Sewing canvas

[guyvapeur]

I have not sewn any military seats but I have worked with canvas and sewing machines. I currently have 20+ domestic machines and some of these can do heavy work.
I believe any guy capable of rebuilding an old truck has the skills to sew canvas. The trick is to make it look right and to do it exactly the same for all the seats in one vehicle.
The walking foot with the open arm is preferred to do the tight corners you find in seat covers. I may be wrong but the seats I saw at the Hammond Barn had piping on the edges. A piping foot would be a definite asset for this project. A zipper foot can also be used to sew piping. Book stores have sewing books and a quick peek will give you the necessary techiques.
My supplier states that canvas should be sewn with a cotton/polyester blend. The polyester is for strength and the cotton is to protect the polyester from the sun. Cotton also swells when wet and seals the seam.

** There are a number of domestic sewing machines that were sold after the war that were manufactured in Japan. They can be found in Canada under the name of White,Brother,Viking and a number of other brands. They were mass produced and cosmetic changes to the casing were available to various suppliers. Look for a machine that has all steel gears inside.... I have found the heavier machines (cast iron flywheels) do amazing work. **

***There are three different lengths of feet on domestic machines. There is a short foot and a slanted foot. Both of these should be avoided. Look for a machine with a long legged foot. You can buy a greater assortment of feet for this machine. These machines also usually have the capacitiy for thicker material. The best part is that the longer footed machine can be modified to take a shorter stronger needle. This is done by shortening the needle bar. (usually just an allan screw)

I am sure that the job can be done.

If there is interest in continuing this thread, I will post pictures of the machines I would recommend.

PS: I had to do a Steam Boat weather cover and my walking foot broke down. I did the whole job on a standard feed Singer..... an industrial type with table and motor underneath.

Guy

[Keith Webb]

Yes please, be interested to see the comparitive pictures of the different feet you mentioned.

[maple_leaf_eh]

When my brother was posted in Germany, and learning parachute rigging, he went around to the various Pfaff and Miele stores. As a Canadian soldier who spoke adequate German and wanted to learn the hardware, the store owners treated him well. He repeated to me what to look for, and from the postings above, most of those things have been mentioned.

His hanging-around drop zones was providential because a few years ago, out of the blue (bad joke), one of the German parachute makers invited him to test as a 'proofer' for their line. He gave them some samples of his work and copies of documentation. Now he is something like the only North American authorized inspector for other riggers' work for that line. A proofer is sort of a master master in the German craft system.

[rob love]

There is one thing I have to add if making a tarp for something like a 15cwt: Make the tarp about 4" bigger than the original. I made a couple, and despite exacting measurements, the brand new canvas mysteriously shrunk once it was sewn together. It could be stretched, but as soon as you put it away for the winter, it would shrink again. So add a little extra.

I was fortunate that I was able to do my experimenting on the mat tech's machines while I was still in the service. Many a lunch hour was spent experimenting with various canvas and seams and stitching.

[Mike K]

Well, all the information is adding up . Various ideas and suggestions aree flowing. I visited a retired upholsterer today and he told me a few things .

1. Yes, the distance from the needle to the body ( throat ?), is important for handling large jobs e.g., CMP GS tops. But, seat covers, side curtains, bags and sunshine roof tops , are not that large and a average sized machine would be OK for those jobs.

2. A reverse function is desirable but not essential.. sew in either direction.

3. He said the Singer 'K' models are excellent. I was offered a Singer K, but they wanted 2k dollars ... a horse rug person.

4. It's best to have a large spacious work area, with tables to support the canvas. In the factories , the operator often sat within an island ,or cubicle, surrounded by flat tables . This is how then managed to sew huge tents. Check out the GMH 1944 colour film for an example of this.

I did have an original DD marked Blitz seat base at one time.. it had lace up covers from memory . During WW2, GMH had a large canvas sewing regime going .. they made myriad items . If you have an old pattern or sample, then it should be a straight forward job. In some cases you can pick open the seams and use the old canvas pieces as a pattern, trace them out on paper.

Mike

[Mike K]

This is the Singer model 7-33

I've seen these on ebay .. over 4k dollars ! Apparently, they are considered to be the ' VERY HEAVY DUTY ' workhorse of the fleet.

Mike

[Mike K]

I posted the sewing query on the G503 Jeep forum:

The replies are most informative.. particularly 'BAZZA' from Sydney.

http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=120496

Mike

[Tony Smith]

We could divert this thread a little. Mention of the Juki reminds me that this Japanese company also made Machine Guns during WW2, the Juki MG being nicknamed the "Woodpecker" because of it's distinctive slow stuttering beat. Toyota and Suzuki were sewing machine makers long before they branched out into automobiles. Hiram Maxim modelled his MG (which later developed into the Vickers) on the mechanism of a sewing machine. Lithgow Small Arms factory, after the war, branched out into sewing machine manufacture making the Pinnock machine for a South Australian co, but also badge engineered these in a variety of other brand names, one (in a parallel of the Juki, or in homage to Hiram?) called the "Vickers"!