Companion forum thread to:

Make Your Own Gear: 5 Yards to SUL, Part 3 - Tarp

Jay -

This was a pinnacle article that I've been long awaiting. Obviously seeing as how it was just released I haven't had a chance to break out the sewing machine yet but I'd say that having read through it twice your directions and photos seem ample.

Thanks,
Sam

Jay -

I have also been waiting for this article and will begin sewing right after Christmas.

Do you have any tips for holding the material in place when sewing flat felled seams? Pins, paper clips, glue stick, silicone glue?

Thanks

Sam,

Glad to hear you're going to give it a go. Have fun, and let us know how it turns out.

Daniel,

I generally don't use pins when I can avoid it, especially with so many long seams. It would take all day just to pin it up.

I pinch the fabric with the thumb and forefinger of my right hand. I use my thumb and forefinger, sliding back and forth, to adjust the position of the two fabrics releative to each other. I use my right hand to steer the fabric as it feeds to maintain my seam allowance. Using my right hand in this way puts a bit of resistence on the automatic fabric feed, so I use my left hand behind the machine to counter this and pull through. I sew in short bursts, 6" to 10" at a time, then stop to reposition my hands. It becomes rythmic with practice.

Jay
MYOG

Jay-

That is a beautiful tarp and excellent workmanship! I wanna be able sew like that when I grow up. ;-)

From your pix, it looks like you've got a catenary ridgeline. Is this true? If so, can you offer any tips for patterning it?

EDIT: Oops, I found it in your introductory article. [sorry]

Cheers,

-Mike

Edited by MikeMartin on 12/07/2006 18:05:03 MST.

Mike,

I'm working on a calculator of sorts for designing a catenary curve. I got the template for it from Roger Caffin, but it's not real user friendly yet. I hope to format it into something we could publish.

Copying the catenary curve from another tarp worked really well and was super easy to do. Even with a "calculator," I would recommend tracing if possible.

And thanks for the positive feedback. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Jay
MYOG

Edited by jham on 12/07/2006 18:27:06 MST.

Since part 1 and 2 were free I was hoping that the other parts would be free as well. Bummer

Eins

Waiting for the Pack article. Any idea on when?

Einstein - A BPL membership is the ten times less expensive than taking Sally Struther's advice and going with the Christian Children's Fund. - Sam

Methinks I need a trip to Seattle Fabrics this coming weekend. They carry pretty much every weight and color of Silnylon made.
If you haven't ever seen one, a roller foot for sewing machines is great. I found one about 12-14 years ago, and it helps with slippery fabric quite a bit.
Very nice article!

Heading there tomorrow .

Hey, where did you get that roller foot?

> Do you have any tips for holding the material in place when sewing flat felled seams? Pins, paper clips, glue stick, silicone glue?
For silnylon? PINS, very fine pins, and lots of them in the seam are (ie, where they won't affect the waterproofness).

Yes, it does take a bit of time putting all the pins in, but it is the ONLY way to make sure the ends of two curved bits of fabric match at the far end. If you are sewing a complex pattern, this is essential.

Sarah mentioned a roller foot. I find this essential too. You should be able to get one in a sewing machine shop - they are not rare.

As Jay said, sewing with the silnylon fabric under tension is almost a must, along with a low tension in the upper thread.

Ask in a well stocked sewing machine shop or fabric store. They are used for sewing velvet normally ;-) It looks like a normal foot but has a rolling ball in the middle to move the fabric along.

>Einstein - A BPL membership is the ten times less
>expensive than taking Sally Struther's advice and going
>with the Christian Children's Fund. - Sam

Yep and I'd love to become a BPL member, but (make sure you sit down, this might come as a shock to you Americans) I don't have a credit card. So it is impossible to become a member.

Eins

When I first joined I think I sent Ryan a check.

Eins, for years, even after i purchased my first home, i didn't have a credit card. it wasn't until 1996 when LLBean began offering a CC through MBNA (and i could get free clothes and gear by using the CC) that i obtained a CC.

Eins, if the check idea that Bill mentioned doesn't work for you, then PM me please.

Nor do I have cheques or pay pall. In fact, I've never even had a cheque in my hands.

I do however have an internet banking account (3 actually). If I'd have BPL's IBAN and maybe Swift and BIC code of their bank I could easily transfer the money to their account. But I have found that most organisations abroad don't give out these data (in this time and age maybe not a bad idea btw) or don't like to give these data.

I must say though that I've been to lazy to send an email and ask if BPL is ok with this method of payment.

Anyway, I think we're getting way off topic here.

Eins

ps. pj, what do you mean with PM???

Edited by EinsteinX on 12/13/2006 06:10:30 MST.

Offtopic, but if you have a bank account you can use PayPal. I sell my book out of the country often, and use Paypal for this. It takes about a week for the "virtual" check to clear. Or I have them send me a money order in US funds. There are options for people without credit or debit cards :-)

Jay,

Here is a spreadsheet for computing catenary curves. (repost from August MYOG)

It's pretty user friendly as is. It could be modified to allow user defined increments rather than the 20 fixed increments it has now.

If you can't find another tarp with a suitable curve to trace, this will allow a custom shape of your choice.

If you would like a copy, e-mail me. (lancem@wvi.com)

Edited by Lancem on 12/13/2006 10:17:39 MST.

When can we expect part 4 - making the backpack?