I started building a new line of gear recently. It's funny how things develop in life. I purchased a hundred year old Singer Sewing machine to revive a family heirloom for a Christmas present, but I didn't know enough about them to realize I had bought a different model even though they were all black and looked alike. So it turned out that the one I bought for parts was actually fully functional, in the mean time I somehow found out that I could get cordura from a supplier 5 hours up the road. It was winter and I always have a little extra time stuck in the house, so I decided to try out my skills at building a boot bag for my roof top tent. The shape was nice, my stitching skills looked exactly how you would expect after 20 years since the last time I touched a sewing machine in home economics, but I had time, so I sewed another. Then Angela requested a storage bag for her side of the Jeep, dash bags are available from a few companies, but I decided to use my creative side and the cordura I had laying around to make a real bag. Thus, what is being nicknamed the "jeep purse" was created. Made with 1000 denier cordura, mil-spec cordura webbing, and Made in the USA grimloc just like the military uses. The "jeep purse" is one of the toughest dashboard grab handle bags you can find out there. We were in Moab last week, I had given some friends some of the bags to give me feedback on, so far everyone loves how much stuff they hold, and one guy even layed his Jeep on its side and reported nothing fell out, I'm not recommending that, but it's nice to know. We took a video on Porcupine Rim to show how much bouncing they take without throwing your stuff out.
After sewing so much, I started noticing things at the EJS vendor show, some good ideas out there but lousy stitching. I never in my life paid attention to stitching until I started sewing with these old machines, but I discovered people who really sew are pretty loyal to their machines and the quality of stitches. So after talking to the local sewing machine repair guy and googling alot, I bought my second old Singer, this one is from the 1940s, and by all internet accounts is one of the finest machines ever made. Singer 201, nicknamed the "Rolls Royce" of sewing machines because the stitching is so precise that in the 1950s Rolls Royce actually used these models to sew their leather interiors rather than with industrial machines.
So if you want an American Made product from an American icon sewing machine using some of the toughest materials available, give our gear a try!