Or how to use narrower fabric and still gain something...
I was looking at dimensions and coverage and fabric widths and had a bit of an epiphany that while it involves more seams is also an efficient use of fabric and allows a greater effective width... Depending on the chosen dimensions the gains may be considerable. With the nominal BlackCat dimensions about 30" width per side could be achieved if you so wanted....
Here is an attached drawing showing how. Basically the parts you cut off for the taper of the hex at the ridgeline get sewn on the outer edges of the fabric. Piece 1 on the drawing, goes to the position shown. The tip (piece 2) may be used to fill the low point, again as shown. Repeat for all 4 corners...
Do the piecing then cut your curves. In my case I wanted a 14' ridgeline, and a 9' length at the 60" width fabric, but once I cat cut it my maximum effective covered width dropped from 10' to about 8'...
I LIKE BIG tarps (and I cannot lie... sorry flashing on MC Hammer ), so I wanted MORE... This gives me up to 24" more on each side... I chose a middle ground where the dotted line shows the tarp cut I'm planning. This increases my coverage by about 18" on each side at the points and I get more like 12' coverage...instead of 8'.... (in the flat..)....
Anyways.... Here's the PDF of the idea....
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