Fabric and Canvas Blog - FAQ Q&A

Question_Text:

We purchased 1680 Denier Luggage Grade Heavy Duty Nylon Fabric and Heavy Nylon Webbing for camping equipment. They've done fabulously for every item I've made with it! We just discovered that mice got into our camping gear after the weather turned cold. Thankfully the items made with your materials are intact, but I'm wondering how to clean them to potentially avoid hantavirus or another mouse-carried illness/disease. Hot water wash is recommended for fabrics; wet disinfectant is recommended for non-porous surfaces; ultraviolet sunlight is recommended for items which cannot be wet (i.e., paper). Which cleaning method is best for the materials we purchased from you ?Thank you

Answer:

You could use 1oz. of bleach per gallon of warm water and soak the items in it for a few minutes, then remove the items after 10 minutes and rinse fully in cold water. However, this could affect the color of the material.

Another method is to fill a re-usable spray bottle with rubbing alcohol (un-diluted & straight from the container) and completely saturate the item on both sides of the fabric, then allow to dry in the sun. However, this method could affect the polyurethane backing. try testing a small portion of the material to see what the effect will be.

Question_Text:

Could the heavy weight canvas and duck fabric be stitched with a household sewing machine? I would like to make chew toys for my puppy. Thank you.

Answer:

Yes, All of our cotton canvas fabric can be sewn on a typical home sewing machine, but you must sew at a very low speed on some of the heavier materials, and it may help to experiment with different needles of various sizes, and to lubricate the needle frequently with sewing machine oil or silicon lubricant.

Question_Text:

I am looking for a vintage camo waxed canvas or heavy canvas. Do you carry that or can you get it?

Answer:

We have it in Olive Drab, but I don't think you will find it in Camo anywhere

https://www.ahh.biz/canvas/canvak_treated_canvas.php

We have a 1000 D CORDURA® with water resistant coating:

We also have a Camo Vinyl

Cotton Canvas and also duck cloth, or cotton duck are terms used to describe any heavy, woven cotton fabric heavier than about 8 ounces per square yard (not linear yard). This material has been produced for thousands of years, it had been used for ship's sails earlier than the time of the Roman Empire. People often call just about any heavy duty fabric 'Canvas' but this is not accurate, the name only applies to heavy material woven from cotton fibers. Canvas Grommets are have been used for over 100 years to make strong, metal reinforced  holes in canvas tarps and sails that would hold ropes and lines without ripping the material.

Before man made fibers cotton was widely used in almost every way you could imagine, in the past it was coated with rubber or varnish to make it waterproof. Until the 1940's it was even used to make the skin of airplanes by painting it with special paints that made it hard, resistant to the elements and smooth to help with air flow. In fact there are still old planes still flying today that have skins made from this material. Also, there are very few materials man made or natural that can do what cotton fiber does. Two of these abilities are, it absorbs water and liquids very well, and its softness. If absorbing water is bad for what you wanted to use the canvas for, there was also waxed canvas. Waxed canvas, is made by treating the canvas with a wax or special heavy oil helps to prevent the fabric from getting soaked with water.

Cotton is not just soft to the touch, but it also doesn't scratch delicate surfaces. For example, you can safely clean your sunglasses on a 100% cotton shirt or pants without fear of scratching the lenses. However, do the same thing with a fabric that contains even a small part of man made fibers like nylon or polyester, and you'll put tiny scratches all over the lenses, even with the lightest touch.