Making your own Homemade Backpacking & Adventure Gear

Finding a Sewing Machine:

Try before you Buy.  Better yet, get a Used One.

Ask friends and family members- Machines sit around all the time, you just need to get the word out prior to your desire to tackle your new sewing project.  Sewing handmade and homemade is coming back in to the mainstream.  Designing your own gear, altering store bought gear, or the purchasing of sewing patterns and kits has hit the marketplace in the backpacking world.

If you are willing to wait, you can pick up a sewing machine at a garage sale for as little as $20. Sewing machines are rarely used by a lot of people that own them. An older machine is generally considered better; however, older sewing machines are harder to get your hands on, possibly lack zig-zag, and may need to be repaired when parts are no longer manufactured, but older sewing machines are work horses when sewing thru different projects.

If you do buy a used one...make sure to practice before you buy.  See that the threads are locking both on the top and bottom.  If you happen to have different sample fabrics, bring those along for the test prior to buying.  Any machine that you run into these days will have reverse. Zig-Zag is not a necessity, but is still more than likely on plastic models.

In my humble opinion- Any machine will work.

I was given a $20 garage sale machine and have made my own tarptent (sil nylon), backpack, bug netting, added pockets to an off-the-shelf backpack, altered sleeping bags, and other creations- meaning, for the beginner, I don't see the need for a Pfaff or high end machine- off brand imported sewing machines will do the job. Getting a table that actually holds the machine will increase your stitch accuracy and give you an extra hand when dealing with heavier material- having the table space for laying out the materials during sewing aids easier results.

Getting Started:

Help Seeing the Eye of a Needle for Threading:  I use my index finger, and place it behind the needle to focus my eyes on the point of entry.  Some people use index cards to place behind the needle.  Make sure to have the needle at the top of the needle's rotation- you may want to drop the foot, make sure to have more than enough thread, for you will no longer be able to pull thread manually with the foot locked.  Cutting the thread at an angle, such as a 45 degree angle, will ease threading.

Setting the Needle and the Material Together:  Before pushing the foot pedal on a sewing machine, it is best to rotate the hand wheel counterclockwise (towards you) one revolution of the needle cycle.  While turning the hand wheel hold the "top thread" that runs thru the sewing machine with your other hand to prevent the thread from becoming unthreaded in the sewing machine.  Rotate the hand wheel one revolution- this will lay down your first stitch and begin to hold the material before you start.  Start out slowly for the first couple of stitches, back stitch, and continue forward.

Leave the Needle in the Material:  Any time you need to adjust the material, or pause briefly- remember to leave the needle on a downward rotation where the needle is left in the material..  Leaving a needle out of the material, like sil nylon, may cause the material to slip from the foot and loosen the stitch.