The things we do!

On September 9th, 2010 |

Tags:

I thought I'd share something I did on the weekend - definitely not patchwork related!
My son bought himself a secondhand boat recently, and he's spent every spare minute doing it up - it's his pride and joy.
One day I was inspecting the latest changes and said "It's a pity about the canopy", because it had worn thin, was torn in places and leaked. He said "It costs too much to replace", to which I responded, "If I can find the right fabric and snap fittings I'll make a new one and it won't cost that much."

He asked, "But what will you sew it on?" to which I answered, "My sewing machine". Then my husband asks, "which one?". "My trusty Bernina of course", I said, "they can sew anything".
Now, I had to prove the point!!
I found the snap fittings at the local hardware store, then went hunting for fabric. I was looking for canvas but couldn't find any in my local shops so I settled for a UV protected vinyl, in maroon. Armed with needles for sewing leather and upholstery thread, I was set.
I arrived home proud of my finds, only to be met by two doubting Thomases. At least the colour was right - you see, he's a Sea Eagles fan.
I used the old cover for the pattern. I cut it all out and as I went, decided what I could do to reinforce the edges, especially where the fasteners went. I used a wide grossgrain ribbon inside the hem. Then I practised stitching a hem using a scrap, and added a narrow strip wrapped around the edge for reinforcement. My machine happily stitched through the four layers of vinyl. Now I KNEW I could do it!
By now, the males were looking on impatiently waiting to see it finished. I waited until the next morning to start; now I had conquered all the hurdles it was just a matter of putting it all together. It didn't take long at all, my machine sewed away without a hitch and soon it was ready for a final fitting.
After deciding how long it needed to be at the back, and to fit the metal frame, I went off to finish the final hem.
The look of pride on my son's face when he fitted it to the boat, and the huge hug I received in thanks was all I needed to know he was happy with the results. He's been showing it off to his friends ever since.
I know it's not patchwork related, but it was a wonderful sense of achievement.
What's the most unusual piece of sewing you have done?

Comments

Submitted by badger3016 on Fri, 01/10/2010 - 12:15pm.

Hi Frances, well done on helping your son by re making the canopy for his boat. I have done similar things- re upholstered a lounge suite etc. But the most unusual thing that I have made was a huge kite big enough to pull a person ( my son!) on a kite buggy. He downloaded the pattern from the internet- it was used by NASA originally. I bought "parachute" type fabric at my local fabric shop and the strings from a kite shop and a few hours later he was using it on his buggy. It was just as well that he was an experienced kite buggy rider as the new kite was very fast.

Submitted by Frances Leate on Fri, 10/09/2010 - 12:05am.

The canoply looks wonderful Elaine and what a compelling incentive "family love" is. Take care.