DIY 8'x10' Tarp w/ Doors

[FireInMyBones]

Here are some photos from my latest DIY project: my first tarp!

I started with a paper model:


Then I went to Phoenix of Anderson (a local warehouse/ distributer of fabrics) and bought 7 yards of 45" wide silnylon, a pound of black 3/4" grossgrain (around 73'), and a yard of 1.6oz (I think that's what it is) for $21.75. Silnet ran me $5.

I trimmed the fabric so that everything was square and then drew guidelines for sewing:


I then sewed a basting stitch down the ridgeline to make sewing the felled seam easier:


My problem here is that I began sewing in the middle of the lines I had drawn rather than to one side. This made folding the felled seam difficult and lead to some consistency issues down the ridgeline, I will know what to do next time.

Due to a measuring error on my part, I cut the second piece too long (better than the alternative):


At this point I mark and cut out my tarp reinforcements (6"x6" squares cut diagonally for he tie out reinforcements, ~3" diameter (a tuna can) for the pullout reinforcements):



I sewed on the reinforcements for the ridgeline:



I then laid out some cardboard that I had drawn cat cuts on using the string method (doors: 2.5'x 2", body: 5'x3"):


Then I sewed on the corner and side reinforcements:



After setting the tarp up, I used some nickles and string larks-headed on the side of the tarp to find a clean looking point for the pullouts.

Once I had the measurements (for the 10'x8' I went 40" from each side (1/3 of the length) and 20" down from the ridgeline), I began the sewing:




Seam sealing took a while (I used Silnet):



So...here it is set up. I think its pretty:



From the inside (with my DIY Nano7/Snipe):


Enjoying that feeling of...yeah, I did that:


Final weight without tie-outs: 346g/12.15oz