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 NOSEOriginally made of leather, now the bags have a padded canvas nose. The padding is made from recycled plastic bottles and gives an extra level of protection without the need for animal products.
THE ROPE100% 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 was standard a long time 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 nice & clean. |
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, that's Tasha Chapman. She's 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. Using the techniques of the past, Tash crafts things useful things for today, that she hopes 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, that's Tasha Chapman. She's 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. Using the techniques of the past, Tash crafts things useful things for today, that she hopes will stick around for the future.