sewing tyvek

[Bob Gabbart]

I’ve read a few times on these forums that you can’t sew tyvek. I just made a rock throw bag and a stake sack out of tyvek. Sewn by hand. They turned out fine. Am I missing something here?

Thanks
Bob

[Mike Barney]

I think the primary issue in the past with sewing tyvek was mfg. recommendations (Hey, how many house builders sew house wrap???).

There are good articles onthe web about sewing tyvek:

http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ag384/TyvekSail.htm

In the past, most have:
Used the official “Tyvek Tape”, which adds weight, is expensive and appears to be not much more than a good quality of strapping tape with “Tyvek” printed across it.

Can thermobond it but needed the right equipment as I understand it’s a very narrow working thermal range.

You can glue it with a glue whose name currently escapes me ( I expect most rubber cements would work).

Congratulations!

[Vick Hines]

You CAN sew Tyvek, but 1) it will leak, 2) it will tear on the stitch lines. If you hand sew it – as you did – you may have used a whip stitch which is the best one to use on Tyvek.

The glue to use is either Barge’s cement or plain old Duco household contact cement. Both give a bond stronger than the Tyvek and both are flexible and waterproof.

[Bob Gabbart]

Thanks for the info Vick. Well, I guess I’ll see how it holds up. Next time I’ll try the glue.

[TRACY ANDRUS]

I new here but when it comes to sewing tyvex I know you can sew a 9 foot by a 100 foot roll into a giant tube and run 200+ Vacation Bible School kids through it for a couple of hours and have no seam failures. I thought the stuff was super durable including the seam. Hope this helps.

[Sam Haraldson]

I made a great little stuff sack out of a recycled Post Office envelope. It’s a simple process and makes a really sturdy bag so far as I can tell. I’ve only had it on the trail for maybe ten days but the machine-stitched seams are holding up well so far.

[Dwight Shackelford]

This popped in my head today as I was driving from getting some more Walmart fabric.

For a bathtub floor, or just floor, or for whatever purpose this makes sense, what about gluing a fabric lip around the edge of the tyvek, and then sewing to the lip.

[Connie Foster]

You can sew it by machine. Here is a link describing how to sew it, by the manufacturer. http://www.materialconcepts.com/pdf/tyvek-sewing-instructions.pdf Some of the problems mentioned in other posts have to do with which type you use. Also, since it mentioned loopers in one description I figured it meant you could use a serger, since sewing machines don't have loopers. I used the same thread & needles recommended and it worked fine and is holding up.

[drowning in spam]

>For a bathtub floor, or just floor, or for whatever purpose this makes sense, what
>about gluing a fabric lip around the edge of the tyvek, and then sewing to the lip.

The problem is finding an adhesive with the right characteristics that works well with both fabrics.

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