Help me sew mosquito netting

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I ordered some mosquito netting to try to make a bug tent for myself. I got mosquito netting, not noseeum netting. Should be okay since my problem is flies and mosquitoes more than noseeums.

I can't seem to figure out how to sew it. I am a beginner for one thing. But the stuff can't be pinned. Pins just have nothing to adhere to. I have a hard time sewing a straight line with the stuff and the stuff is stretchy.

I was thinking maybe to sew something more substantial to the edges. But what? Or is there some other trick to sewing this stuff? Any tips for me?

[Bob Gross]

You can use some tape to hold two pieces together, and then just peel it off as it gets to the machine needle. I've used tape that was not too sticky, because I didn't want it to stick permanently.

–B.G.–

[bj bretzke]

I either use a backing paper that peels off after sewing or in cases where I need a little extra strength, nylon edge tape. Practice on scraps to get the hang of it. Good luck and take pictures.
BJ

[James D Buch]

Take a look here for a bed canopy mosquito net project. Discusses the difficulty of sewing the netting.

http://www.travels.com/destinations/africa/making-mosquito-net-canopy/

Another
http://www.denacrain.com/blog/?page_id=214

Some small hints here:
http://www.mosquitocurtains.com/home/mosquito-netting.html
(the hint is getting the tension "set properly".)

dcmsme.gov.in/publications/pmryprof/hosiery/ch16.pdf
Has one sentence on use of cotton tape sewn to the edge of the mosquito netting.

Maybe a good trick is to sew the mosquito netting to something ("backing") that can take pins, like cotton tape or paper, and use pins to first sew the netting to the "backing" and then pin and sew together a "baacking"+netting to another "backing"+netting or just a second netting with the backing holding the pins for everything. If the backing is paper, it will come out in the wash, well, sorta.

I eventually plan to sew some netting up, so if you figure it out, please let me know.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I think I will try paper. That seems like a good solution because it can be removed and thus not add extra weight to the finished project.

I'll take a picture when it's done (if I don't simply ruin all the fabric) but I'm sure it's going to turn out awful.

[bj bretzke]

Take your time and use an iron on the lowest setting possible to hem all the edges. Use a straight edge to lay it out. You'll do fine. You may have a tough time setting the tension. There may not be enough weave to hold a stitch, in which case you will have to use the edging. I wonder if the gross-grain ribbon is the stuff to use (different thread today). Keep us posted.
BJ

[Tohru Ohnuki]

Like BJ said, maybe the thing to do is fold the edges of the mosquito netting over to form a seam, then fold grosgrain over that and then sew through the whole sandwich. This would give you a strong ribbon at the edge to be used as tie outs etc.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I might have to put some ribbon or something along the ridgeline. With paper I managed to sew the seam but it's the thread providing the "strength" along the ridgeline, not so much the fabric.

I honestly can't tell the difference between this stuff I bought (Coghlan's Mosquito Netting) and the ballet stuff at the craft store. It's probably not going to work. Noseeum would be so much easier to sew.

[bj bretzke]

The ridge should definitely be hemmed and taped with nylon ribbon of some sort. Your tie-outs will need to be reinforced a bit also. I recycle old tents and daypacks for my materials. Check the thrift stores. Don't give up on the skeeter net. Cut all the panels (pieces) of your design then play with the left-overs. Try to make a net stuff-sack. Size doesn't matter. Just play with the material. If you really screw up let me know, I've got lot's.
As far as Coughlins vs bulk polyester sheer, the difference is in the composition of the thread that makes up the weave.
The difference will show up as U.V. wear.
BJ
Where the heck are Tim and Roger?

[Roger Caffin]

> Where the heck are Tim and Roger?

Oh, keeping our heads down … :-)

I have used sticky tape, but the hassle of getting it off afterwards was non-trivial. It tore at the holes … :-)

Otherwise, I pin it to light ribbon with a LOT of pins, and sew carefully under tension. Then i fold the ribbon over and resew.

It is worth noting that if you have the ribbon on top and the netting underneath the netting will bunch up a whole lot more than if you do it the other way around. Or do I have that upside down anyhow? CHECK first! One way is a lot better than the other way, but I can't remember which!

Cheers

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I'm back. I finished the project. It was very difficult. It turns out having the netting underneath is the easier way as sometimes the sewing machine foot will catch in the netting and tear a hole.

It came out pretty awful but actually quite usable. There is no door or floor, but the Skeeter Defeater bedtop mosquito net that I used to use also had no door or floor. I just crawl under. It's significantly lighter than my old Skeeter Defeater, but I don't have a scale sensitive enough to weigh it.

Here are two pictures. I'll never sew mosquito netting again.

[bj bretzke]

Never?
Sorry I took so long to reply. Hiking you know.
your test area looks way nicer than mine.

Looks totally cool. Anyone but you would say that you did a great job first time out. Looking at your product you may never need to sew it again anyway. Great Job! It's what MYOG is all about.

bj :}

[bj bretzke]

and you answered our question about up or down. (I couldn't remember either) It makes sense though. If it's any consolation I don't think too many of us have made a stand alone skeeter shelter of that caliber.
Never give up……..
Hike Hard, Hike Often!
BJ

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Thank you. You are both too kind.

The hardest part, other than how difficult it is to pin and sew regular mosquito netting (not no-see-um), is making something without a pattern. I had to figure out ways to set it up as it was being made. Otherwise, it was just a big blob of fabric and I couldn't figure out how to pin the floor together or even how much organza to buy for the floor. And about half the seams ended up being sewn on the wrong side because it was so hard to figure out if I was sewing the inside or the outside.

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