Oh mighty tarp gurus.....help....

[thepikey]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going with the hem. Seems the simplest way to go. I love all the advice here. I couldn't get by without it!

[tiredhiker]

There is a nice and easy way to make a hem, If you have extra feet that came with your sewing machine try and the "narrow hem foot' it rolls the material for you; here is a video to show how it works.
( Use your Sewing Machine's Narrow Hem Foot with Londa's Technique)by londasews

type that title in you tube sorry I dont know how to paste a title so all you need to do is click on it.

[MAD777]

Here's my unprofessional opinion (I have made a couple of cat cut tarps). I think the grosgrain is extra weight. Like Rev said, keep the hem small.
What I do is fold the edge over once and sew it. Then, on the second pass, I fold it again and sew it a second time.

Yes, this is more sewing, but for me, it makes the hemming easier and the extra thread in there makes me feel better about the strength of the hem.

Goes to show you - there's more than one way to skin a cat curve

[Chicky]

I think you've made the right choice with the rolled hem...IMO PU coated seems stronger than Silnylon so you won't have any problems with stressing out the edges (That may not be a problem with the Sil...not sure). And it'll be less weight.

I put the grosgain in mine because I felt it would help distribute force from the pull-outs to the edge more, instead of where the fabric met the reinforcement at the pull-out. And I like the look of it as well.

Good luck!

chicky

[thepikey]

Here's the first pic. Sexy porch mode.

[thepikey]

more pics.

[gargoyle]

Turned out nice...if I could see it, it's camo!!
Whats it weigh??

[thepikey]

2.1 lbs. Not the lightest, but it will serve it's purpose. I'm hoping to get a few uses out of it as I build up my skills and splurge on sil from BWDD and make a proper tarp.