Always fancied learning how to sew with a machine. Hemming, repairs, alterations and whatnot.

So, sold a set of forks over the weekend and bought a sewing machine; arrives tomorrow.

Anyone else sew?

One has people for that sort of thing.

Sounds like an interesting thread.
I reckon you’ll get a right needling for it

This should be a darn good thread.

I taught myself to use a sewing machine. Never really got any good with it but I can knock up some useful little bags / repairs etc.

This website may well be the end of you. I got some of their end of roll odds and sods bags and learned to sew different materials like fleece, pertex etc.

http://www.profabrics.co.uk/

I used to do a little bit of sewing, but gave it up 14 years ago. Had to do repairs on chutes for (deep breath) Shackleton, Chipmunk, Hunter,Buccaneer, Jaguar,Tornado when I worked at Lossiemouth.

Yes. I’m a professional.

Not much money in it but I enjoy all the different fabrics and every job is different.

The machines today are amazing. Even the basic one’s are all singing, dancing.

I’m a coachtrimmer so yes I sew, sometimes all day on a machine that must be nearly 50 years old

Wife is a trained seamstress. She doesn’t do it for a living any longer but still makes it look so easy. I end up injuring myself just trying to put a button back on.

I sew a bit, mainly very simple stuff e.g. bags

Don’t have the time to do as much as I’d like. I have a load of sample swatches (I design fabric for a hobby) which I’d love to repurpose into something useable.

I do, now and again – I’m the default sewing machine operator in the house, but most little repairs get done by hand. I tend towards structurally sound results rather than haute couture, though.

Learned on an old hand-cranked Jones machine with a shuttle bobbin. Only have access to MrsTillydog’s plastic fantastic machine these days which isn’t very good for heavy stuff, and I break a lot of needles. I’d quite like a heavy-ish duty machine for making “useful” things.

I’m lucky that there is a factory seconds / end of roll shop near us where you can pick through all sorts of different fabrics for inspiration and buy it by the kg – worth seeing if you can find similar, as it helps to be able to touch and feel the fabrics before buying.

Have done stuff like curtains for the house, upholstery for our old camper, some light canvas work for boat sail covers, etc. but the most fun was kites:

5 m^2 NASA Parawing 5:

“Lifter” kite:

2.4 m^2 aerofoil (you *will* learn to cut and sew accurately before you finish!)

All made from cheap(ish) coated ripstop.

(Not as cool as fixing parachutes, though.)

I have to fix my chainsaw trousers by hand, wifes sewing machine isn’t big enough for them.

Used to work for a marquee firm, the machine we had there for repairs could probably sew your arms together, more like a press with a needle attached.

Tillydog nice kites.Never worked on aerofoil canopies,but they look top notch. I only worked aeroconical and aircraft brakechutes. Admittedly it was cool at the time, but Pant shittingly scary when the RAF Police lock up all of your paperwork after an aircraft crash.
What was nicer was the crate of beers the armourers, who serviced the ejection seat, and the squipper who packed the chutes got if the crew ejected safely.

Wife does it, it’s great having clothes that fit properly rather than barely adequately (being a bit tall but not fat means a commercial L is usually a bit short and XL is a tent etc).