Survival Sewing: Testing Sewing Materials for Survival

Last week we opened into our homecraft sewing kit and practiced some very basic stitches that you can pick up and learn easily. This week we are going to look at sewing for survival in terms of making repairs by using different threading materials on different types of fabric. This way we will see which thread is best for which type of fabric.

To explain the parameters of the test, I am going to be using two different types of needle, a canvas needle and a sail needle, and use various different threads on various fabrics you may need to repair in a survival situation. The thread I will be using is the upholstery thread from last week (this will act as our control thread), the inner strands of paracord, a smaller strand of unraveled bankline, and some jute twine that will act as natural cordage. The fabric I have selected is the pillow sham we used last week, (this will act as our control fabric), denim, canvas, and supple and non-supple leather. We will be sewing the fabric together using a running stitch. If we are unable to perform the running stitch then we will attempt the whip or loop stitch. We will then be testing the strength of the thread and the fabric by trying to pull it apart.

After preparing all of my materials I am going to begin with the canvas needle, the upholstery thread, and the pillow sham. The running stitch with both the canvas and sail needle was very strong on the pillow sham as I expected of the control group. The upholstery thread performed well on the denim with both needles as well. I did have one issue when using the upholstery thread with the sail needle on the canvas. The stitches did begin to pull apart, but I do believe it was my sewing rather than the thread not being strong enough. I didn't have any problems with the canvas needle however. The leather I did not believe would hold the upholstery thread when I began to sew with the canvas needle so I didn't even try with the sail needle.

 Now we will go through the fabric again, this time with the inner strand of paracord. I was able to sew the pillow sham with both the canvas needle and the sail needle, however, the inner strand of the paracord was so strong and thick that when I began to pull it apart, it actually ripped the fabric around it. The experiment was also successful for both denim and canvas with both needles. The paracord was strong and held the material well. I was able to do a whip stitch into the leather with the sail needle. The difficulty I was having was getting the needle to pierce the leather. I would have had more luck if I had an awl. As for the paracord, it was able to hold the leather together.

Similar to when I sewed the pillow sham with the paracord, the bank line was so thick and strong that it caused the fabric around it to rip. Unlike the paracord, I am able to break down the bank line into finer strands. This may be more compatible with the pillow sham, but that is an experiment for another day. I had great success with both needles, the bank line and the denim. Unfortunately when using the bank line with the canvas, it ripped with both needles. Again I believe that if I broke the bank line down into finer strands I would have more success, but for this test I would consider this a fail. The canvas needle was able to do a whip stitch with the bank line and it held the leather well.

The jute twine was so thick that I was unable to pull it through any of the fabric, including the leather, with either needle. I did attempt to unravel the jute in the beginning into finer strands, however, the finer strands by themselves are so weak that they will break if you pull on them.

After finishing the test I compiled a chart with all of the data. On the left side of the chart is my fabric material and at the top are the thread materials I used. Each box has a section for the canvas needle and the sail needle. Basically if the combination of needle, thread and fabric was a success I marked it with a check. If the combination was a failure, I marked it with an X. The winner between the two needles was definitely the canvas needle since it was able to make a hole in the leather as well as use all of the same materials as the sail needle even though it was narrower. And the upholstery thread was definitely the handiest of all of our threading material since it was able to sew and hold almost all of the fabric material well.

Next week we will be looking at our needle not just as a sewing tool, but as a  multipurpose tool. What else can this sewing needle do for us in a survival situation? You won't want to miss it! As always feel free to comment by clicking the comment link at the end of the blog, hit the follow button in the top right corner, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one on Sunday 10pm (est). If you want to keep up with me and what I’m doing, Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Lastly if video is more your style check out my YouTube Channel backpack bushcraft where there is a video version of this with the same title. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.