At Home - Sat Sun Mon - July 3rd, 4th, 5th

Finally got the embroidery for our new name, and, time to put it on.

I spent a part of each day working on these things. Sewing machine setup and tension tuning. Then, trimming and basting the banners. Finally, sewing them onto the sail cover.

 

 

 

A year later, it is time to use it.

I took a one night class on how to set this thing up which was very helpful. And, the tension was awful then, and no better now. So, being the fix-daddy I am, I fixed it.

Here was what was wrong.

1) A small flat spring in side the bobbin was not inserted properly and jammed the bobbin inside.

2) A small burr on the Hook tore the thread. Burr-0 Jon-1.

3) An optional washer inside the upper tension device was present and made the tension really big. I removed it.

4) The small hook-arm on the bobbin had a hole for thread. Bu not using it, all worked better.

5) The leaf spring that created bobbin tension was way too tight. I bent it a bit and now, much better.

Then, time to sew.

 

I purchased something new for sewing. A circular wheel cutter as sharp as a razor blade and a plastic mat used to cut into. This handle/wheel is high end but JoAnn Fabrics had their cutting things on sale for half price. That saved us alotta money and is a delight to use.

 

The new banner to sew over the old embroidery. This always causes the material to pucker fairly well, and no exception here. The folks at Sailors Tailor did a great job making each side level to the edge and also the same distance up from the edge. Thanks! The letters are about 8" high.

 

Old and new.

 

I taped the mat to the Island, then used a sheetrock square to align all to the mat. Placed a nice aluminum straightedge on the fabric and made the cut with the wheel. Fun, neat, nice, excellent, clean, easy - all adjectives that describe this manner of cutting.

 

I also used a Soap Pencil to make lines of where things are.

 

My wife insisted on this pix. The panel is ready to get ready for stitching on the cover.

 

I purchased some plastic "tape" that is used to fuse two pieces of material together. I thought, if I folded the material over, pasted it together, and then sew it to the cover, it would be alot easier for me - and it -was-.

 

Iron the spot first to make a crease.

 

Cut the tape to fit.

 

Iron it again, and all is now one piece.

 

When starting on a long stretch, I glued a 2-3" stretch down first. Made it easier.

 

Both panels done.

 

Finished product. On one edge, it was really hard feeding a ton of material under the arm. But, we made it.

Later ...