need some sewing pointers

[arolfsen]

Okay gents,
As I stated in my intro thread I picked up a bear grylis hammock from rei. I'm set on sewing my own tarp for it. So i have some questions or am looking for some pointers on my plan:

I'm getting 8 yards of blaze orange silnylon from ripstopbytheroll. The plan is to build a 12x9 tarp. I can go one of two ways on this, but the one i'm leaning towards is sewing the seams on the ridge line.

I'm going to fold over the edge on each half about a quarter inch and sew it to make a "pretty edge". Then i'm going to overlap the two halves 5/8" and tack them down on a piece of grosgrain ribbon. On the end of ridge line i'm going to sew in a 6" piece of grosgrain to form a 3" loop. I'm going to sew a half moon piece of material over the loop where it's tacked into the ridge line.

I'm going to take that same 1.5"" grosgrain, fold it over the outter edges of the material and tack it down, to make "pretty edges".

The corners will have the same 3" loops that the ridge line will have, with the same half moon material sewn over it.

thoughts?

[The Old Boot]

Thoughts....go to DIYGearSupply and look up the instructions for the winter tarp (it's good for year round use... not just winter) and the instructions for sewing a felled/French seam.

Memorize them!

Grosgrain on the ridge seam is not really needed. 3" loops are way too big.

While you're there, place an order or Mara 70 thread to use.

Ask for more instructions on CRL and seam sealing.

[gmcttr]

Listen to The Old Boot. No need to reinvent the wheel by making it square.

[bear snack]

The old boot makes great suggestions. I used the DIYgearsupply info when planning my tarp and it was awesome. Here are a few thoughts if you have never worked with sil-nylon...

Sil-nylon is very slippery - be sure to use LOTS of pins to keep the fabric from dancing all over the place in your machine. Practice on a scrap piece of sil to get your machine tuned in before you tackle the 12 foot long section that will be the most difficult, and likely the first, seam that you sew.

8 yards of fabric with the seam on the ridge line will make a tarp that it slightly shorter than 12' due to seam allowances (and sometimes crooked cutting). Some suppliers are good about including a generous cut with a couple extra inches included, but if your heart is set on a perfect 12' length, you may want to order another fraction of a yard to be sure.

Just my 2c. Enjoy the project. You'll be so proud of the finished product once you are hanging under it, warm and dry in the rain.

[VictoriaGuy]

Thoughts....go to DIYGearSupply and look up the instructions for the winter tarp (it's good for year round use... not just winter) and the instructions for sewing a felled/French seam.

Memorize them!

Grosgrain on the ridge seam is not really needed.

+1

There's a reason flat-felled seams have been used on tents and tarps for years. That's the best solution to the problem. The seam gives plenty of strength, and you can just sew the loops to the seam at each end of the ridge.

[VictoriaGuy]

8 yards of fabric with the seam on the ridge line will make a tarp that it slightly shorter than 12' due to seam allowances (and sometimes crooked cutting).

That's correct, if it's a rectangular tarp.

If it's any sort of 'hex' shape, don't forget to cut the fabric like this:HEX-Tarp-Cut-Pattern-300x118.jpg