*** The official and awesome DIY thread ***

[VitaTimH]



So I bought these marvielab shoes:

I really like them, but they are a bit snug. I think they will stretch out as they are canvas, but in the meantime, I'm having a problem with the backstitch. The shoes are sewn together at the middle of the heel, and this creates a raised and very rough canvas seam which is giving me blisters. I was thinking about sewing on two small "pillows" that I made out of soft black cotton folded a few times. Any ideas how I can do this without getting stitching everywhere that looks bad? Alternatively, should I just get a shoe stretcher and try that? I really think they only need about a cm or give, which would happen naturally after a week or two of wear, but in the meantime my ankles are bleeding

I've had similar shoes and a band-aid will do you wonders (I made do with gauze and drafting tape).

 

[Synthese]

get rid of them. uncomfortable shoes are so not worth it. I've tried similar fixes before and it never works. return return return

 

[conceptionist]

Yeah, you really should return or sell them. That goes for all pieces you buy - if you have any doubt at first, it most likely wont get any better and it pays off to get rid off them. You'll find better deal eventually.

 

[conceptual 4est]

Please don't sell them if you were all bleeding up in them. Just wear a band-aid vertically on each heel until it heals. Then wear without bandaid until it callouses, then wear band-aid. By then they should have loosened up so no more bleeding. They're bleeding because there is some rubbing up and down.

 

[KingJulien]

Yeah, you really should return or sell them. That goes for all pieces you buy - if you have any doubt at first, it most likely wont get any better and it pays off to get rid off them. You'll find better deal eventually.

This. It's an artifact of buying **** online, too - it arrived, I waited a week for it, it's not quite perfect but you convince yourself that maybe it'll work. If I'm shopping in a store and it doesn't fit spot on/look perfect I just put it back and move on, took me a bit to have the same attitude with stuff that's maybe no so easy to return.

 

[fireflygrave]

Figured it out, actually. pulled out the very high sole that come with the shoe, put in a sole from old sneaks I don't wear anymore, got plenty more room and now there is no friction

 

[sparrow]

Figured it out, actually. pulled out the very high sole that come with the shoe, put in a sole from old sneaks I don't wear anymore, got plenty more room and now there is no friction

nice catch. you can also probably throw in dr scholls if you didnt have those

 

[a tailor]



did some further crotch repairs on my RRLs while I was visiting my parents for the holidays.

I've upped my drive to find a sewing machine so I don't have to wait until I can borrow my mom's any time I need one. I want a vintage all-metal one (no plastic gears...outside parts and knobs can be plastic I guess)...been looking at a few singers and have an ebay offer in on a Necchi.

I need straight stitch, zig zag, and reverse...and some way to drop or cover the feed dogs. If I were to find a great local deal on a singer 15-91 or 201-2, I could deal with being straight-stitch only for now, but zig zag is important (any other decorative stitches beyond that...not so much). The one thing that I can't find on many vintage models but I would really prefer is a free arm. Since I am mostly doing repairs and modifications, it is helpful to be able to fit into tight spaces. On my mom's Bernina Nova 900, you can slide off a plate to switch between a big platform and a small free arm...and I almost always use it with just the free arm.
Unfortunately it looks like this was not common a long time ago. The Pfaff 360 looks good, but I hear that replacement timing belts are almost impossible to find...and there is a Necchi supernova model with a free arm but they seem quite rare.

Anybody have other suggestions on things I should look at? As I look at newer machines, there are lots more free arms, but the quality really falls down (and I am not willing to pay the premium for a bernina nova even though it seems like exactly the machine I need...I'm looking for a $100 machine, not a $350 machine).

otc may i suggest that when you go to check out a machine,do this.
take a screw driver with you. 2 screws hold down the cover plate take them
out with the plate.
2screws hold the feed dogs in place, take them out along with the dogs.
replace the cover plate, and do a test on the denim that you brought.
its a bit of a bother. its the only solution i can think of.
just dont loose the dogs and their screws.

 

[greyweather]

+1 on the flannel looking awesome, i may have to try something like that.

did the texture change at all?

Thanks guys.
The texture was the same after bleaching it. The only thing I didn't like was that after washing it the patterned part faded a lot from the bleach. It was originally red and blue, but ended up purple and pink. I imagine that could have been avoided if I rinsed the shirt a lot more thoroughly before throwing it in the washer. I ended up selling it to buffalo exchange.

 

[a tailor]

.HEY OTC

just thought of something., check out all the sewing machine parts suppliers.
theres is quite a few of them on the net.
they may have what you need. it might be called a "feed dog cover" or something like that.

 

[otc]



.HEY OTC

just thought of something., check out all the sewing machine parts suppliers.
theres is quite a few of them on the net.
they may have what you need. it might be called a "feed dog cover" or something like that.

Thanks
I mean...most sewing machines out there have feed dogs that can drop...but with vintage machines, you never know.

I ended up buying a necchi supernova, it was a little crusty but I got it running nice and smooth again. Haven't had to sew anything with it yet (beyond some fabric to test it out) and I still need to fiddle with the tension, but otherwise, it is a beautiful machine.

 

[SergioSP]

Hi guys

Anyone know where I can pucharse hi quality rivets, burrs and buttons for jeans and denim jackets?

From what a I know Cobrax, riri, YKK and Scovill are the best brands but they only accept bulk orders so...

Thanks!

 

[candrew]

Hi,

So I guess it's more of an issue than a project. So I was able to get the cat pee smell out of my jacket, but it took airing out for 2 weeks and a washing machine. The airing out left the back sun bleached so now it's very apparent that it's half faded color and has some more prominent bleach spots.




My question is: If i take this to a cleaner/laundry place, think having them dye it navy all over would work? Would there still be color variations due to the back being bleached, but not the front? Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

[conceptual 4est]

Easy solution is leave it out for another 2 weeks facing the other way.

Or just roll with it and rock the two-tone

 

[Synthese]

or re-dye