{"id":2547,"date":"2022-09-08T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T14:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/?p=2547"},"modified":"2023-02-03T10:29:58","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T15:29:58","slug":"long-arm-diy-stadium-shade-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/outdoor-living\/long-arm-diy-stadium-shade-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"Recipe for DIY Success: Determination & a Sailrite\u00ae Sewing Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cNothing is impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the motto of Linda Butters-Freund, a dedicated sewer and co-owner of Florida-based small business Offshore & More Custom Canvas LLC. Given her impressive 63 years of sewing experience, it\u2019s safe to say that there\u2019s no project she can\u2019t tackle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has never been a project too big for me,\u201d Linda said when we asked her about the largest project she\u2019s ever done. That project? A huge shade panel for the U.S. Open Pickleball Stadium\u2019s championship arena, completed in early 2021.<\/p>\n
The shade panel covers the open front of the championship stadium, which is in Naples, Florida. During pickleball tournaments, it provides players and spectators alike with much-needed relief from high heat and constant sun exposure. It\u2019s a new and improved version of the original shade panel, which was made in 2017.<\/p>\n
As a longtime Sailrite fan, Linda knew just where to turn for her project materials. She purchased enough spur grommets and webbing from Sailrite to complete the hanging shade panel \u2014 with some to spare.<\/p>\n
The panel\u2019s massive scale made a large sewing machine a necessity. Luckily, Linda already owned a Sailrite\u00ae Professional Long Arm Sewing Machine when this project came around. With its extra-large throat, the Professional was the natural choice to sew the shade panel. \u201cI honestly don\u2019t think it would have been possible to use any other machine!\u201d Linda said.<\/p>\n
Introduction to Pickleball<\/h2>\n
Linda was already well acquainted with pickleball when she started working with the Naples stadium. She discovered the sport in 2012 while living on Florida\u2019s Marco Island.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played tennis at the YMCA three times a week,\u201d she explained. \u201cI saw a flyer on the check-in counter announcing a clinic for pickleball. I signed up, started playing and realized that it was a much friendlier game \u2026 When I moved to Naples, I was fortunate to find a location nearby with lots of players.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you guessed that this \u201clocation nearby\u201d was the U.S. Open Pickleball Stadium complex, you\u2019re right on the money.<\/p>\n
The stadium, which hosted the inaugural U.S. Open Pickleball Championships in 2016, consists of several open-air pickleball courts. Additionally, the championship court is covered by a large metal structure with fabric shade panels on the top and front. Linda started playing there before the original shade structure was built in 2017.<\/p>\n
The Florida heat kept spectator numbers very low at the 2016 championships. Some shade, the stadium managers reasoned, would encourage more people to watch the tournament live in the future. They had the shade structure built soon after.<\/p>\n
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Although it greatly boosted attendance at the 2017 tournament, the structure had a major flaw. \u201c[The] sunshades [were] made from a material that did not hold up to the elements,\u201d Linda said. \u201c[They] were fraying and the grommets were ripping out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complex\u2019s management needed someone to repair the shade panels \u2014 and they didn\u2019t have far to look. Jim, the man in charge of the courts, soon learned about Linda’s sewing skills.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Jim] had seen some of my work from a player \u2026 I made personalized pickleball paddle covers. He asked [the player] for my name and contacted me,\u201d Linda said. \u201cI met with him, looked at the panels and said I would figure out a way to make repairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda had never worked on such a large project before. But it\u2019s never been in her nature to back down from a challenge. This tenacity and resourcefulness have served her well \u2014 starting when she learned to sew at 8 years old.<\/p>\n
A Lifetime of Sewing Success<\/h2>\n
\u201cI always watched my mother sewing clothes for my siblings and myself,\u201d Linda said of her childhood. \u201cI decided I would like to try my hand at it \u2026 I had some dolls that needed clothes! At that point everything I made was stitched by hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t long before Linda graduated from hand sewing to using a machine \u2014 after her search for just the right fabric for a project got a little out of hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to make a wedding dress for my Barbie\u00ae doll \u2026 I used my Easter dress slip\/petticoat for the fabric. The \u2018gown\u2019 was beautiful! My mother was really impressed with my creativity until she realized what I had used to make it with!\u201d Linda laughed.<\/p>\n
Although upset that the dress slip was ruined, Linda\u2019s mother saw that her daughter was serious about sewing. \u201c[My mother] showed me the basics for using a sewing machine, gave me a box with extra fabrics and thread, and told me to have fun,\u201d Linda remembered. \u201cMy world opened up and I knew sewing would always be a part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, sewing was Linda\u2019s job long before she co-founded Offshore & More, and before she moved to Florida from the New England region.<\/p>\n
In addition to teaching sewing classes, Linda has owned a dressmaking business (and in a humorous callback to her introduction to sewing, she made numerous wedding gowns). She also designed and sold canvas handbags at home showings similar to Tupperware\u00ae parties. The Massachusetts native had such success with her handbags that Yankee Magazine<\/em> featured her in its small business section!<\/p>\nLinda’s canvas handbags, as seen in Yankee Magazine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Later, Linda started her own marine canvas business after overhauling her family\u2019s 40-foot yawl (a two-masted sailboat) with new upholstery and custom covers. Other than a short stint sewing for interior designers, she\u2019s been entrenched in the marine sewing world ever since.<\/p>\n
As an unstoppable entrepreneur, Linda has learned a lot about running a small business. When we asked what she would tell other aspiring business owners, she said this: \u201cThe most important advice I would give to someone who wants to start their own sewing business: LOVE what you\u2019re doing! Every time I open the door from the house to my workshop, I look forward to working on projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunshine, Shade Panels & Sailrite<\/h2>\n
Linda spent most of her life in the northern part of the East Coast \u2014 but by 2010, she was ready for a change of scenery. She decided to trade in bitter New England winters for the sandy beaches and ample boating opportunities of South Florida.<\/p>\n
Around that time, she turned to Sailrite to bolster her marine sewing career. \u201cI needed a company that would be able to supply all the tools and products required for my numerous projects. After hours of research, I came to the conclusion that Sailrite was my No. 1 choice!\u201d<\/p>\n
Linda\u2019s familiarity with Sailrite was a big help when it came time to repair the pickleball stadium shade panels in Naples. She already owned an Ultrafeed\u00ae LS, but the large panels were often too bulky to fit through the compact machine\u2019s throat. \u201cI decided I needed a machine with a longer arm when I did repairs on the old shade panels,\u201d she told us.<\/p>\n
For this dedicated Sailrite fan, the perfect machine wasn\u2019t hard to find. \u201cWhenever a new project comes my way, I always do my research for supplies on the Sailrite website,\u201d she said. \u201c[It] is my go-to place to shop!\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how Linda discovered the Professional Long Arm (now discontinued) and decided it was the upgrade she needed to repair the shade panel. \u201cThe added room under the arm made the ease of pushing 110-inch-wide material a breeze,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd being able to zigzag the rips really made the job easy!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Thanks to this upgrade, Linda became the pickleball stadium\u2019s go-to project person. She kept up with repairs on the original shade structure until 2020, when something happened that was too big to fix.<\/p>\n
\u201cA windstorm came through Naples and shredded the original stadium,\u201d Linda said. \u201c[It] had to be replaced due to hurricane-force winds.\u201d There was no denying it \u2014 the shade panels on top of the original stadium were done for.<\/p>\nThe windstorm did a lot of damage to the original shade structure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Somehow, the branded shade panel on the front of the stadium survived the storm. But its reign didn\u2019t last much longer.<\/p>\n
A new metal structure and shade panels were in place by the end of 2020. That\u2019s when \u201c[the stadium\u2019s management] decided that the old shade panels [for the front] \u2026 needed to be replaced. They contacted the stadium company to inquire about purchasing material to match the [new] structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jim, the stadium\u2019s manager, turned to Linda for help making the raw fabric into a single shade panel to cover the stadium\u2019s front. It would be Linda\u2019s largest project ever, but she was determined to face the challenge head-on.<\/p>\n
The Making of a Shade Panel<\/h2>\n
Armed with the new shade fabric, her Professional Long Arm and the materials she purchased from Sailrite, Linda got to work on the front panel in January 2021. She didn\u2019t have much time \u2014 that year\u2019s Pickleball Championship tournament was scheduled for April. Fortunately, she also wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n
You see, Linda\u2019s son Michael and his family also live in Florida. Linda had taught him how to sew when he was growing up in Massachusetts, and he\u2019d helped with some of her previous projects. Just like his mom, he\u2019d caught the sewing fever.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Michael] wanted to get back into the canvas business,\u201d Linda told us. \u201cHe asked me if I would like to make my boat canvas official. He wanted to have something to do when he wasn\u2019t working his \u2018real\u2019 job.\u201d Linda liked the idea, and Offshore & More Custom Canvas was born.<\/p>\n
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When Michael isn\u2019t at his full-time job, he pitches in on Offshore & More\u2019s projects, including the shade panel. Good thing, too \u2014\u00a0the shade panel called for large-scale measurements that would be difficult for one person to manage. Linda gave us the details:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shade panel was made up of seven individual panels [and] measured 125 feet across the lower edge and 19 feet [tall] in the center.\u201d The oversized panels required more space than Linda\u2019s garage workshop could provide.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately, we have a very large driveway,\u201d she said. \u201cI was able to place the three [center] panels on my driveway, line up the sides and mark for grommet placement. Since the top of the shade panel was arched, I had to roll part of the painted [center] panels to the side to mark and measure for the other four panels needed to complete the project.\u201d<\/p>\nOne panel screen-printed and ready for sewing!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
After measuring and cutting the panels, Linda turned to her trusty Professional Long Arm to sew them together. Then, it was time to install the grommets \u2014 which was when having a helper became indispensable.<\/p>\n
Due to a hand injury, Linda couldn\u2019t use a hammer to install the incredible 650 spur grommets that the project called for. Instead, \u201cMichael was enlisted to mark and install the grommets,\u201d she told us. \u201cHe saved the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides the 650 grommets, the mother-son team went through 110 yards of shade cloth and nearly 800 feet of webbing. Including a three-week screen-printing process \u2014 which required Linda to ship the giant panels to a printer on a pallet \u2014 the whole project took two months of hard work. Linda and Michael finished the shade panel in March 2021, just in time for the U.S. Open tournament the following month.<\/p>\n
The Creativity Continues<\/h2>\n
Although the shade panel has been done for over a year, Linda still checks in on it now and again \u2014 and she feels as proud of it today as she was the day it was completed. \u201cI love opening up a pickleball magazine and seeing the finished project in full color,\u201d she told us.<\/p>\n
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In fact, that sense of accomplishment is one of the things Linda loves most about her DIY lifestyle. \u201cI can take a simple piece of material and create something unique,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce the project is completed, I\u2019m left with the feeling, \u2018Yes, I made that!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Sewing is her first love, but it isn\u2019t Linda\u2019s only DIY hobby. She told us she also enjoys watercolor painting and gardening. \u201cThe weather in Florida has proven to be a challenge though,\u201d she said of gardening. \u201cIf you forget to water one day, the plants are toast!\u201d<\/p>\n
But remember, Linda isn\u2019t the type to give up when things get tough. Whether it\u2019s gardening in the Florida weather, digging up repair manuals to fix an old lawnmower or using Sailrite\u2019s free how-to videos to learn a new sewing project, Linda embodies the go-getter spirit of a true DIYer. \u201cI\u2019m happy as long as I\u2019m doing something creative,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
We certainly understand that, Linda! Thank you for sharing your story \u2014 we know that your creativity and tenacity will inspire your fellow DIYers to make great things. Best of luck on all your future projects!<\/p>\n
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Who We Are<\/h3>\n
Sailrite is your one-stop DIY shop! We are a passionate crew of do-it-yourselfers who strive to equip you with the supplies and how-to knowledge you need to tackle your next project. Do you want to learn upholstery, leatherwork, canvaswork, hobby sewing, bag making or more? We have the fabric, tools, hardware, sewing machines and notions you need to master any DIY. And even if you’ve never sewn before, our tutorials and how-to videos are designed for beginners and experienced crafters alike.<\/p>\n
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