BBQ cover and other sewing projects

#1

Hey,

I’m looking to start a couple of projects that are going to require sewing and I’m a little bit lost of where to start.
I’m looking to make a couple of things:

  1. outdoor BBQ cover
  2. car window shades
  3. modify a cargo net to make it smaller

The first two I’d like to make out of canvas or similar. Something that will handle UV and be somewhat water resistant.

I have a few questions:
Is this a bad place to start with no sewing experience? Should I start with something made out of more forgiving materials?
Where would you recommend for buying material?
Will I need heavy duty needles, need to use specific machines, or anything else to sew through the canvas or polyester webbing?

I know there is upcoming textiles night but I unfortunately won’t be able to attend.

#2

A few years ago I made a canoe cover out of this stuff: https://ukfabricsonline.com/waterproof-uv-resistant-outdoor-furnishing. Depending on the size of your BBQ and the colour you want (mine is blue) I may have enough left over I’m happy to donate.

I did it on my very basic sewing machine with not that much experience and no special needle. I can’t remember what thread I used, probably just some generic polyester one. Sewing the fabric was generally fine, I vaguely remember struggling to sew on some of the webbing. The space has some beefier machines that will go through anything, but I don’t have much experience with them and I don’t find them as beginner-friendly.

In my experience the ever so slightly thicker material isn’t much more difficult to work with. Much more forgiving than light stretchy material.

#3

Hi Hugo

Nowhere is a bad place to start - you just need to take things slowly and factor in a few trial runs!

Outdoor stuff like this isn’t really my speciality but I would suggest that canvas isn’t going to be waterproof and will in fact hold water against the BBQ etc. The material Paul suggests would be far far superior. But you could make your trials out of something cheaper just to get the designs/sewing down pat.

If you do need to use a more robust machine - there are plenty of people who use them at the space who could show you the ropes when you are ready.

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#4

I hear there’s a slightly controversial singer that can do thick material :eyes::sweat_smile:

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#5

@plietar that would be amazing. At the very least I’d be really keen to see some of the fabric in person. I’m still not sure what I should be looking for. This was the other fabric that I was looking at - https://www.profabrics.co.uk/collections/outdoor-fabric-heavy-weight-water-resistant/products/1000-denier-heavy-duty-texturised-nylon-with-pu-coating It looks heavier, but I don’t know if that’s something I really need.

Thanks @TracyD a few trials sounds sensible. I can see how I get on

#6

@Hugo_Sharman-Firth sure thing. I can bring it to the space on Friday evening or Saturday. If you’re not around I’ll leave it there and you can have a look whenever.

#7

Thanks @plietar. I’ll see if I can get in on Sunday then to take a look at it

#8

I bought some beige material and quickly sewed something up based on the dimensions of the old torn cover:

PXL_20240607_133748039
PXL_20240607_133748039.jpg4624×3472 6.41 MB

I didn’t plan ahead and it all came together much quicker than I’d expected. So without measurements I winged to solve how to tied to together at the bottom using webbing, elastic, and two buckles:

PXL_20240607_133803719
PXL_20240607_133803719.jpg4624×3472 5.51 MB
PXL_20240607_133757999
PXL_20240607_133757999.jpg4624×3472 4.82 MB

Unsurprisingly the fit was not tight enough so I just added a bungee cord:

PXL_20240607_133846975
PXL_20240607_133846975.jpg4624×3472 4.28 MB

I learnt a lot from this and now would like to sew a number of other things up.

I sewed it all on the regular sewing machines.
@textilestechs I had trouble with the heavy duty sewing machines. The portable heavy duty machine (singer I think?) I couldn’t get the bobbin to catch, I tried various solutions suggested online about varying tension etc with no luck. I also tried the Wimsew, the video was super helpful in some regards but not in others, it mentions it needs a specific bobbin spool that the space only has one of. It doesn’t show what it looks like or where the thread comes out of the housing. I managed to find a single spool that fit and made the satisfying click as in the video, but ultimately I had the same issue with the bobbin not catching.

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