Sewing mistakes in Argon67

[Amber]

Help! A few months ago, I ordered enough fabric and down to make a top quilt and a 3/4 length underquilt for my hammock. I was too impatient to make a ‘practice’ quilt first, (which I regretted later), but the 3/4 length quilt still turned out ok, as long as you don’t look real close at the stitching…

Anyway, I’ve finally gotten around to making the top quilt, wasn’t paying attention, and completely skipped one of the vertical baffles when I was sewing them to the 2nd shell. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice the mistake until I got to the last baffle and realized that I still had 2 chambers left.

Is there a way to close up or minimize the needle holes left behind and/or should I use a seam sealer on them to prevent leaking down? Or would it be in my best interest to buy more fabric and start over? We’re talking 3-4 six foot rows of needle holes. I used Argon67 and a universal needle. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears!

[J-L]

Rather than unstitching everything and dealing with the holes left behind, it might be easiest to cut the baffles close to the shell fabric. You could then sew in new baffles or maybe the slightly shorter baffles could work.

[Amber]

I wish I’d thought to do that before I’d already unstitched it all. I put some needle holes in a scrap piece of Argon and ran an iron over it to see if the heat would shrink the holes. They were a little smaller, but there wasn’t a huge difference. I was thinking of washing the shell before I stuff it this time, and I’m crossing my fingers that the holes will shrink.

[J-L]

I didn’t realize you had already unstitched it all – that’s a lot of patience! The holes won’t shrink enough from ironing or washing – you might still get down leakage. One option could be seam-sealing over the holes. Another could be taking a very narrow piece of Argon 67 and stitching it in place to cover up the holes (do this on the inside of the shell – one row of stitches on either side of the holes).

[Amber]

Now THAT’S what I hadn’t thought of. I’ve got some leftover Argon 90 from the UQ, so that’s what I’ll do. And yeah, it took me a good hour, moving two inches at a time. Lol. That’ll teach me to pay more attention next time. Thanks, John!

[Jerry Adams]

I hate it when I do that.  Argon67 is so flimsy it’s difficult.

Maybe cut out the offending fabric and then sew on the strip of replacement.  Sort of what you proposed, except I think your proposal is to leave the holey fabric.

“as long as you don’t look real close at the stitching…”

I “own” all my imperfections.  Commercial gear has such straight stitches it’s boring.

[Amber]

Right. I figure I’m the only one who’ll see it anyway. The underquilt might not look professional, but I took it for a 200 mile trail and it worked very well, so I’m proud of it. Cutting out the holes is an option I hadn’t considered. I’d lose a tiny bit of width, but I was making it 54” to accommodate ground sleeping, as well as hammock sleeping, so the loss would be pretty negligible.

[J-L]

Going along with Jerry’s idea, and if you are okay with losing a little length/width, you could make one stitch (red) as below. Fold over the holey fabric, make one stitch above it. This would require no cutting. Lots of ways to fix mistakes!

[Amber]

Ooo I like that. I’m dangerous with a pair of scissors. And by sewing the baffles along the seam, the mistakes could be well hidden. Thanks guys!

[Jerry Adams]

that’s a good idea John, I’ll have to put it in my memory bank

[george carr]

You can rub the needle holes out of Argon fabric. Just rub the material in a circular direction between your fingers and the holes will close up.

[Amber]

Thanks, I’ll definitely try that before taking it back to the sewing machine. It’s only been a few months since I was bitten by the MYOG bug, and it’s all a learning experience.

[Amber]

And I bow to the master. Lol. Thanks, George.

[Jerry Adams]

I have to try that on scrap fabric

[Craig B]

I concur with George;  rub the fabric a little and the holes will close up enough.  If you look closely at your existing stitches and put the slightest tension on the seam, you will see small holes open up.  They always exist after the needle has pierced the fabric and the thread remains, but you just never notice them.  They are generally not big enough to let down escape either.

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