VASA 490 Build Log - Billing Boats, 1:75 [COMPLETED BUILD]

Daniel20 said:
Hi Paul, that's a great idea just using the foot as a ref. thanks. Now just keeping it somewhat in a straight line.
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First, make sure the 'walking' feet on the machine are the correct ones. My mom said there are different options, and you want the one that is the same left and right (I'm talking about the feet that face toward the back side of the fabric that walk it forward).

Also, I tried both having my hands left and right of the sewing path as well as in front of / behind the sewing path. Maybe try each to see which one is easier for you to control. After a while I found I needed to do very little guiding... And if you run the machine a bit slower it will also be easier to keep things straight until you are more practiced.

People who know how to sew are laughing at us right now!
 
dockattner said:
People who know how to sew are laughing at us right now!
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I won’t show this to my wife who was an avid quilter
One thing you might consider is quilters use a washable pencil for marking stitch lines. That is assuming you will be wetting the sails afterward. They do work nicely as I have used them on some machine embroidery projects
 
Daniel20 said:
Good afternoon,
I have an interim update pertaining to sails.
My first attempt shows a need for much more practice.

Tracing the outline with disappearing ink. The ink is supposed to last 20 hours but in reality, it last about 45min before disappearing.
On the right you can see my first ever attempt at sewing a couple of stitching lines.

View attachment 314175

Here you can see the rapidly disappearing blue lines and a very puckered sail.

View attachment 314179

And finally, after using Paul's @dockattner advice with adhesive to make a hem, I get this which somehow has shrunk. Hmmmm....
Well, this is just a practice sail and as you all can see I need a lot more practice. Ha! Next, I will acquire a heat erasable pencil to mark with and hopefully be able to adjust the stitching so it won't pucker the material so bad.

View attachment 314180



Any and all suggestions welcome.
Thanks for checking in. Happy modeling.
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Using invisible ink is going high tech. If you use a pencil, the lines don't disappear until you put them in the wash. Pencil lines disappear completely. I have full confidence your first sails will come out just fine.
 
Good morning to all,
Another update on my Vasa sails. My effort here is far from what most seamstresses would consider acceptable however it is good enough for me. Once I get the bolt rope attached and all the running rigging up, I think most of the sewing imperfections will be absorbed into the overall view. I tried gluing a hem along the edges and did not care for it, so I sprayed water on it, folded and ironed a hem in it, then sewed the hem. I solved the shrinking problem by ironing out all the puckers then tracing the edges back in. My biggest difficulty came in securing the corners in a uniform manner. Thats just a matter of needing more practice. I'm counting on the bolt ropes to help hide some of those imperfections. Take a look and see what you think.

IMG_2013.jpgIMG_2014.jpg

Hey, for all you men out there who have sown their own sails: if anyone ask if you did the sewing just say you used a state of the art, variable speed, electro-mechanical coupling device to seal the edges! ROTF

Thanks for coming by
Happy modeling.
 
dockattner said:
Congratulations Daniel! I'm interested in seeing how you will conquer bolt ropes...
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Hi Paul, I have a couple discarded sails that I will experiment with. It will either be gluing or hand sewing. I'm leaning toward hand sewing partly because of your comment about the time element. I will be furrowing 6 of the ten sails and am thinking that gluing the bolt rope will make the sail too stiff. Just don't know yet.
 
I don't feel like the glue I used made the sails appreciably stiffer - but I also haven't tried to shape them yet so I don't actually know how they will behave. Doing authentic robands is also very time-consuming (not sure about your plans there) so any thoughts we had that we were getting closer to the end need to be suspended. And tying blocks on yards...

This rigging thing is legit!
 
dockattner said:
I don't feel like the glue I used made the sails appreciably stiffer - but I also haven't tried to shape them yet so I don't actually know how they will behave. Doing authentic robands is also very time-consuming (not sure about your plans there) so any thoughts we had that we were getting closer to the end need to be suspended. And tying blocks on yards...

This rigging thing is legit!
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Fabric starch, Paul. Worked for me.
1656005431084.png
 
As one who has yet to sew sails I was wondering if any of you have tried using a water soluble stabilizer on your material prior to sewing. I use it with my embroidery machine and the Admiral always used it on her quilting projects to reduce/eliminate puckering of material.
It has a low tack adhesive to attach to the material and dissolves completely with water.
Just a thought.
 
rtibbs said:
As one who has yet to sew sails I was wondering if any of you have tried using a water soluble stabilizer on your material prior to sewing. I use it with my embroidery machine and the Admiral always used it on her quilting projects to reduce/eliminate puckering of material.
It has a low tack adhesive to attach to the material and dissolves completely with water.
Just a thought.
Click to expand...
I haven't tried it Ron. A good soaking with a spray bottle then a hot iron press took care of the majority of puckering.
 
So, for your gluing trials, it will be challenging as well. I tacked the rope every inch or so with CA and then went back with the fabric glue to fill in. A hair dryer makes the glue set faster but I ended up abandoning that as time went on...
 
Daniel20 said:
Good morning to all,
Another update on my Vasa sails. My effort here is far from what most seamstresses would consider acceptable however it is good enough for me. Once I get the bolt rope attached and all the running rigging up, I think most of the sewing imperfections will be absorbed into the overall view. I tried gluing a hem along the edges and did not care for it, so I sprayed water on it, folded and ironed a hem in it, then sewed the hem. I solved the shrinking problem by ironing out all the puckers then tracing the edges back in. My biggest difficulty came in securing the corners in a uniform manner. Thats just a matter of needing more practice. I'm counting on the bolt ropes to help hide some of those imperfections. Take a look and see what you think.

View attachment 315264View attachment 315265

Hey, for all you men out there who have sown their own sails: if anyone ask if you did the sewing just say you used a state of the art, variable speed, electro-mechanical coupling device to seal the edges! ROTF

Thanks for coming by
Happy modeling.
Click to expand...
Good morning Daniel. Looking spot on this far! Your post confirmed my decision not to do sails...;). I’m following you and Paul closely with your sail making exploits as I know one Day I will have to do some. I will sit back, watch and learn from you once again. Cheers Grant
 
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