I recently completed sewing the tarp from the 5 yards to ultralight article and would like to create a bug tent for use underneath it. I have never sewn netting, so I'm just looking for some tips. When joining two pieces of nanoseeum together, do I need to use some sort of binding material between them or can I just sew them directly together? Also, can anyone recommend a stitch length works best with nanoseeum?

It looks to me that you are over thinking it a bit. I normally use 2.5-3mm for all my stitches, but it's not really that important. All you want is not so small that there are needle holes everywhere (issue more for sil)and not so big that it doesn't stay together under pressure.

You don't need to do anything special when joining 2 sections of noseeum (if your questions are specific to thru-hiker's nano-see-um then i have no experience with it)

What do you think of the tarp? It is very short in my opinion.

-Tim

Edited by MarshLaw303 on 07/30/2008 13:56:23 MDT.

Pin it carefully, then sew with medium length stitch at low thread tension. No worries.

I agree with Roger. I have sewn a lot of Nanoseeum frm thru-hiker.com. The main challenge involved in sewing netting is to control the stretch! Pin it at fairly close intervals and keep your hands on it as it travels through the machine. I usually sew slowly and watch it carefully. Practice with a few scraps first and you will be fine.

Thank you to everyone for the advice. I'll definitely practice on some scraps first.

Tim, overall I am very happy with how the tarp turned out. I modified it a bit to make the ridgeline a couple of inches longer than the instructions called for. It also helps that I'm only 5'9" tall, so I think the length will work for me. I also added four grosgrain loops along the ridgeline so that I can hang an inner mesh tent or other gear and accessories if I'm using it without the inner tent. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.