KLO

Jean-a-ma-jig is my go to tool for thick seams also. I use it when I am shortening my dh's jeans. That inside and outside seam really mess up the stitching otherwise. You have to go slow but then you would have to do that anyway. It works great on the thick seams. I usually sew the hems on my Singer 99 but these are new jeans so not as tough as that old denim.

sewmom

When I hemmed jeans at the Buckle, I used an industrial machine. I was scared of it at first because it ran s fast! I didn't have a jean- a-ma-jig so i used a hem discard to put behind the foot. Makes a huge difference.

J Miller

Well, I don't have a Jean-a-ma-jig thing, and I don't have an industrial machine ..... BUT ...... I do have Gigantifooticus

{ http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...t-t186875.html }

I did a little experimenting with it mounted on the Kenmore last night and it walked up and over 4 and 6 folded layers of that thick denim like a Jeep over a rough road. So I'll do a bag with it and report back.

Joe

ThayerRags

Joe, what about hand-pressing the triangle pieces at the bottom down onto the bottom instead of sewing them up to the side seams?

In 2006, I made a small tote bag out of heavy duck (canvas) to carry a couple of bank zipper bags, a “want list” spiral note pad, a manila envelope with phone number lists, copies of Sales Tax Permits, etc in it, and whatever else we needed going to and from work and business meetings. It also had two small pockets inside of the top on one side for holding a digital camera and other small items. I made the entire bag using my Grandmother’s Singer 404. I did all of the stitching with that straight stitch machine only.

I generally tend to hand-wheel across thick intersections, where seams add up, on about all of my light-duty machines, and I did so with that project. The only time that I can think of (when using a home-use machine) that I power through thick seam intersections, is when darning crotch seams with my Singer Stylist 834, where I’m not trying to keep a nice stitchline going. For that, I’m using a multi-ZZ stitch, ZZ foot, Tex27 thread in the bobbin, and either Tex27 or Tex30 in a size 11 needle. During that application, I’m wanting to lay a bunch of stitches in a small space, so the small thread works fine for strength, and the small needle can punch it. I break a needle every once in a while, but it’s usually from my movement of the garment and not the number of layers.

For my tote bag, I used Coats Dual D64 Nylon Upholstery thread (Tex 70) top and bottom and a size 16 Universal-point needle, and used bias tape to seal my side seam edges to reduce the number of thick layers. I just let the bottom triangles fold down in the bottom of the bag. My wife normally cuts them off, but I didn’t want to put more bias tape on them. With the bias tape on the triangle edges, they are not frayed, and are still lying flat and snug against the bottom after 7 years of daily use. Another benefit of doing that is that things don’t catch on the tips of the triangles sticking up on the insides when slid down into the bag. I made my handles the same as you, except I didn’t finish the raw ends or turn them under at all. I attached the handles with a “Boxed-X” tack, and then just ran several rows of stitches along the raw edges to keep them from fuzzing up too much. Some people may not like that look, but it works for me.

The only thing that is wearing out on my bag is the midway portion of the handles. We hang the bag on a coat hook at the shop, so they’re getting lots of concentrated wear at that center point. But, the handles will be easy to take off and replace when they get too bad.

CD in Oklahoma

J Miller

CD,

Well, I honestly never thought about putting them down on the bottom. The design of this bag is identical to the inner bags I use on my Whacky Bags. Those are not sewn along the sides, just right up the center when I double stitch the side seams. They are not seen either because that side of the inner bag faces the outer bag.

I am actually experimenting with heavier bags to see if I can make a durable bag cheaply and quickly. So I will take a look see about your idea as I've got one bag to rip all the stitches out of and redo, and the other to do.

Will report back when I've done one.

My wife likes your bag and wants to know where you got your duck fabric.


Joe

PATTIESPEARL

get a clean hammer and a board. place the thick part of the denim on the board and pond the daylights out of it with the hammer. It should sew much better. to hem jeans, do the same thing but use a hump jumper where the thick seams are.

ThayerRags

Tell her thanks for the compliment. I got the duck fabric off of one of the bolts in the duck fabric section (between the denims and the fake furs) on the center isle of my wife’s little fabric shop.....

CD in Oklahoma

J Miller

CD,

Got the 2nd bad unsewn and resewed it with the flaps on the bottom like your suggestion. Much easier on the machine. At the most 3 maybe 4 layers of denim rather than 7. I went ahead and stitched them down, but that was easier too.

Next one I make I'll go back to the 500a and make it earn it's keep.

I'll have some pics of these bags when I get them finished.

Joe

khuxford

PATTIESPEARL thanks for posting that! I laughed out loud. My mom taught me that trick when learning to sew. I never would have posted it because I figured you all would think I was nuts! I get out the hammer occasionally when I do my paper piecing and have 6 or 8 layers of cotton converging in a point. I never divulge to my quilting friends how I get my layers so flat--pressing those seams open, steaming the heck out of them and smashing them with a hammer!

ThayerRags

Talking about whanging on things with a hammer has given me an idea.

I didn’t have it back in 06 when I made my shop bag, but I bought a surplus 4-foot length of treated 6x6 from a building contractor to use for my snap/grommet/eyelet/rivet setting post in the shop. It was the end that he cut off of a building support beam. I have it standing on end on the concrete floor, and normally tied to a workbench for small items, but I can stand it between two work tables when I’m putting hardware in large covers. It gives me a good solid platform with absolutely no flex for hole-punching and setting. I have a square piece of 1/2-inch thick steel, and a square of 1/2-inch thick self-healing poly board to set on top of it to protect the wood. It has come in handy for setting rivets in the side or bottom of hard-case motorcycle bags too.

The next time I make a bag like my shop bag, I will probably slip the bag down over the top of my post and use a large wooden mallet that I have to flatten the triangles to the bottom of the bag.

CD in Oklahoma