Butterfly/overhead grommet issues....

adamrahn

adamrahn

Well-known member
Hey gang, I can usually figure things like this out on my own, but I'm having some issues with my (DIY) overheads and wanted to see if there was a solution out there that I'm missing.
Story: made some frames from conduit (4x4 and 6x6), found some decent fabric online and sewed it into the sizes I needed. I've got some background in costuming so my sewing skills are well above the average person - so I provided some extra fabric around the edges on the silks so when I put the grommets in they'd have something sturdy to hang on to, sewed everything up nice and tight, reinforced stitching and all that jazz. After a handful of uses I'm finding they are almost all pulling/ripping the fabric where they were installed (haven't had a chance to snap a pic of mine but this is what's happening). I was concerned I might just be putting too much strain on the fabric by keeping it taught, but I let the tension up a little and I'm still seeing the grommets pulling away from the fabric. Now I'm wondering if the fabric is just ****. Has anyone had issues like this and if so any solutions? Or good supplier of quality fabrics for something like this? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Adam
 
I've got a 12x12 china silk, no way that would hold grommets. The border is made of 1" nylon webbing - basically "camera bag strap" material, and this also crosses the corners. All of the better silks I've seen have the borders reinforced, some with canvas, but the webbing is very tough.

I don't think ripstop would hold a grommet very long, even doubled over. You probably need a border made of something tougher.
 
This is exactly what I needed to hear - I'll need to get some of that heavy duty nylon. Should have taken a look at some pro ones before I delved in. Appreciate the input Michael!

Adam
 
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