Please visit our home site at www.TRILOBOATS.com.

Anke and I live aboard WAYWARD, and wrote about it's design and construction at ABargeInTheMaking.blogspot.com.

Access to the net comes and goes, so I'll be writing in fits and spurts.Please feel free to browse the archives, leave comments where you will and write... I'll respond as I can.

Fair winds!

Dave and Anke
triloboats swirly gmail daughter com

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Sewing Kit: A Stitch in Tiny




A penny for a spool of thread,
A penny for a needle...


Sewing Kit: A Stitch in Tiny

A stitch in time saves nine, as they say, and that is never more true than when underway.

On the road, a minimal sewing kit keeps weight down. On board, it helps declutter the living space, since a more comprehensive kit can be stowed less handily but out-of-sight.

This little kitlet shown above has been a companion since my hitching days. It still handles 90% of all the sewing I need do.

Waterproof Matchbox (Coglan's™, among others)
Polyester Thread (Gutermann's™ #10 Black 100m)
2 Needles (One heavy, large eye and one small, fine eye)
Tailor's Thimble (I.e., no cap; sized to index finger)

That open top tailor's thimble is important, as others likely won't fit in the standard matchbox. Stow with narrow end down.

There's a little extra space left in the kit. Consider a sheathed Exacto™ blade for cutting thread, and maybe a Bandaid™?

Another 9% of my sewing is handled by the Speedy Stitcher™ (shown below). This is for heavy duty work, such as leather or canvas, and develops a chain stitch. There is another type with the spool stowed above the handle, in line with the needle. This makes sense, though having tried both, I prefer the in handle variant. Beware of cheap imitations!

I haven't carried the Speedy with me on the road, though it would have come in handy at times, but it  has a place of honor in our middle kit.

Watch out for the pointy ends!


Speedy Stitcher™






2 comments:

  1. You might consider adding a small knob of beeswax to your minimal sewing kit. Applied after threading the needle prevents tangles and snarls.

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    Replies
    1. Great idea! Fits right inside the thimble.

      Dave Z

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