UKC

Has anyone tried making / modifying their own kit?

I fancy having a go at modifying some of my rucksacks and possibly making some extra removable pouches for the hipbelt to start with. I'm pretty handy but my sewing experience is limited to fixing rips and sewing patches on. Are there any good resources for teaching myself how to do this?

I've made half a dozen sleeping bags out of rip-stop nylon.  Easy peasy on a sewing machine.

Different story if you're talking about rucksack material, or cordura (like my caving oversuit).  You're more likely to need an industrial sewing machine to get through a couple of layers.  The other problem is access - sometimes i can't use my sewing machine on existing gear because you can't get the relevant bit under the needle.  So the order in which things are sewn together (or taken apart) becomes important.

It's a good skill to have though.

Thanks Dave, if you're the same Dave Cundy that's in FMC I might come back to you for some tips 🙂

I'd just get on with it. Back in the 90s I worked in an Ambleside shop which had a workshop upstairs with a heavyweight sewing machine - it came in very handy eg. putting full zips in cheap overtrousers and repairing/reinforcing an old Karrimor rucksack which I got many more years use from. 

The results were utilitarian not pretty, though IIRC the overtrousers did actually make an appearance in a magazine ad for the shop being worn on a route on the Ben!

My Saunders Dalomite tent was destroyed in a storm in 1983 when pitched below the Aiguille Marbrees. the inner I patched up, but the wrecked outer served as a pattern, so I bought new ripstop nylon and made a new outer. 
Made a simple rucksack with the leftover material. Both still in use today.

I don't normally start from scratch (but have done). Instead I quite regularly modify gear if it doesn't exactly match my needs. Just last weekend I added a ski / crampon patch to some paclite over trousers as an emergency touring pair. I got the trousers at an amazing price, with full length zips but they wouldn't fit over the top of my touring boots - solved that with the same mod. Now I have the perfect solution to my needs

Ah, the perfect thread to hijack and ask for a sewing machine recommendation?

Both for simple gear repairs and sorting my trousers etc

Guessing I'll also be needing one of these so keen to see what people recommend. 

...so that's why your name was familiar!

I've made a lot of stuff in the past and still do repairs for mates. I use a regular Janome machine at the moment which is OK for light work (say two layers of webbing and double cordura). In the past I've used a Brother light industrial and a Singer heavyweight. The Brother was fantastic for heavy work like portaledge and haul bag.

There's a lot of good machines on the well known auction site. They all work better if you oil them, there's lots of moving parts. My machine has an 'over locker' which speeds things up when working on clothing.

As for learning - I started by carefully taking things apart, as mentioned above, this helps to understand seams and also gives you a pattern.

Buy a sewing awl if you're doing heavy work 

FTFY

Many years ago I had the daft idea of making myself a pair of pertex covered fleece trousers. The end product wasn't great and it took me ages.

It sounds like you have the right idea by starting with simple projects.

Also, last time I looked for fabric there was very little choice available from UK suppliers anymore. 

Been the proud owner of a sewing machine (please do not ask why ?!?!?) for a number of years and most recently made a rope-bag out of a blue IKEA bag. Still working on it, but so far it folds up somewhat nicely and has to diagonally opposite tie-in points with the next steps being for it to have room for ...

I bought one of these, from these people...

https://www.singermachines.co.uk/sewingmachines/heavy-duty-range/singer-hea...

It was bought to sew boat canvas and has punched heavy threads (V92) through some thick layers of webbing and fabric as well as stitching delicate, thin spinnnaker fabric with ease.  Matching the size of needle to the thread helps.

https://www.profabrics.co.uk/ have some good fabrics for outdoor stuff.

If you want to make them from scratch, then fair enough. I added hip belt pouches by using molle pouches. I've got a holder for my GPS, with other pockets on the same pouch for snacks. They tend to have horizontal and vertical mounting ready to go. A cable tie might be all you need. Obviously if you have too many molle pouches, people might think you're about to storm an embassy. But their cheap and in lots of different styles.

There's a large MYOG community of Backpackinglight.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/forum/gear/make-your-own-gear/

Hi Luke. I make backpacks currently on a very small scale - mostly for other climbers here in the highlands. I also do some work for Alpkit repairing damaged kit. 
 

A second hand domestic sewing machine is probably the best thing to buy. Try and get something fairly old that’s been well looked after. Older machines with more metal parts will generally be better than modern mostly plastic machines. Invest time in learning how the machine works, playing around with tension, different fabrics and threads. Use the correct thread with the correct needle for the fabric you’re sewing but bear in mind some domestic machines can’t take thicker thread.

I would go for a fairly simple project to start, maybe like a tote bag from some scrap to test out the machine. Then something like a hip belt pocket sounds like a good shout. In terms of resources as Jeff has said above taking things apart is a great way to learn how they go together. I also like the Cornelius Quiring instagram account which has loads of short clips covering basics eg how to sew a zip. 
 

Making / modifying your own kit is so much fun. If you need a hand with anything feel free to drop me an email and I’d be happy to help. Best of luck! 

Cheers Will, I actually follow you on Instagram and was considering buying a shelterstone pack when my arcteryx finally packs in. Thanks for the tips.

Hi there, any chance to look at what you're creating other than Instagram? Thanks.

Think I've only ever cut straps of rucksacks to reduce external clutter and snagging. 

Hey Luke, welcome to the nerdy and all-consuming world of MYOG (Make Your Own Gear!).   I'd recommend starting off with something like a roll-top stuff sack or bum bag, which will help you get your head around various seams, buckles and zips.  I've sewn a bivvy bag, sil-nylon tarp and two rucksacks and they all get regular use particularly the rucksacks.   If you are interested in making your own rucksack I'd reccomend buying the 'Mountain Flyer' pattern.  There's also a very helpful community on Reddit, where I have posted about some of my builds:  

https://www.reddit.com/r/myog/comments/hnfj35/mountain_flyer_climbing_pack_...

https://www.reddit.com/r/myog/comments/1dc2uc8/sew_bros_mountain_flyers/

Regarding sewing machines, you ideally want something all metal (including the innards) since at times you will be sewing through 8 layers of fabric/webbing etc.  I use a hand-crank Singer 99k (hand me down), Singer 15k treadle (Freecycle) and an electric Singer 317k (£20 on eBay).  Singers are the way to go if you want to do it on the cheap.

Fabrics and bits:

https://www.profabrics.co.uk/

https://www.pennineoutdoor.co.uk/

https://makeyourowngear.co.uk/

Feel free to drop me a message if you need any more advice.  Good luck!

Cheers Max

Ray Jardine (inventor of friends) sells lots of kits for making outdoor gear, directed at doing things the Ray-Way (sleeping quilts instead of sleeping bags etc).

https://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/index.php

Not sure about his blood cleaners though   https://www.rayjardine.com/Blood-Cleaner/index.php

I started with a mittens kit from penine outdoor many years ago, doesn't look as if they do it these days.

I know most of this thread has been textile based, but I thought I might as well contribute here rather than make a new thread.

I made a hex recently, was pretty simple using 25mm aluminium bar stock. Made sure to deburr and give the cord holes as much radius as possible to minimise rope strain. I made a wooden guide to cut the angles at 8 degress for endwise placements (measured the angle of a old CAMP hex).

Not sure how useful it will be to be honest, given that it is a regular hexagon and not an eccentic one. The wide angle on the hex faces seems like it will be a lot less secure that the much slower taper on most nuts.

I'd like to do some testing on it before using it as actual climbing protection. It's a solid hunk of aluminium so the hex itself should be pretty bomber but I'd like to know it wont cut the cord when loaded.

Got lots of experience in this! Tried to make my own backpacks, pouches, running vests, waxed jacket etc but my sewing machine decided to crap it's pants. Might be just me but I have found that making kit has become an addiction. Most of them turned out pretty well but I could of done much better. For learning resources I mostly used Youtube and channels like learnMYOG and Zipworks, you can pay a few dollars to get some templates. They teach you how to sew it from start to beginning.

Making kit is no serious joke, it is surprisingly hard and holds a lot of frustrations, but it is also really satisfying and fun. I got overenthusiastic when I started and jumped straight into the deep end, wasting fabric and time. I would recommend making something pretty simple like a stuff sack first. Even if you don't need it, it will give you an idea of the time required and for you to hone in your skills.

From my experience, start simple and basically do trial and error. Make your own patterns and always make a prototype out of the cheapest fabric you can find.

Pointnorth does great performance fabrics at a decent price plus they ship very fast.