Grossgrain......

[Richard Tipton]

How necessary is grossgrain when making a tarp? This question is aimed more at the edges, not long seams. Could I just do a rolled edge instead?

thanks

[FLRider]

You most definitely can. On the other hand, if you're doing cat cuts, curves are hard(er) to do rolled hems on. Grosgrain (or bias tape) helps ease the difficulty of doing the edges on cat-cut tarps.

Hope it helps!

[Lost_Biker]

This question is aimed more at the edges, not long seams. Could I just do a rolled edge instead?

thanks

I just roll the edges : https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ad.php?t=77129

[Richard Tipton]

I thought I put one "s" too many in Grosgrain, thanks for thecorrection. I'm doing cat cuts but not very drastic ones, only 2 inches or so. It seems that a grosgrain edge would catch and hold water. Maybe it's just me. Thanks for the quick responses.

[Lost_Biker]

With 2" cats, I don't believe you'll have any problems rolling the hem. Bigger curves are more difficult, but they just take more care and you should go a little slower.

[Boston]

Roll the hem and save the weight. I also like how my tarp with a 1/4" rolled hem looks - better than the one I did with grosgrain edging.

I use 6" strips of 7/8" grosgrain for my corner reinforcement too. Total of 1 ft used per corner.

For the record on my rolled hem tarp I also used 7/8" grosgrain as a binder for the ridge line. It makes tarp making super easy (no felled seam), and no seam sealing required. 11.5 ft of grosgrain adds less than an oz to the tarp (11ft ridge line).

[Richard Tipton]

Boston, I think I saw the pics of your tarp. Pretty cool!!!! I'll just stick with a rolled edge and if I don't like it, I'll make another. Long seams don't bother me too much, and a felled seam just takes some practice. Thanks for all the input. You guys have been a big help.

Tip

[Richard Tipton]

The tarp that I'm planning is very similar to Lost Biker's but with shallower cat cuts.

[Nighthauk]

My current tarp based off of DIY gear supplies plans has 5" cats. I rolled the hem on that. No need fro grosgain.

[diyguy]

I've made tarps with and without grosgrain sewn into the hems. After such experiments, I concluded that the grosgrain is not needed and only adds weight.