Elements Refined

Phil

I have always enjoyed outdoor activities. I have also enjoyed designing and making things. I have used many different materials for these projects including wood, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. I have owned a variety of boats in the last 20 or so years and have always done my own work on them.

About 15 years ago I had a boat that needed new sails and canvas. I took a sail making class at Orange Coast College and with the help of my wife, started learning to sew using an old Kenmore sewing machine we have owned for the last 27 years. It soon became apparent that the Kenmore wasn’t up to the task of sewing the heavy canvas, so I purchased a very old Pfaff 130. I customized it to sew the heavy canvas and started redoing all of the canvas on the boat.

Since I first started sewing, I have owned three more boats and have sewn many projects for them. I have saved thousands of dollars and enjoyed creating all of the custom projects for the boats. I never did make sails but I did sew a lot of canvas. Over the years I have also
designed and sewn many types of canvas totes and duffel bags for family use and to give away as gifts.

I recently became interested in tackling camping and hiking gear. I searched the web and didn’t find many patterns for the type of gear I wanted. At this point it became apparent that I should make some good patterns and instructions to make future projects easier and quicker. One backpack led to another. So far I have designed, created patterns and sewn two types of backpacks, a duffel bag, chalk bag, and assorted others.

A few of the sewing projects I have completed so far

Since there was a shortage of good, functional and easy to understand patterns, I decided to create this blog and companion website, elementsrefined.com and share what I have learned with other outdoor enthusiasts who really like to do things their own way. The website is currently under construction so check back here often for updates.

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