In article ,
Chris Wells wrote:

I'm using thin polyster fabric on my Easy Riser, and the old fabric was
sewn together at the leading edge. The trailing edge was just glued to
the frame.
Can I simply glue the leading edge tubes to the fabric, as well as
the trailing edge? If sewing is necessary, how do you get two 16'
sections of coat lining material sewn together?

I'm not gonna touch the 'can I just glue it' question -- I don't know enough.


As for the 'how do you sew it' aspect -- use a needle and thread, or a
sewing machine.

No, I'm not being facetious.

Straight seams for flat material are *easy* -- it's curves, and 'corners'
(like joining sleeves to a garment body) that are the problem children.

It's no different, "logically", from sewing together a couple of 2' sections.
Or a couple of 7' long sections for floor-length curtains.

The 'logistics' are a little different -- you've got to have a big enough
surface behind the machine to support the two stacks of fabric, AND
enough space in front of the machine to hold the pile of sewn-up material.

Aside from that, you 'just do it'. grin

It takes a little care, and as with anything else, you stitch a bit, then
let the machine stop, and 'assist' the sewn-up portion away from the
machine, and sew a ways further. "lather, rinse, repeat." Eventually
you run out of material, and you're done.

With a 16' length, and such light-weight material, I'd be tempted to
fold it over several times (at least for the part going through the right
side of the needle, and _pin_ the folds together, effectively making a
piece that's only 6" or so wide (or whatever the arm length is on your
machine) with 1" or so being single-thickness.

Z-fold both pieces close behind the machine, so you're not dragging a lot of
fabric _into_ the stitching area, and if necessary, let the sewn-up section
cascade into your lap.

At the local fabric shop, I can find "cheap" stuff for around $1/yard.
An 'experimental' run on something throw-away would only be around $10.

One thing -- sewing something that lightweight, be sure you know how to adjust
the 'tension' -- both for the top thread, _and_ the bobbin -- appropriately.
Otherwise, you have a potential for the stitching to 'pucker' the fabric.

The 'logistics' discussed above assumes you're doing a 'flat' seam -- one
piece laid down flat, the other piece overlapping it, and sew away.

the other kind of seam -- like down the inseam (or outseam) of dress pants,
the side of a shirt, etc. -- is done by laying the two 'good' sides together,
running the 'edge' under the needle, and then 'unfolding' the sewn-up
piece. This eliminates the need for passing a mass of fabric through the
'inside' of the sewing machine, but has -only- the stitching holding the
panels together. And, as you'll discover if you examine, say, a shirt seam,
closely,it it a bit thicker _right_ at the seam -- over and above the
double-thickness of fabric.

The 'flat' seam lets you overlap as much as you feel is reasonable, and
even use a wide 'zig-zag' stitch to make a stronger join. you can even make
multiple passes, side-by-side, depending on your degree of paranoia. grin