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
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