Repair kit for sewing

[Gunnersdad49]

After reading about a catastrophic pack failure in another thread, I thought I'd share a simple kit that I keep in my gear repair stuff. Basically a more robust needle and thread.

I take two old pens, some spider wire or other braided fishing line (way tougher than thread), and a couple of needles to make this.

Step One, remove the innards from the pens, and the end cap off of one. Discard one pen body and all of the innards.

Step Two, grab a few needles and cut the remaining pen body about 1/2" longer than your longest needle. Slip the needles into the pen body and cap it with the spare end cap.

Step Three, chuck the newly created container into your drill and tape the braided fishing line to the body of the container.

Step Four, spin the drill until you have as much "thread" as you think you could ever need onto the container. Tape the end to prevent unraveling.

Boom! Backcountry stitching kit that has 30 pound "thread" instead of cheap kits you stole from the Hilton when your wife made you take her out on Valentine's day.

 

[*zap*]

Waxed thread works very well for clothing/gear repairs.....

 

[Rich M]

The braided fishing line comes in real handy, can be used as a snare even.

Carry one of the awl leather-working sewers when truck camping.

My packs have always held safety pins - small and medium, 6 or 8 of each. I don't typically overnight on the mountain so don;t carry a sewing kit but would be smart iffn was planning a 3-5-9 day outback trip.

 

[rayporter]

one of those samples of dental floss the dentist gives away is pretty good. about an inch diameter and enough to do a lot. i think they are five yard spools. i always have a spool and awl on my swak. used to carry a needle but not sure if it is in the match safe or not now.

 

[cmwhitmoyer]

For my backpacking trip thus summer with the Boy Scouts, I carried a repair kit that includes: needles, dental floss, a spare set of hip belt buckles, and some tenacious tape. I always have good duct tape wrapped on Nalgene bottle. Over my previous trips to Philmont, I have had to repair holes chewed through packs by ground squirrels, patched tents and rain gear, and last year sewed hat back together after kids shot them with blackpowder rifles.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[Newtosavage]

I've always taken a few heavy needles and some bowstring serving (Dyneema). A few years back I needed it to restitch a seam on my boots. Worked great and the seam held for 10 more days in the mountains. When I returned those boots, the person at the store looked at the stitching and said "did you do this yourself?" LOL I was like yup, at my camp at 9500 feet. He was impressed. Needless to say I didn't get another pair of those boots.

If you don't have bowstring serving or 30# braid handy, dental floss is tough to beat. Folks been using it for emergency sewing thread for a long time.

cmwhitmoyer, my duct tape is wrapped around my hiking pole. We think alike.

 

[Randall]

Great idea cutting the pen down for a needle holder. Might have to rig one of these up

 

[justinspicher]

I’ve carried the same compact sew kit in my pack for the past 25 years. I bought it at the PX on Ft. Campbell.

 

[Marbles]

Nicely done. I may have to do this as it makes for a cleaner package than how a currently carry the same things. I also carry a pair of small hemostats as it can be hard to push a needle through some materials.

 

[Indyal]

I cut a small piece of cardboard, wrap both a fishing superline and waxed dental floss around it. I stick a finer sewing needle, a leather needle, and a heavy duty sewing machine needle in the cardboard. Also add a small leatherman microtool as it has scissors and can hold the needle when pushing through heavy material. I also have pocket magnifier glasses cause I have 63 yo eyes.

 

[duchntr]

I carry this.

Sewing Repair Kit

Zpacks Offers the Best Lightweight Backpacking Gear: The Ultralight Sewing Repair Kit is perfect for repairing your backpack, clothing, or any other gear items that need a touch up while on trail.

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