SPECS
A detailed look at all the little bits that go into a carefully crafted Chapman at Sea bag.
THE CANVASOur canvas is 100% cotton heavy duty canvas. It's washed before it's used, so the bags won't shrink if they get wet. It also gives the canvas a nice rumpled texture. We could iron the canvas to smooth it back out again, but we don't, because we like it that way.
THE HARDWAREThe majority of our hardware is solid brass. The silver hardware is nickel plated brass. It's all marine grade.
THE ROPEIt's 100% cotton rope, the kind of rope sailors have used throughout history.
On the bags we generally use 1/4" rope and the leashes are made from 3/8" rope. It's all sourced from marine suppliers and is perfect for tying the various knots and splices we make use of in our products. |
THE FRENCH SEAM
Even if you've never heard of a serger before, you're probably familiar with what it does. Look on the inside of most commercially made garments & you'll see the edges of the seams look like they've been wrapped in thread to hold them together and prevent fraying. It works, but it doesn't look or feel that good.
Maybe that's fine for a t-shirt, but we want our bags to last, so instead of serging our edges, we use the French Seam. It's what everyone used a long ago and it's still used today on well made & couture garments. It's basically one seam wrapped in another seam & it means there are no raw edges exposed. So the inside of our bags are clean, without any messy threads handing around the side seams. Also because each seam is sewn together twice it's especially durable & it just looks nicer. |
A WORD ON HANDMADE
Chapman at Sea believes that even though we live in a time when practically everything can be manufactured, we all still deserve to have a few special things that are made just for us. Handmade things have more meaning, so we keep them longer.
Handmade items also tend to be of higher quality & it's nice to know the person who made it for you. At Chapman at Sea, those people are Joe and Tasha. Tasha is an artist & maker who was taught to sew by her grandmother. She works on an antique Singer sewing machine that has a beautiful stitch more modern machines can't duplicate. Joe makes the dog leashes, tying the knots just like sailors have for centuries. We use the techniques of the past to make useful things for today, that we hope will stick around for the future.
Handmade items also tend to be of higher quality & it's nice to know the person who made it for you. At Chapman at Sea, those people are Joe and Tasha. Tasha is an artist & maker who was taught to sew by her grandmother. She works on an antique Singer sewing machine that has a beautiful stitch more modern machines can't duplicate. Joe makes the dog leashes, tying the knots just like sailors have for centuries. We use the techniques of the past to make useful things for today, that we hope will stick around for the future.
