Fray Check

Yep, it’s great stuff! I use it on my clothing to stop holes and tears from spreading, and I use it to finish weird corners and pieces of seams that I can’t get to with normal methods. I haven’t ever used it to finish seams on an entire project, but I’m sure it would work just fine (though that sounds a little tedious to me). My mom always used to keep a bottle around when I was a kid.

Here’s a link. It’s a bit pricier per ounce than Seam Grip, but you only ever need to use a small dab at a time. I’ve barely put a dent in my 3/4 oz bottle.

Amazon’s title lists it as a seam sealer, but I think it might be a little too thin to effectively waterproof a seam. That same property makes it great for clothing repair, since it’s comfortable and flexible. My thin merino shirts would be long dead without this stuff.

Ive actually never had to burn the edges of any fabric, and I've used nearly all of the 10 and 15d fabrics available to us on the market. All i do is cut with sharp scissors and hem the edge, done. Not a single issue of unraveling once hemmed.

Thanks for the tip Monique.

Although a hot knife can be great for heavier synth. fabric like sunbrella. I found it not so great on the UL stuff. I used a modified soldering iron to cut all the pieces for my sailboat cushions but for all the UL fabrics I find a cutting wheel is quickest and easiest. I sometimes trim the fray before final seems but it does start to annoy me on longer projects. I will give this a try.

jimmyb

Stitch Locking Liquid: This keeps the raw edges from fraying. It also locks any loose stitching so it will not unravel. Find these at fabric or craft stores or WalMart. Choices:
Fray Block by “Tailor” (www.junetailor.com) very liquid, clear
Fray Check by “Dritz” (www.prymconsumerusa.com) liquid, clear
Liquid Stitch original (www.prymconsumerusa.com) does not flow, clear, works good

from my "hood" pattern posting " Ken's hood "

Jimmyb,
How did you modify your soldering iron? I tried using the iron I have (i build guitar pedals with it) and I gunked it up pretty badly. It also seemed like the tip didn't get hot enough and I ended having to use the shaft to cut through the material, leaving a ragged edge.

I use an Ungar style three piece soldering iron for cutting fabrics. This soldering iron has a handle, replaceable heating element and interchangeable tips. I use a fairly powerful heating element, around 33 to 36 watts. For soldering, I generally use an 18 to 20 watt element. This iron gets hot once you plug it in and stays hot until you unplug it. Some soldering irons may have temperature controlled tips and may not get hot enough. I have to wait a few minutes for mine to heat up before I can cut with it. I use a small plain copper pencil tip that I have flattened with a hammer. I held the very tip on an anvil and hammered just the tip, so that I didn't damage the threads, and then filed the tip into a sort of knife shape. I keep the iron in soldering iron stand while I'm not using it and wipe the tip off when I get some melted fabric stuck to it. Unless I cut off the end of a piece of cord or webbing, the material doesn't stick too badly. These soldering irons, heaters and tips can often be found on eBay for less money than new ones.

Joshua,
sorry I didn't return to this thread until now to answer your question.

I did pretty much the exact same thing as William did in the above post. As stated you will want a powerful iron that heats quickly. I think I used a solid copper wedge style tip to forge the "knife" like tip but you can use any tip that fits the material your working with. Just pound flat on an anvil or any other flat steel like William described and file it to shape.

Like I said, it worked well with canvas weight synth. material but because the thinner materials are not really self supporting they quiver around a lot making a not so perfect edge. I found it just as easy to cut patterns with a wheel cutter. It may not be quite as fast but you'll not have to worry about an accidental burn in your project either :)

jimmyb