BIAB Bag Sewing Machine

[weeple2000]

Hi,

I pulled the trigger on a Bayou 44 quart pot and steam basket. I have already purchased the polyester voile cloth and nylon thread for the bag to BIAB. I also have some paracord I though I'd use to make a cord around the opening of the bag. Next time I go home to Milwaukee I could have a bag sewed for me, but I'd rather not wait that long. A friend in town has one of these:



and I am wondering if you guys think it would be alright for sewing a bag.

Thoughts?

 

[jcdouglas]

If you trust a $15 machine to hold 10+ pounds of grain, go for it. I would recommend double (or triple) stitching the bag. When you get to "mill-e-wah-que" get the bag sewed for you.

 

[hafmpty]

That has FAIL written all over it. I'm seeing 10-15 pounds of grain plus water weight blowing out the stitching and all that dropping into your kettle. Don't you know a nice older lady who could sew it for you? Somebody you work with? A neighbor? A friend's mom? If you really can't wait take it to a dry cleaners/alterations joint and have them do it up proper. If you went through the trouble of actually buying the right material don't botch it by being impatient.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[KevinM]

I'd say no as well. It looks like it can only a standard running stitch, and for a heavy duty bag, you'll want something stronger like a backstitch. (According to a website like mcnett-outdoor.com).
Other reviews says that it was a complete pain to work with the handheld stitcher.
Plus, you'll probably need some (or someone with) sewing knowledge about how to hold together two pieces of fabric with strong machine stitching.
Some DIY backpacking sites recommend various types of stitches (zigzag vs straight) and stitches per inch in regards to strength and material stretchability.

...There actually seems to be a lot about that, in regards to thread selection, size, etc since it could cut through the material, they also talk about various stitches used in sails, parachutes, tents and packs, so I'm guessing they know what they're talking about. (Yeah, I think I'd want to know what I'm trusting in if I'm skydiving or hiking with a homemade pack.)

 

[weeple2000]

Thanks for the input guys. I thought I might be able to do it myself (how hard could it be? lol) but I will just hold off until I can get someone who knows what they're doing to help me.

 

[wilserbrewer]

That looks like it sews pretty well, but rather slow. People have stitched bags by hand w/ success. What I do is stitch the perimeter of the bag once, then turn the bag inside out and stitch the seam twice in a tight zig zag so the end result is triple stitched. Practice on some scrap material and just keep stitching until you can't rip the seam apart no matter how hard you try, and that will do sir....

 

[D_Nyholm]

I have been using the home depot 5 gallon paint strainers and haven't had problems so far (5 batches). I've only put a total of 13 pounds in it so far. Are they a bad idea? If so, there was someone selling bags on here a while ago (maybe the guy who posted above me) and I would consider getting on of them if the paint strainers are a no no...

 

[Parkinson1963]

I say go for it. Use two rows of stitching, first row just the two edges together, then fold the seam over and stitch again, stitching through four layers of fabric. Nice strong seam.

 

[Grumpybumpy]

I have been using the home depot 5 gallon paint strainers and haven't had problems so far (5 batches). I've only put a total of 13 pounds in it so far. Are they a bad idea? If so, there was someone selling bags on here a while ago (maybe the guy who posted above me) and I would consider getting on of them if the paint strainers are a no no...

They're just not big enough to allow for the grains to really swim around and get fully saturated. I have the same pot as the op and it can fit inside my grain bag, leaving lots of room for happy times

 

[weeple2000]

I thought I'd post an update to this. My friend lent me his Stitch Sew Quick, and I practiced sewing on a shirt I cut up. I couldn't pull the seam apart, but it was difficult to sew in a straight line. I gave the fabric to my mom the next time she came to town, and she sewed me a bag. I have one bag from her, and she said she will sew me a second bag from the additional fabric. She said that the nylon thread didn't work well so she used polyester.

 

[Doed]

I have polyester thread holding my brew bag together.

 

[MrSpiffy]

I used the paint strainer bags for my first BIAB batch, and they were a giant pain. I had around 12-14 pounds of grain, and the thing was STUFFED with grain. I actually split the batch into two bags, which barely fit in my pot. And the paint strainer bags don't fit nicely on a large pot, either, so they'll keep falling in and you have to fish the open end out again.

Use a nice, large bag with a wide opening at the top. You can roll the edges over the pot and clip them down. And you can stir the contents without the bag falling in or making a mess.