust about 4 years ago. We did some research and ended up with a German-made Pfaff, which runs beautifully. Unfortunately, haven't had much occasion to use it lately, except for minor repairs.
The Singer really dissappointed me. The phenolic gears just weren't durable enough, and an expensive machine turned into a small boat-anchor. Apparently, that era (early-70's) was bad for a lot of consumer machinery. I've heard that newer Singers are much better, but I like German craftsmanship better than Chinese. The important thing is to not get a machine for a fabric store. Thay are cheap in both senses of the word, even if you get the Singer brand.