Nylon and waterproofing
Feb. 26th, 2017 06:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterYesterday after rowing, I visited Narain's and bought a yard of ripstop nylon, and a big spool of heavy-duty nylon thread. I'd been keeping an eye out for nylon thread while visiting various fabric stores, but hadn't seen any. Of course, a quick Oogley-Googley just now suggests the big-box store in the nearby Plaza as a place that carries it for upholstery projects. Oh well. I like my giant spool of heavy-duty thread.
Then in the afternoon, it occurred to me that I might want to start my cycling gaiter project from a pattern for regular hiking/skiing gaiters. Which led me to this pattern from Seattle Fabrics, including a more involved description of the various fabric types from which gaiters can be constructed.
So now I'm not sure if I got the most ideal nylon fabric. My main concern is waterproofing. So that led me to read all about options for waterproofing nylon tarps, which appear to be either silicon-based or polyurethane-based. Apparently, old polyurethane coatings start to peel and flake off, and can get really sticky, too.
Anyway, now I think I'll run around for a while, looking at various coatings on various things, to get a better handle on these two waterproofing approaches, and their merits and drawbacks. If nothing else, this seems like useful information for the longer-term purpose of learning about pack, pannier, and basket cover options. I also suspect that I'll just make future nylon purchases from Seattle Fabrics because they carry a more extensive set of options, and to some extent it's easier to make decisions based on specs than on how the fabric looks and feels.
There's also probably a sewing machine upgrade somewhere in my near future. Most likely a Janome HD1000 because of their all-metal construction. I have no interest in nylon sewing machine gears. The last time I used the Kenmore, it generated a LOT of ozone.
Then in the afternoon, it occurred to me that I might want to start my cycling gaiter project from a pattern for regular hiking/skiing gaiters. Which led me to this pattern from Seattle Fabrics, including a more involved description of the various fabric types from which gaiters can be constructed.
So now I'm not sure if I got the most ideal nylon fabric. My main concern is waterproofing. So that led me to read all about options for waterproofing nylon tarps, which appear to be either silicon-based or polyurethane-based. Apparently, old polyurethane coatings start to peel and flake off, and can get really sticky, too.
Anyway, now I think I'll run around for a while, looking at various coatings on various things, to get a better handle on these two waterproofing approaches, and their merits and drawbacks. If nothing else, this seems like useful information for the longer-term purpose of learning about pack, pannier, and basket cover options. I also suspect that I'll just make future nylon purchases from Seattle Fabrics because they carry a more extensive set of options, and to some extent it's easier to make decisions based on specs than on how the fabric looks and feels.
There's also probably a sewing machine upgrade somewhere in my near future. Most likely a Janome HD1000 because of their all-metal construction. I have no interest in nylon sewing machine gears. The last time I used the Kenmore, it generated a LOT of ozone.
