Anyone into Sewing?

Pair of alpine climbing/skiing packs. Both made primarily from VX-21 with an extra layer of 500d Cordura on the bottom. Neither have any bar tacks

~45L designed for overnight ski tours. Front avy pocket, roll-top closure, full length side zipper. Load lifters. Non-removable waistbelt with gear loops. About 950g on the scale

~30L designed for alpine climbing. Roll-top, ice tool pockets, removable webbing waistbelt and foam bivy pad/framesheet, removable ropestrap over the top and side loops for compression straps and/or bungees if desired. About 600g on the scale.

I never before seat front of the sewing machine!

But You made awesome stuff! Keep it up  

It's not easy to finish perfectly without any single experience or practice

Matt Zwrote:

~45L designed for overnight ski tours. Front avy pocket, roll-top closure, full length side zipper. Load lifters. Non-removable waistbelt with gear loops. About 950g on the scale

Gear loops on the hip belt!!! Genius!  That thing is fricken awesome, nice craftsmanship!  Looks like it's set up for A-frame style ski carry?

Sam Skovgaardwrote:

Gear loops on the hip belt!!! Genius!  That thing is fricken awesome, nice craftsmanship!  Looks like it's set up for A-frame style ski carry?

Yes, the side straps can do an A-frame carry. It's got a ski loop on the front as well for a diagonal carry when combined with the top strap. 

Can't take credit for the gear loops on the hip belt idea. Lots of companies have been doing it for a while.

Stoked this thread got a bump. Here’s a few of my latest projects. Can tell i’m a green/blue/grey kinda guy…

Max Rwrote:

 Can tell i’m a green/blue/grey kinda guy…

It's a good color scheme, and fabric isn't cheap! 

Spray deck for 17' collapsible canoe.  I won't show you any closeups....  And in use on a recent 30 day trip in Alaska.

Another little thread bump.
My bartacks still need work, but they’re getting better. These are just for racking/cleaning. Although i’m not sure how they would do with a funkness yanking on them.

Turned a retired Misty Mountain Cadillac into an aid climbing gear sling.  My buddy and I are still pretty new to all this, so it's dirty but functional.

I am curious whether anybody tried to change worn out shoulder straps on an old backpack.
How tricky can it be?

Yurywrote:

I am curious whether anybody tried to change worn out shoulder straps on an old backpack.
How tricky can it be?

Depends on the type of backpack and how the straps are attached at the pack body, which is the tricky part.  If the connection between the straps and the pack is structurally sound, you could leave a few inches of the old straps still attached and sew your new straps to those "stumps," which would simplify things considerably.

Here are my holiday sewing projects. 1. Rice bag with tiger balm infused rice 2. 15l bullet pack 3. Leather chalk bag. Happy sewing! My next project- 35l ultra lightweight pack. 

Yurywrote:

I am curious whether anybody tried to change worn out shoulder straps on an old backpack.
How tricky can it be?

Not so bad…. Depending on how they are attached. Might be easy to take a piece off webbing and bar tack it to your new straps, rip out the seams where the old ones are and bar tack the webbing right in. If the fabric is frayed then you want to also have a square flap to attach the webbing to. 

Russ Wallingwrote:

A bar tack is a fairly specific stitch pattern, made by a machine programmed to do that pattern. Lot’s of stuff might look like a bar tack but the pattern and the tension is what makes them strong and repeatable with predictable results,  as for bodyweight and safety and all that...  many times if a hook sling failed on me I’d be dead.  Same for a daisy chain pocket.  Things can turn life dependent quickly out there.  I’d hate to have anything that was not up to this task should the situation arise.  Goofy shit happens.  Stack the odds in your favor by eliminating failure modes when you can.

Okay so my Bernina machine has a bar- tack setting obviously you adjust the width down to a smaller size maybe a 1. Will this work? I have not actually made anything that is life dependent on a bar tack to date. Just curious. I will gladly send you some things to test

Sam Skovgaardwrote:

Depends on the type of backpack and how the straps are attached at the pack body, which is the tricky part.  If the connection between the straps and the pack is structurally sound, you could leave a few inches of the old straps still attached and sew your new straps to those "stumps," which would simplify things considerably.

Exactly. I've done it.

rock climbing wrote:

bartacks are common in sewing. Draperies have it and there are a lot in your jeans. In climbing you have to take in consideration the direction of the pull and it’s use. You don’t want to end up with a Daisy chain situation.

Sailrite has an article on how to sew bar tacks. There is also a video How not to slack line. Between those two you should know everything you need to know about sewing some.
btw a lot of old machines are trashed and they sell for cheap 

Thanks! I will check it out. My bernina is probably due for it’s tuneup, maybe 400 hours since the last one. 

Haven't touched a machine in about five years or so but I made some top quilts and underquilts for hammock camping by modifying Costco down blankets.  Still working great to this day.  Sorry don't have any pictures on this phone (not that you would want to see my uneven stitching). 

Matt Zwrote:

This is really impressive, did you use a domestic sewing machine? Also wondering if you made the straps and if this was from a pattern. Looks like x pac and cordura and the rainbow handle is cool.