I bought a Sailrite now what?

[capt jgw]

Study the tuning and setup videos hard. The sailrite is early 1950's technology and is really crude compared to a modern dress making machine. But try any of these canvas or upholstery projects with a dress making machine and you'll destroy it in about 10 minutes. The Sailrite will not stay in time forever, you'll have to tune it periodically. You would not have to do that with a modern machine making clothes. A friend of mine who was a professional seamstress bought one to do some boat projects and hated it. But she knows she couldn't do the projects with her dress machines. I had a straight stitch LS1 and had some trouble with it, but following their videos helped me get it working again. I sold that one and bought a zig zag Rex which is virtually the same as the LSX1 but without the beefed up internal parts. But I held off on that till Sailrite published the tuning videos on YouTube. I use those videos a lot.

[Amapola]

Join the Sewing on Boats (SOB) group on FaceBook. You'll find friendly people, helpful advice, and recommendations.

[Lewis Harry]

An old fashioned sewing machine (with the manual wheel type) works very well thankyou. I bought one lots of years ago. has saved me lots of money. Even made sails with it back in the day.
So no, you dont really need a sewing machine made just for boats. And you save $20 every time you hem your pants!
IMHO, the guy wanting to cut up and redo an existing mattress should go get a used one and cut that one up instead!
USE Gutterman thread for most all sewing machines!!!

[deltaten]

I will not try to add to all the wonderfully advice above, re: specific machine/s, other than to add.....
I make trial runs with same material and thicknesses to test the machine, thread, pattern, stitch placement. Saves a lot of tearing out stitch lines and re-do's.
HTH

[sinnerman]

I have a Sailrite LSZ (zigzag).
I hope you got the one with the Power unit where the max speed is adjustable by a knob. It makes life much easier.

I would start simpler projects first. Sailrite sells kits for these
Mine were:
- Fender covers (using "boat blanket" )
- Winch covers
-Sheet bags
-A roll-up tool bag (this one gets you used to making box hems, assembling panels, working with zippers etc. )

I then made my V-Verth cushions from scratch. Created templates, cut new foam, cut out and stiched the fabric, then assembled. I would say they came out 95% correct (or at least as good as the salon cushions I paid $$$$ for a canvas shop to make. Pic is attached.

You will need some tools. Sailrite sells most or all.
Some are available in Walmart.
Hem measuring guide
Plastic see thru ruler
Seam ripper
Good scissors (Gingher are the best. They literally cut like a razor.
Sewing machine oil (plastic squeeze bottle with an extendable tube)
Marking pencils, chalk,
Japanese spring clips ("Wonder Clips" )-Clover is company name - They hold the hems/seams in place so you can sew. They will be your best freind..
A hot knife if you are cutting Acrylic fabric (it frays badly )
A tool to cut the foam if you are using new foam.
Template material

Some hints:
-OIL the machine before starting and if a big project at intervals during the project. The machine runs much smoother if oiled. Keep a cloth around as machine will drip oil occasionally.
-Have spare parts on hand for the machine. Especially in the bobbin area as a needle strike will damage the parts and bring you to a halt.
-Having a cheap needle threading tool makes your life much easier.
-Remember: the seam ripper tool is your friend. It allows you to back track on mistakes
-Run some scrap fabric pieces to check/adjust tension before you start. Use the correct size needle. If you have a needle strike change the needle (they are cheap)

My two cents

cheeers

[SteveHill]

One of the best first projects is to make a few bags, ant then move up to making cushions. While piping is not absolutely needed for cushions, it improves the visual appeal and usability. Cutting the piping "on the bias" is an important skill, and is easy to make in long continuous lengths. These techniques make sewing much easier. See these two videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4NHseVkF30

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOWGX01kdSY

Steve

p.s. I have been following CF for decades, and have forgotten my login information. I have not had anything to add until now, so I reactivated my log-in.

[Josephcrawl]

The basting tape is very handy but not so much in acrylic fabric, very poor adhesion. On sunbrella projects I use an office stapler and pull the staples after stitching.

I would also add unless you're short on space buy a used compound walking foot machine. Pfaff, Adler, consew pick your flavor. The needle feed is a great feature that the sailrite lacks. Really really handy on large assemblies. Plus they are cheaper and have a larger bobbin and throat.

[Homeward sailor]

Congratulations on your Sailrite! I also got one and am learning with the tutorials on the Sailrite YouTube channel. I repaired my Bimini and Dodger and replaced the Isinglass on the Dodger. I followed the tutorials on replacing the Isinglass all the way. It was a steep learning curve for sure but I am pleased with the results. I used so much double sided tape, agree with another commenter , a game changer for sure! My next project , like you, is to replace the V berth mattress with a foam mattress that I bought just as you have done. I haven’t gotten the foam cutting tool and I think it could be a good idea to make it easier to cut something like that with accuracy. So far, following the Sailrite tutorial, I have made a pattern of the V berth and have yet to order my fabric. There is a tutorial for calculating how much fabric you need. I need to jump in and get it started because the existing mattress is done. I am going with a non pattern fabric so that I don't have to deal with matching seems. Even though you have said you don’t want any info about Sailrite, this tutorial may help. Also you can call them to ask questions which I think is amazing. Good luck, you will be glad when you are finished.

https://www.sailrite.com/How-to-Make...Cushions-Video

[Gone Gypsy]

Following! We are in the same place - have a machine but no sewing experience and too busy since purchase to dedicate time for the learning curve.
Heard the double sided tape hack before but really appreciate the comments on buying a Sailrite (or other) kit to get started. Great stuff.
Gone

[JPA Cate]

Funny, I wrote about making one's own bias tape, and it must be a matter of perspective. The first time I did it, was because I was recovering worn cushion covers for a chair in my house, and since it had cord, I made it that way. Simply copy catting. I found it tedious, but it came out okay.

That cording improves visual appeal is a matter of taste, and if it matters to you, you should have it. Steve Hill is right, it is not hard. It is one place, if I were to do it, I'd want to pick a more durable fabric for it than the Sunbrella I prefer for outdoor use (after a flirtation with WeatherMax). The WM would have more chafe resistance than the Sunbrella, and its color-fastness in grey colors is okay.

Next time, I put it on boat cushions, and it wore first, so I figured I would not do that again, and haven't. Ymmv. I guess cording's just not important to Jim or me.

Using a hot knife on Sunbrella melts the acrylic, so the edges are less likely to ravel. Mostly, I have not found it raveling to be enough of a problem to do anything else to prevent it. Occasionally, double seaming makes for a more durable product. For outdoor zippers, I either double them or hem them. We are big on durability, rather be sailing than sewing.

Ann

[Renegde_Sailor]

Originally Posted by capt jgw

Study the tuning and setup videos hard. The sailrite is early 1950's technology and is really crude compared to a modern dress making machine. But try any of these canvas or upholstery projects with a dress making machine and you'll destroy it in about 10 minutes. The Sailrite will not stay in time forever, you'll have to tune it periodically. You would not have to do that with a modern machine making clothes. A friend of mine who was a professional seamstress bought one to do some boat projects and hated it. But she knows she couldn't do the projects with her dress machines. I had a straight stitch LS1 and had some trouble with it, but following their videos helped me get it working again. I sold that one and bought a zig zag Rex which is virtually the same as the LSX1 but without the beefed up internal parts. But I held off on that till Sailrite published the tuning videos on YouTube. I use those videos a lot.

Interesting to know, thank you I will find those videos and keep them on hand.

[Renegde_Sailor]

Originally Posted by Homeward sailor

Congratulations on your Sailrite! I also got one and am learning with the tutorials on the Sailrite YouTube channel. I repaired my Bimini and Dodger and replaced the Isinglass on the Dodger. I followed the tutorials on replacing the Isinglass all the way. It was a steep learning curve for sure but I am pleased with the results. I used so much double sided tape, agree with another commenter , a game changer for sure! My next project , like you, is to replace the V berth mattress with a foam mattress that I bought just as you have done. I haven’t gotten the foam cutting tool and I think it could be a good idea to make it easier to cut something like that with accuracy. So far, following the Sailrite tutorial, I have made a pattern of the V berth and have yet to order my fabric. There is a tutorial for calculating how much fabric you need. I need to jump in and get it started because the existing mattress is done. I am going with a non pattern fabric so that I don't have to deal with matching seems. Even though you have said you don’t want any info about Sailrite, this tutorial may help. Also you can call them to ask questions which I think is amazing. Good luck, you will be glad when you are finished.

https://www.sailrite.com/How-to-Make...Cushions-Video

I have watched that video, it is great they have the tutorials out there like that.

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by Renegde_Sailor

Interesting to know, thank you I will find those videos and keep them on hand.

Interesting.

How do you know when it needs to be re-timed? (Symptoms...?)

thx

cheers

[sinnerman]

Originally Posted by Homeward sailor

Congratulations on your Sailrite! I also got one and am learning with the tutorials on the Sailrite YouTube channel. I repaired my Bimini and Dodger and replaced the Isinglass on the Dodger. I followed the tutorials on replacing the Isinglass all the way. It was a steep learning curve for sure but I am pleased with the results. I used so much double sided tape, agree with another commenter , a game changer for sure! My next project , like you, is to replace the V berth mattress with a foam mattress that I bought just as you have done. I haven’t gotten the foam cutting tool and I think it could be a good idea to make it easier to cut something like that with accuracy. So far, following the Sailrite tutorial, I have made a pattern of the V berth and have yet to order my fabric. There is a tutorial for calculating how much fabric you need. I need to jump in and get it started because the existing mattress is done. I am going with a non pattern fabric so that I don't have to deal with matching seems. Even though you have said you don’t want any info about Sailrite, this tutorial may help. Also you can call them to ask questions which I think is amazing. Good luck, you will be glad when you are finished.

https://www.sailrite.com/How-to-Make...Cushions-Video

There is a newer video which just came out a few weeks ago on making v-berth custions. Easier.
I put my zippers in the bottom panel (as my salon cusions already had). A lot simpler and performs the same function.
With the zipper in the side panel (zipper plaque) you always run the risk of that panel being shorter(length /height) than the other panels due to shrinkage from all of the sewing..

New video:
https://www.ym/watch?v=FFL26in2Vtg

cheers