Sewing with Tenara lately

[Seaworthy Lass]

Hi all

I have been using Tenara for all my sewing of outdoor projects for about 8-10 years now (how is the time passing so swiftly? ).

It is brilliant stuff with a lifespan that will not only surpass ours when used, but likely our childrens’ as well. It is expensive per reel, but cheap per metre when the labour of resewing UV damaged thread is taken into account.

As with any rope sold on reels, the thread has always needed to be spooled sidewards, not off the top of the reel, otherwise the twists result in kinks that cause the thread to break when it passes through the needle. This is a bit of a pain to set up. For small projects I have just kept spooling it off sidewards a few metres at a time to avoid a complicated arrangement..

That is up until now .

I purchased a spool of clear Tenara in January of this year (Lot #C201400983). It kinked awfully spooling it sidewards, so I tried off the top. Bingo! It sewed beautifully!

Heads up for anyone using this. It must be being wound differently now and is much easier to use.

SWL

[RaymondR]

Interesting.

I bought a spool to try in my domestic machine and found that it caught in the needle and assumed that the hole in the needle was too small and that I would have to try to find some with a larger hole. I was unspooling it from the top. I'll try it from the side and see if it solves the problem.

[donradcliffe]

I learned years ago that tenara would kink up if unspooled from the top. Does the spool on the new stuff look any different?

[JPA Cate]

Funny, I never side spooled any of it, and no problem, either. I put it down on the cabin sole, and sew on the saloon table, so the rise is close to 3 ft. to the top of the sewing machine, but it has not been a problem in any of my projects.

I'm just wondering why I didn't get the kinking? Any suggestions?

Ann

[grantmc]

An option is to use a frame as pictured. The spool sits on a little platform and the thread is raised to an arm above. The thread then runs to a second arm mounted above the sewing machine. I think this is a pretty typical arrangement. Minimises any tension and also works well when filling bobbins.

The frame cost about $10 second hand, and I added a clamp at the foot to keep it in place when in use, and take it off the table when not. And yes I have a clamped on light bulb for my old eyes too.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I learned years ago that tenara would kink up if unspooled from the top. Does the spool on the new stuff look any different?

It is identical to my other 2 spools (one white and one black Tenara). Same height, same diameter top and bottom, same opaque plastic. All 3 are labelled 1400 DENIER …. 1750 METERS with similar looking labels. The black spool was purchased at least 6 years ago, the white around 4 years ago (both could have been manufactured well before then) and the clear one is new.

The part number of each is identical to the ones in the 2017 pdf I have.

There is absolutely nothing to indicate the new spool has been wound differently.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Funny, I never side spooled any of it, and no problem, either. I put it down on the cabin sole, and sew on the saloon table, so the rise is close to 3 ft. to the top of the sewing machine, but it has not been a problem in any of my projects.

I'm just wondering why I didn't get the kinking? Any suggestions?

Ann

I dunno, Ann. I had a smaller spool of the tenara and just put it on the top of the machine where a regular thread spool would go. It rocked and rolled as it turned, but never fell off. If your system is not kinking, don't mess with success.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Funny, I never side spooled any of it, and no problem, either. I put it down on the cabin sole, and sew on the saloon table, so the rise is close to 3 ft. to the top of the sewing machine, but it has not been a problem in any of my projects.

I'm just wondering why I didn't get the kinking? Any suggestions?

Ann

Maybe you have been using spools manufactured more recently than my 2 old ones? The kinking that occurs for me has been commonly reported in the past. Rather than setting up the thread horizontally (there are some issues with this as it can inadvertently slip off the top and bind), some CF members have reported using small turntables so that the spool can sit vertically but will unwind horizontally.

Originally Posted by grantmc

An option is to use a frame as pictured. The spool sits on a little platform and the thread is raised to an arm above. The thread then runs to a second arm mounted above the sewing machine. I think this is a pretty typical arrangement. Minimises any tension and also works well when filling bobbins.

The frame cost about $10 second hand, and I added a clamp at the foot to keep it in place when in use, and take it off the table when not. And yes I have a clamped on light bulb for my old eyes too.

Good tip. Having the spool a long distance from the machine helps a lot to regulate tension and the extra distance does seem to help the thread twist around itself rather than kinking. When I was sewing big projects I would try and set it up several metres away.

Today when trying my new clear spool of Tenara I just had it on the floor as Ann does. A metre away from the machine was plenty for effortless sewing.

I had discovered this new spool was wound differently when I filled the bobbin. Spooling it horizontally produced lots of kinks by the time I was on my second bobbin. I run the thread between my fingers near the bobbin so I can easily feel these. No such problem with the next two bobbins when I spooled it off the top. Also for the very first time I had no problems then sewing from the top either. Zero kinks! It was blissful!

SWL

PS Spooling Tenara horizontally was a tip from Sailrite years ago:
https://www.sailrite.com/3-Surprisin...-Sewing-Tricks

This is the image Sailrite posted:

[Seaworthy Lass]

It was Senormechanico who has a stand with a base that rotates so that the thread can easily come off horizontally:

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I highly recommend a thread stand for Tenara/GoreTex thread, but you need to have the spool rotate so the thread comes off the SIDE not the top.
You may get away without the rotation part for short sewing, but long runs will start to get hockles (kinks).

Here are a couple of pics. The one on the left is my homemade one from an old computer hard drive. I left some of the guts on it just for fun. The motor is only used as a rotation bearing surface for the spool.

The other thread sand does not rotate and is not recommended for monofilament thread.

This is the image Senormechanico attached:

[senormechanico]

Seaworthy Lass,


Thanks for digging up my old post.

I was just about ready to do that.
I made it from an old computer hard drive.


Steve B.

[Benz]

I have been spooling Tenara off the top lately with no kinks. I wonder if this has to do with the direction the twist goes: is is Z or S? Depending on how you thread it around the various tensioners and fairleads on the machine, a Z strand could kink where as S strand doesn't.
For example, I can go into the the initial fairlead and wind left or right to get to the next hole, then again I have a choice at the next lead that directs the thread down to the tensioner.
Most spools of thread I buy specify which way the twist goes: I didn't bother to look with the Tenara, maybe I just got lucky.

[Spindrift NH]

Just putting it out there, in my experience as a marine canvas professional, Solarfix is a better thread to work with vs Tenara. Tenara is an extruded monofilament where as Solarfix is spun like traditional thread. The spun thread holds backtracks better and if there is a mechanical break of the stitch the Solarfix does not pull out as easily as Tenara. I’ve never had a problem with kinks or twisting of the thread while coming off the spool.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Spindrift NH

Just putting it out there, in my experience as a marine canvas professional, Solarfix is a better thread to work with vs Tenara. Tenara is an extruded monofilament where as Solarfix is spun like traditional thread. The spun thread holds backtracks better and if there is a mechanical break of the stitch the Solarfix does not pull out as easily as Tenara. I’ve never had a problem with kinks or twisting of the thread while coming off the spool.

That is probably the explanation for the kinking if there is any twist in the Tenara.

[s/v Jedi]

I thought the transparent is different? Anyway, I spool all of them from the top, but I always take a very high loop over a handle of an overhead hatch then down to the sewing machine again.

[Benz]

Even monofilament has a Z or S component depending on which direction it was spooled: looked down onto from above, is it coming off the spool clockwise or counter-clockwise? This matters in how you thread it around the various fittings on the machine.
At least on mine.
This is the same reason that the winding table they have at West Marine and other chandleries often puts twists in non-rotational rope: they're coming off a clockwise spool onto a counter-clockwise coiler.