I've made quite a few stuff sacks with square bottoms, and they turned out fine. But there are a few questions that I can't seem to find the answers on (searching google, the forums, etc...).

1. When making small stuff sacks (where the opening is less than six inches), how do you sew the tunnel for the draw cord? I cannot work the fabric with my sewing machine in these cases, because the opening is not big enough to fit around the opening of the sewing machine arm (when I take off the accessory). Is there another technique for doing this? Or in these cases go with a non-sewing option?

2. This is related to the above...how do you make a flat felled seam with a stuff sack?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated! :)

Chris,

Try sewing the drawcord casing before sewing the rest of the stuffsack.

I always sew the tunnel for the draw cord first while everything is nice and flat, even on larger stuff sacks. It never occurred to me to sew it last, I guess that's why...

That makes sense for #1. I guess that didn't even cross my mind. FYI: This was the article I used for creating stuff sacks: http://thru-hiker.com/projects/silnylon_stuffsacks.php

Would this same principle apply to making a flat felled seam?

1) I also usually do the cord tube early on in the sewing process.

2) Assuming I'm reading you correctly: a flat felled seam can be easily done, just make the folds on the inside (so you're sewing it inside-out).

Edited by AaronMB on 02/22/2011 13:13:11 MST.

Chris,

Take a look at this article on
making stuff sacks .

If the diameter of the stuff sack isn't to small you can still manage a flat felled seam by letting the material bunch up ahead of the needle and presser foot. If a flat felled seam is really necessary on your small diameter stuff sacks I guess that you could finish a really small one by starting the flat felled seam from both ends to accomplish one completed flat felled seam.

I have always run a simple seam followed by top stiching the seam allowance flat and have had no difficulties with seams coming apart under stress. On some of my smaller stuff sacks I have had to allow the material to bunch up as I described earlier.

I do the bottom of the stuff sack as the final step. All of mine are either square or rectangular bottoms.

Party On,

Newton

Sometimes French seam is easier to do in small object like small stuff sack

I used Steven Evans "Cuben Stuffsack - Bonded" topic
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=20093

a non-sewing option by using ultrasil silnylon from questoutfitters and siliconen glue
(gives a strong bond)
Some pictures (sorry but the article is in dutch
http://www.hiking-info.net/forum/viewthread/1043/

i'll second french seams. to sew the 3rd row of stitching on the side seam it is better to do it before sewing the bottom, then don't sew the 3rd line on the bottom as for me it is always under less stress than the side. If the sack is too small to do this it probably isn't needed as a sack that small wouldn't likely hold a high lofting item that would require so much stuffing.

for the drawcord tube i sew it last and this is done by turning the sack right side out and folding the tube into the sack so instead of the opening of the sack facing down and trying to fit around your machine the opening faces up and isn't restricted.

-Tim

And if you want to make the stuffsack out of cuben fiber, you can always follow this guys tutorial.

How to make a bonded cuben fiber stuffsack

=)

Thanks everyone for the tips. I really like the Jay Ham method of making a stuff sack...especially for the cord area. I was able to make a small stuff sack lastnight.

In a high stress stuff sack, I'll probably just flat fell the sides and not the bottom.

I made some stuff sacks this weekend, and was looking for some small cord locks, but no one in town carried them, and I couldn't order them in time for my hike this weekend, so I came up with this idea, simple but it works

look here

Edited by jumpbackjack on 02/23/2011 08:34:30 MST.