DIY OutdoorINK All-Season Cat-Cut Rectangle Tarp ("Tiger Stripes")

[kitsapcowboy]

Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
In the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake, "The Tyger", Songs of Experience (1794)

Type: All-season rectangular hammock tarp (hex mode, full enclosure mode, and compatible with optional double internal pole modification)
Materials: Ripstop by the Roll 1.1 oz OutdoorINK silpoly, 1.5" and 1/2" poly grosgrain ribbon, Mara 70 thread, misc. hardware
Ridge Line Length: 140"
Width: 112"
Enclosed Footprint ("doors" shut): 36 sq ft (6' x 6')
Weight: 15.8 oz (447 grams)



Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. This DIY project came about somewhat by accident, but it turned out very well.

This tarp is patterned after my original Cat Tangle DIY all-season cat-cut rectangle tarp; it is (nominally) 12' x 10', made from 1.1 oz OutdoorINK digitally printed silpoly waterproof fabric from Ripstop by the Roll in the "Tiger Stripes" (Bengal) pattern I designed for them.

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...at-Tangle-Tarp
https://ripstopbytheroll.com/collect.../tiger-stripes

Construction Notes:

1) I used a folded 1.5" grosgrain ribbon reinforcement on a standing French seam in lieu of a seam-sealed flat-felled seam; this has become my preferred method for building two-piece tarps. The ribbon added 38 grams to the build, but the tarp still came in under one pound.

2) OutdoorINK fabric runs are just slightly scant from their nominal dimensions, presumably as a result of the digital printing process; one should expect this when working with these fabrics and adjust accordingly.

3) There are choices to be made when cutting the blanks for hammock gear (including tarps) from printed fabric that do not arise when using solid-color material, so that the pattern is used to best aesthetic effect; if your budget allows, it may be desirable to order an extra yard of printed fabric beyond the absolute minimum necessary (e.g., 8 yards for a hex tarp that normally requires 7) in order to have the freedom to position your patterns on the fabric where they will look best when cut.

4) My Cat Tangle tarp pattern leaves almost no scraps of fabric from an 8-yard run, so I had to make ten corner reinforcement patches of of the remainder from my DIY "Starry Night" OutdoorINK silpoly hex tarp in order to use the same material. In hindsight, I would have preferred using the heavier 300D pack cloth patches I've used on some of my other tarps, as I find it much easier and have a clean finish.

5) Total build time was under 8 hours. The printed fabric added some expense to the build, but it was worth it to achieve the truly eye-catching result.

As always, feel free to comment or inquire below regarding this DIY tarp build, and thanks for reading my project report.

[Countrybois]

Not a leave-no-trace design... But she sure is perty!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[kitsapcowboy]

This DIY project report was submitted to this forum for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Use any methods, ideas, or inspirations contained herein strictly AT YOUR OWN RISK. I accept no responsibility whatsoever for any injury or harm that befalls others owing to information presented here, and I accept no responsibility for any errors the post contains.

I do not in any way advocate that others should do anything I have presented here; this thread is strictly DOCUMENTATION OF FACT. Readers beware.

There is a lot of great information on Hammock Forums available from members with much more substantial experience, better ideas, and better methods than mine. SEEK IT OUT.

Thank you for your attention.

[kitsapcowboy]

Not a leave-no-trace design... But she sure is perty!

Ha ha... Thanks, CB.

[ripstopbytheroll]

Man this is really an insane tarp build! Great work as always. You have truly have a one-of-a-kind piece of gear there. For now...

[kitsapcowboy]

Man this is really an insane tarp build! Great work as always. You have truly have a one-of-a-kind piece of gear there. For now...

Thanks, Kyle.

[geneaut]

You should call it your Cat Cat Tangle Tarp. Beautiful work as always.

[XJ35S]

I cut the tie out off my tarp and re did them with the d rings and line locs. It's brilliant!

The picture of the folded tarp on the scale has some goofy looking stitching on the second row up from the bottom. Is that part of the standing french seam? Or some slack thread on the machine?

[kitsapcowboy]

I cut the tie out off my tarp and re did them with the d rings and line locs. It's brilliant!

The picture of the folded tarp on the scale has some goofy looking stitching on the second row up from the bottom. Is that part of the standing french seam? Or some slack thread on the machine?

No...that's just my goofy-looking stitching...

I was fighting some thread tension issues at the end in my haste to finish the tarp, and while minding the curve on one of the short cat-cuts I ran out of bobbin thread and had to rip out a section, lock the stitches, and start up again. I also hadn't tightened and trimmed the loose thread ends on the perimeter stitching, quick always helps. I think that's one of the more unsightly areas you have pointed out studiously, om thr perimeter roll hem. The grosgrain ribbon ridge line came out virtually perfect on this tarp.

I weighed the tarp before and snapped the photo before I had deployed it for the first time, so the good news is when tensioned a lot of the "goofy-looking" parts even out considerably as the thread tension becomes more uniform under load, and it stays that way, so everything looks better. As you can see in some of the photos after deployment the tarp doesn't look that bad now, even when examining the details.

The other good news is that with this thread and my original Cat Tangle project report, you have all the information you need to buy 8 yards of my fabric and sew a similar tarp more competently for yourself.

[Cabmanhang]

I don't think "Love" is a strong enough word.

What a beautiful creation, kitsapcowboy.

Your animal prints are some the best and it looks fantastic as a tarp.