Journal

Now I have to make a backpack out of that old Pendleton blazer that's been sitting around forever.

My super bright backpack out in the wild. Matches the bike well.

Crazy before and after, this is after about 10 seconds in a 20% / 80% bleach / water mix on my Levi's stretch "denim" jacket (not 100% cotton, has some Elastane in there I think)

Moss green Carhartt apron is done for now. Pretty happy with the shape and how it turned out.

Small lightweight nylon patch (from another puffer jacket) on this Patagonia Nano Puff hoodie. Took about 20 minutes.

#repair #gearrepair

Subtle patch on this Patagonia Nano Puff jacket.

#repair #gearrepair

Replaced the straps on this Topo Designs backpack today. One of four bags repaired today.

#repair #gearrepair

Carhartt moss green apron is done enough to use at work today.

Patched over some holes (orange patch) and removed the Clif branding from this Patagonia Nano Puff hoodie jacket. The Clif branding was embroidered directly on, making the jacket super thin and non-insulating in that part, so I cut it out and replaced with a patch from nano-puff material.

Also added a line of grosgrain ribbon to prevent the zipper slider from snagging on loose fabric on the inner zipper flap.

#repair #gearrepair

A zipper foot really helps for sewing zipper guarding grosgrain ribbon to the inside flap of these Patagonia Nano Puff jackets so the zipper doesn't grab the lightweight fabric and rip holes in it.

My new floral jacket with the remains of the pants it was made from.

Altered my American Apparel denim jacket to have a stretch panel in the back made from some Old Navy pants.

Happy with how it turned out. Good from a technical perspective, the jacket moves so well compared to before when I'm doing things like bending over to grab stuff or whatever. We'll see if it lasts.

I maintained the double-lapped seams on the top and sides so everything is enclosed. Did a flat-felled seam for the middle of the panel because two panels from the pants had to be used to get the size I needed.

Lots of green Carhartt

Making the pocket larger on my Carhartt ladies canvas pants.

#alteration

Finished up my first chalk bag and it turned out pretty well.

Would make some different design decisions next time:

1. Closer belt loops, attached to outside.
2. Grosgrain ribbon / webbing around top edge to cover and provide more rigidity.
3. 2nd internal cord holding loop on the inner liner to hold the extra loop of cord in place so it can't fall down below the bottom of the liner.

Base main panel dimensions (folded over about 1/2" at the top opening): 15x8"

Zipper slider replaced on my Carhartt J160 MDT jacket. Used a modern YKK slider (and pulled off the stops too) from an assembled closed #5 metal zipper from The Craft Box.

#repair #gearrepair

Don't remove zipper stops with a Dremel, your zipper tape will melt. Of course I learned this on one of my favorite jackets, oh well, it'll be fixable.

Just a bit of fading on these Carhartt B01 BRN pants.

Various Alley Pup patches.

Quick Carhartt pocket patch made from the pocket area of some old destroyed jeans. Not much area to fold under near the rivet so that makes it a bit tough.

Don't even really know what this is going to be yet...I think part of a backpack.

Work started on my Carhartt B01 BRN loose original fit 32 x 30 pants. Added about 1/2" to the waist so they fit a bit better.

#alteration

Finished up the Carhartt canvas olive green cutoffs / shorts. Removed the right side pocket and added 2 patches on the right side, trimmed a bit off of both sides for a tighter fit, stitched a few mm about the cut so they'll fray but kinda stop at the stitching line.

Size 32 x 30 so the waist is taken in just a bit for a comfier fit without requiring a belt.

My brown Challenge ECOPAK hip pack/bag blends in well.

Finished up the patch on the pocket of this Nike windbreaker jacket. Difficult area for me to patch so the stitches are rough but it works. Darned up the tears on the inside before I applied the patch.

Fleece pockets from a Columbia jacket added to this Patagonia Snap T pullover jacket. Also removed the snaps and added a full length zipper because I prefer that to a pullover a lot of the time.

#alteration #patagonia #columbia

Added a fleece hood to this Patagonia Synchilla Snap T pullover (now a full zip) jacket. Fleece came from a Columbia jacket.

#alteration

Holes patched and hedgehog fleece-lined pockets and a YKK #5 Vislon zipper added to this Patagonia Synchilla Snap T pullover jacket.

#alteration

Various bags and a semi-matching kitchen towel we had around the house.

Ripstop patch on the hard-to-reach elbow area of this Patagonia Nano Puff jacket. Not the prettiest work but it works. Had to thread-rip and re-sew part of it because the liner got bunched up inside.

#repair #gearrepair

Turned a destroyed Patagonia full zip jacket with a corner missing into an anorak pullover 1/4 zip jacket with a camo kangaroo-style hands pocket made from a Drake Old School Camo polyester shirt.

#repair #gearrepair

Random lined square bottom bag to hold random stuff.

Stretchy polyester patch added to this sun hoodie to cover up a corporate logo.

#alteration

Ripstop nylon patch added to this Patagonia Nano Puff vest to cover up an appnexus corporate logo.

Another zipper bag - this one with some basic webbing loops to attach it to my backpack strap. Colorado text on bright safety yellow Challenge RBC with yellow ripstop nylon liner.

Small zipper bag to match the stem bag.

Just bought another sewing machine - this time a Pfaff Creative 7570 without a power cord or foot pedal for $26.99. Works well and seems like it's had minimal use. The batteries in it had an expiration year of 2001.

Technical issue: The corners of this bright hip pack always want to fold in on themselves. I think it's because I sewed the corners poorly, especially the grosgrain binding on the inside to cover raw edges.

I need to thread rip it apart and re-sew.

Stuff to sell at the Feral gear swap at New Terrain Brewing, Goldem, CO.

Playing with the electronic Husqvarna Viking Emerald 203 sewing machine to make some patches. Bright orange Challenge RBC (recycled bag cloth) with Tyvek on the inside to help hold the various stitches.

Replaced the slick Croakies off-white patterned webbing on this hip pack with normal pretty solid webbing and it still slips in the metal Cobra buckle.

That fun Patagonia 100% polyester organic cotton...

Cordura utility bag with yellow ripstop liner

Janky Third Place Threads hat. It's a poor fit and hard to get the panels to line up and not pucker.

7 leaf clover addition to my Levi's jeans.

#alteration

Didn't like the look of this patch on these Kuhl pants, only realized after a ton of stitching. Lots of thread ripping...

Made a quick jig out of a 1/2" oak dowel for stamping blank metal buttons.

Lengthened pocket on my Levi's 501s - they come from the factory with such shallow pockets!

New floral patch on these Levi's 501 jeans. There's some salvaged Carhartt ripstop cotton fabric on the back for additional strength.

Patches applied to a The North Face Thermoball vest to cover up an ugly Comcast logo. Also thread ripped part of the Comcast logo so I could get away with a smaller patched area. Not a great color match but better than a corporate logo!