2 person Tarp of Ray's design. 1 last finishing ?

Posted by: GuruJ

2 person Tarp of Ray's design. 1 last finishing ? - 04/02/08 12:50 PM

Hi again all!

Since my last failure in the planning stages of my pita quilt I decided to take a step back and do an even tougher project.
I bought Ray Jardines Tarp tent book and got most my supplies (all fabric) from Thru Hiker.

I bought 6yrds of the green 1.1 oz Silicone Impregnated Ripstop 1sts, & 3yrds of the smoke grey 1.1 oz Silicone Impregnated Ripstop 2nds. The green is for the body. The beaks, reinforcements, & lifter patches are grey.

I spent last weekend sewing it together with my newly tuned & serviced $99 Singer 6038! It worked surprisingly well no real problems that a little McGyvering didn't fix. The contrasting colors looks very cool and the seams look almost professional. (I will post pics after this weekend.)

The one thing I did much different was go way overboard on sewing the webbing loops to the tarp. I did a small test with his suggestion and it didn't pass my test. I tried it again with my idea and it worked much better. My big idea was to just sew the crap out of it. The ridgeline has about 20 lines of stitching in the 1/2 inch webbing.

Anyway two questions. The lifter patches use something called "Ray Way Flatline". What is a good alternative to that? I have no clue what it is & his website doesn't say.

Also any better ideas for lifter patches out there? I'm using the new design he has on his Rays Website.
Quoted below
Quote:
Lifter patches.

We have developed a new method of attaching the lifter lines to the lifter patches without cutting slits. In testing this new method, we pull on the lifter lines until something breaks. The pull is typically in excess of 100 pounds - far more than the tarp would sustain in normal use - and yet the lifter patches are not damaged. Those wishing to try this new method may proceed as follows:

lifter-patch
Cut a lifter patch to size. It could be round or square. Mark the patch with four small dots, as shown. Points "A" and "B" are about 1/2" apart. Thread a length of ray-way flatline into a sewing needle. Run the needle through the lifter patch at point "A" and using a pair of pliers pull it out the other side. Move over half an inch to point "B" and run the needle back through the patch. Move over to point "C" and run the needle through, then to point "D" and run it through. lifter-patch-b

Remove the needle from the flatline. Check that both free ends of the line are on the same side of the patch. Adjust the line so that both loops are about 1" in diameter, then tie the two ends together. Remember that if this knot fails, so does the lifter line. So make sure the knot is very secure. The result is a short, doubled loop of flatline attached to the patch, as shown at left. To this loop you will later tie your lifter line. But first, place the patch on the tarp with the knot against the tarp (hidden under the patch), and sew the patch to the tarp in the usual manner.


Thanks for the help!!! After this I go back to the pita quilt project.
Namaste,
GuruJ
Posted by: BrianKelly

Re: 2 person Tarp of Ray's design. 1 last finishing ? - 04/02/08 02:03 PM

I couldn't find any descritions of what exactly the "Flatline" is. If I had to guess, it is simply a flat (hence the name) cord, similar to other flat cords on the market used for guylines. It is probably comparable to BPL's Aircore 1, in that it is thin enough to be threaded through a needle. My guess is you could replace it with any of these other products and do just fine.

In looking at the design of the lifter patch, I'm wondering if the cord would work its way (tear) through the fabric once its put under pressure. I'm also not super keen on the idea of a knot being the only thing holding it there. 100lb breaking strength isn't bad, but it's not that high in comparison to most of the Spectra based products out there.
Posted by: GuruJ

Re: 2 person Tarp of Ray's design. 1 last finishin - 04/02/08 10:37 PM

Thanks for the input.
I too worry about my 1.1 sil ripping through due to the pin holes. And as knots go I think it will be the last thing to fail. I did another test and while I couldn't get the pin hole to rip any further then it's own wee rip-stop square, I did only test it for 10 minutes. A very hard 10 minutes.
Ray's other suggestion is to make two slits in the patches. Once again, I don't like it unfinished.
I tried using my 1-step button holer and it works great on everything but the 1.1 sil nylon. The machines has a tendency to eat the little. Literally like a magician the patch gets pushed into the machine and poof it's all gone.

So now my plan is to make two button holes 3/4 inch long 1/2 inch apart on a large piece of my ripstop. After making four groups of 2 I will cut them out and sew these to the precut circle patches. I feel better making the slits in the top layer knowing that underneath the buttonholes will protect it from spreading. My wife says just cut the circles around the buttonholes and make it all in one layer.

It seems after such a good design from Ray that the lifter patches are almost an after thought. None of his lifter patch designs seem professional or even logical.

I must say how cool I am! I made a killer 2 person tarp that not only looks cool as hell but is near bomb proof! First time in a long time I have had that level of self satisfaction! D-u-n!

Your thoughts on the patches redesign?
Namaste
GuruJ
Posted by: Kate

Re: 2 person Tarp of Ray's design. 1 last finishin - 04/07/08 06:12 AM

I've been catching up on the group after a busy month, so I'm a little late in on this, but for what it's worth...

I agree that the lifter patches look like a bit of an after thought. My solution would be to try the following...

Cut a long strip of ripstop, 2" wide
Fold in half along the length...
Fold the long cut edges in to meet the first fold.
Stitch down both edges, effectively making a long 4 layer strap of fabric half an inch wide...
Cut 3" lengths off and stitch firmly to two layers of ripstop, cut to the size required for the patches... Use a small 'box stitch' - i.e. sew a small square on the tape to hold it to the fabric patch. No need to try to turn the ends in. This will give you a fabric loop to attach the guy lines to, rather than Ray's thread loops, which look kinda flimsy and will abraid you guy lines far more than the loops.

Sew the patches in place. For extra strength, sew an extra patch on the INSIDE of the tarp as well as the double layer on the outside. Use a 2.5mm straight stitch about 1/4" in from the cut edges of the patches, and just go round twice. Use a roller foot, or the walking foot/pin feed mechanism you have built into that Pfaff. If you try to zz such fine, slippery fabrics, you WILL have trouble. Using too many stitches too close together will just create a 'tear here' line in the fabric. You need a good compromise between strength and over-doing it to the point of creating a new weakness. Coated ripstop doesn't fray easily, but if you are concerned, some Fraycheck or seam sealant along the cut edges will glue them together nicely.

You couls pin the patches in place to hold them while you sew, but to minimise the holes in the tarp, truy a quilter's basting spray glue.