[at-l] making gear

[hopefl@juno.com (hopefl@juno.com)]

I found some rip stop nylon at a cloth store so I got some for a project
I've had in mind. Well, I never had any idea that sewing is so
complicated. Most of what I needed to learn, the lady at the cloth store
told me about. For example there is nylon string to go with the cloth I
bought. For some reason is sews better. Also I got special needles that
will fit my wife's sewing machine. These special needles are made for
nylon cloth.

Well, the next problem was cutting the nylon so it doesn't unravel on the
edge. Much to my dismay, my wife told me there is a special sewing device
just for edges that prevent unravelling. Naturally, these are very
expensive. But not to be halted in my quest to be not only a well
equipped hiker but also good and cheap, I began to think of ways to
prevent unravelling. I recalled reading about the Nomad tents, that the
parts are cut from nylon with a heated blade of some sort. In my
assortment of tools there is no heated blade but I do have a soldering
iron which has a nice pointed tip. 

I am pleased to report that my soldering iron cuts the rip stop nylon and
melts the edges very neatly. I will be interest to see how well the edges
keep after some use. My hope is that once the parts are sewn together
there will not be much chance for the edges to wear against anything. I
let ya'll know how the project, a gear bag to go outside my pack, turns
out.  Hopeful
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