We have had a laundry list of sewing projects that we have been “meaning” to get to but haven’t had time. Maybe it is because there are so many and it is overwhelming, maybe because setting up the sewing machine is a “process” maybe because I was not 100% sure I remembered how to sew (since it has been 35+ years since I touched a sewing machine), or maybe it was just plain procrastination (and a combination of all of the above).
This week, I sucked it up and jumped right in. First let me tell you how we prepare to start a sewing project:
- Matt pulls the sewing machine case out of the bilge
- Pull out supplies from various storage areas: hot knife, extension cord, carpenter’s square, tape measure, scissors, blue tape, pencil, chalk, velcro, basting tape, shower curtains (for patterns) and fabric
- Turn on inverter to provide electricity to sewing machine and hot knife
- Set up machine
Sewing supplies
My first project(s) was to create new helm seat cushion back covers. Our current blue ones are stained, torn, falling apart and need to go.
Old helm seat back covers in blue.
Yep, we procrastinated long enough – these need to go.
So, I took the Starboard one off first, measured, double and triple checked the measurements, created a pattern, transferred the pattern to the fabric and cut into my huge 15 yard roll of Sunbrella Toast fabric.
Transferred my pattern to the fabric.
After I created my pattern on the fabric, and remeasured and cut the fabric with a hot knife to prevent loose strands. Then added basting tape to hold the hems cleanly to the fabric.
Basting tape for the hems.
Next, the female velcro was added to one side (we used velcro that had a sticky back side). Then I flipped my piece over and added the male velcro (so that when the piece is rolled they stick to each other).
Velcro applied to pattern.
Test, with just the basting tape holding the piece together, I take it outside and test to see if my measurements were correct. EEEK Gads! They are not! I had measured the circumference 7 3/4 but did not take into account an extra 1″ for the velcro overlap. Yikes. Luckily, I had not sewn anything yet so I had to go back a few steps, shorten my hem and create an overlap so that the velcro actually overlaps and sticks together. Yeah! Worked swell. Now the hard part – sewing.
I had not touched a sewing machine in over 35 years and was a little intimidated about using this one. But, Matt figure it out and walked me through a few things, tested using scrap fabric, fixed mistakes, tested again, fixed mistakes, rinse and repeat. Finally when I felt confident, I broke out the project piece and started sewing the velcro to the fabric.
Working diligently on getting the fabric, basting tape, and velcro through the machine.
Yep, I got this!
Almost done and feeling a little giddy, I start working on the last step which is sewing the end tie pulls into the left and right hems so we can pull them tight to hug the pole. Easy enough, little basting tape, hold the line in, shift the foot on the sewing machine to get a closer fit to the line and call her done!
Yep, the lines are askew, but not bad for a first project.
Finished the port helm seat cushion back cover the next day. The first one took me about 5 hours to complete from start to finish and the second one took me about 3.5 hours.
Completed port helm back cushion cover.
Super pleased with myself, I moved on to a much more complicated project – the outboard cover. I won’t bore you with a separate email on the outboard cover, just give you the highlights here.
It took me 7 times to create a pattern that worked – yep, that is 7 different patterns. Part of it was because Matt had a different idea of what he wanted for the cover than I had so once we got on the same page, we worked it out.
Since it was using two different fabrics and had many curves and uneven measurements, I taped the pattern to the cover to see if it would work before I cut my fabric.
Using a shower curtain, I created a pattern.
This is way beyond my sewing scope, but I am willing to give it a whirl. Keep in mind that this entire process is over multiple days and I have already been frustrated, recovered, frustrated, recovered, over and over.
After blood, sweat and tears (literally all three) Matt and I finished the project together. It was such a relief to have his help, logic, and different outlook and it made all the difference in the world. Let me tell you – this was a complicated project! Glad it’s done.
Hole on the front is for the starter handle.
We were going to remove the stitching on the phifertex to make it fit the opening but decided it wasn’t worth it.
Phifertex over the to let the engine breathe and hand hold to lift the engine.
Matt likes his new engine cover.
Next, was a simple cover for our ICOM as the screen is getting wonky from the sun.
ICOM Cover at the helm station.
New pillow covers – done
Recovered two new pillows in Sunbrella red to match with the boat better.
New socket holder.
Made several wind barriers to stop the whistling
Before & after: Curtain for office shelves with sewing junk.
Before & after: hide shoes & yoga mats.
Too embarrassed to show true before with all the shoes and yoga mats but you get the general idea.
We have several other projects, but I will save those for another time. They include:
- New sunshades (this will be a huge one as our old ones are small, dirty, and old)
- Cushions to set over the line storage area
- New man over board cover
You can tell I don’t like to have my “stuff” to be seen so hide it behind a curtains.