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Straycat tarp $25
Last weekend I got a wild hair and realized I had a tarp I wasn't using. It was a Coleman pop up shelter wall that I bought for around $15 at walmart I think when I first started hanging. It served its purpose at the time and was replaced by a Campmor 10x12.
So here's how I did it:
Starting fabric was 6x12 I took 2ft off the end making it 10ft long. I then took a tape measure and marked a line at 24" on the long sides of the tarp. Connecting that with the center point on the short side center point gave me a basic hex shape.
To create my cat cuts I measured to the center on every edge. Once I had my center points, I marked a spot 8" in on the long sides and 4" in on the short sides. Using my highly tuned eyeballs, I created the curve with a pen then once I was satisfied with the caternary shape I made, I traced over my pen with a sharpie. I cut and sewed every edge with reinforcements where the tie outs would be. By the way, the reinforcements are from the extra fabric I had.
The tie outs were made from black with white polka dot grosgrain my wife bought at a fabric store. Of course the polka dots went on the inside. I cut each of the 6 tie outs to 10" to allow for plenty of contact with the tarp and reinforcements.
It took me a total of about 8 hours to complete this tarp from start to finish. The next one I make will be a little different on the measurements. Instead of an 8ft long side, I will make it 8.5 ft. It'll give me a little more toe and head room under the tarp.
I call this creation the "Straycat" because its ugly, was previously unwanted, and lost weight from when I abandoned it. Next time I tackle this I will force myself to take pics along the way so you great guys and gals out there can have yet another tutorial. This was a fairly simple project including the sewing. I think anyone should be able to tackle this project with little effort and a days time.
I have yet to try this thing out in the rain, but I'm pretty certain I will stay dry using this tarp. It was a great trial run before I go buying impetus, cuben, or sil. It was a cheap tarp that including materials, whether previously owned or not is less than $25.
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ictureid=18443
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ictureid=18444
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Any pics of the final product?
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Ill upload some after my son goes to bed. I meant to say that earlier.
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I edited my first post and added pics.
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Post a couple of pics with it flying, when you get the time, hopefully with a hammock under for size comparison. Looks like a great repurpose of an item. Any idea on the weight? Can't be too heavy, I would think. ........RR
P.S. Very nice job with the stitching/design.
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Looks good! Thanks for the inspiration :thumbup1:
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I have a buddy that hikes with me sometimes but doesn't have a lot of $$...so I lend him stuff. I'm going to take your idea and make him a tarp out of a camo Wally World tarp I have and kill two birds with one stone. I'm gonna learn how to do this, and then give him the tarp.
Thanks for the inspiration!
G-Nut :shades:
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RR, it weighs 356 grams without guy lines and hardware. I will have to wait until the weekend more than likely, but ill try to get it up sooner for you guys for pics.
Grapenut, there's already a thread for the Poly tarps and that is where I got my inspiration. The poly tarps are only about $5 cheaper than this Coleman shelter wall and they weigh a considerable amount more. That is why I wanted to post my project on here versus just posting some pics. The tarp material I used is a taffeta of either nylon or polyester and has a poly waterproof coating on one side. If you look at the picture of my tieout, you can see a slight color difference due to that coating. I think this would be the perfect project for a pretty lightweight tarp(12.5oz) that your friend should be pretty happy to receive.
Grapenut, I am going to put better blueprints up tonight if I get the chance and that should help a bit with your project. I made an error in my first post on what I would change so ill correct that when I post the design.
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Fish, awesome! Thanks for the tips! Appreciate you sharing the tribal lore on this.
G-Nut :shades:
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It certianly looks good and if it is fully water proof and can keep you dry in a real down pour then you've certainly got yourself a great tarp. Have you tested the water proofness of the material yet?