OBIROYKENOBI Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 It took a little longer than I wanted but I have finally sourced some canvass for my belt. Now I am off to sew it but I was wondering what kind of stitch is best to hold it together? I am following the tutorial on this site and the OP there stated he used a zig zag stitch. I have seen several pics around the net including this site that shows some troopers with 1 straight stitch on each end (by end I mean top and bottom), I have also seen 2 straight stiches on each end as well. Does this matter at all or am I just sweating the small stuff? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 The originals were not done with a zigzag stitch. There is no law about which stitch to use. The biggest concern is the fraying of the material on the edges and getting your layers of material to stay put during the sewing process. I have had great success with something called Interfacing. It is a very light fabric with a mild adhesive on it. It comes in two kinds: one sided and two sided. I use the two sided. The two sided has adhesive on both sides. It comes in a roll that you can buy cut to whatever length you want. You iron this to your fabric and it will stiffen the fabric up slightly. Since it is two sided, there is adhesive on the backside as well. Once you iron the interfacing to the fabric, you peel the back away exposing the the adhesive. You can now iron two pieces of fabric together allowing things to stay in place when sewing. This is very helpful when sewing 5-6 layers of material together. It also comes in handy because it is difficult to cut fabric into long, belt size strips and keep them square and true. Interfacing helps by stiffening up the fabric slightly making cutting easier. Although the interfacing will help to keep things in place, it is not a cure all for the fraying edges. I make a solution of diluted elmers all purpose glue. There is also white fabric glue. I dilute this in water and brush it on the edges sealing them. this helps keep the fraying to a minimum while keeping the original look of the belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OBIROYKENOBI Posted February 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 The originals were not done with a zigzag stitch. There is no law about which stitch to use. The biggest concern is the fraying of the material on the edges and getting your layers of material to stay put during the sewing process. I have had great success with something called Interfacing. It is a very light fabric with a mild adhesive on it. It comes in two kinds: one sided and two sided. I use the two sided. The two sided has adhesive on both sides. It comes in a roll that you can buy cut to whatever length you want. You iron this to your fabric and it will stiffen the fabric up slightly. Since it is two sided, there is adhesive on the backside as well. Once you iron the interfacing to the fabric, you peel the back away exposing the the adhesive. You can now iron two pieces of fabric together allowing things to stay in place when sewing. This is very helpful when sewing 5-6 layers of material together. It also comes in handy because it is difficult to cut fabric into long, belt size strips and keep them square and true. Interfacing helps by stiffening up the fabric slightly making cutting easier. Although the interfacing will help to keep things in place, it is not a cure all for the fraying edges. I make a solution of diluted elmers all purpose glue. There is also white fabric glue. I dilute this in water and brush it on the edges sealing them. this helps keep the fraying to a minimum while keeping the original look of the belt. Thank you so much! That is a great idea. Funny enough my wife owns a fabric store and interfacing is pretty much what she suggested right from the get go. Damn. I guess I have to tell her she was right!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted February 6, 2014 Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 That stinks doesn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OBIROYKENOBI Posted February 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 That stinks doesn't it? Ha! Yeah. Guess who heard "I told you so" all afterrnoon! *THIS* guy! She even had clear fabric glue for the edges ready to go for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 You'll have a great looking belt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 This thread made me chuckle. Two guys talking about fabric, sewing and stuff... Sent from my C64 with tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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