Sewing Netting to Silnylon

[Daniel Benthal]

I am about to sew a bug bivy with a silnylon floor and a noseeum netting top. However, I have had problems in the past with the netting stretching as I sew the long seams of netting to the floor. Any tips?

Dan

[Jim Colten]

I have had problems in the past with the netting stretching as I sew the long seams of netting to the floor. Any tips?

Fold the edge of the silnylon over the edge of the netting in a 1/2" hem and use many pins.

[Daniel Benthal]

Thanks Jim. Seems straightforward enough.

[Brett Tucker]

Dan – the netting stretch tends to accumulate when sewing longer seams. Check your netting's weave to see if one direction stretches less than the other. Cut the netting piece so that this direction is parallel to the direction of the long seam. Some stretch may still accumulate, such that you reach the end of the seam and there is leftover netting. If you can leave the "foot end seam" – perpendicular to the long seams – for last, then you can simply trim the excess netting before sewing the final seam.

I find the above approach normally eliminates the need for pins. A simple felled seam is a good idea with netting – the first stitch with a 1/2" allowance, and the second stitch to sew the allowance flat to the body of the project. The sil-nylon edges may fray a bit, but usually it's not a big deal. Otherwise, there's the flat-felled seam, which is a little more tedious, as you may know.

[Scott Van Doeselaar]

You can also use glue stick. Just use the glue stick like you would pins. A small dab every few inches. I press and smooth it out with my finger. It will dry in just a few minutes. After stitching the glue stick can be washed off with water.

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