Sewing Silnylon....

[Beendare]

I've done a little and think i can handle the slippery-ness....

Any good advice on waterproof seams? Does anyone use the seam seal tape? If you have a process for sewing this stuff....i'm all ears.

FWIW, I'm thinking about making a tipi- ish shelter

 

[realunlucky]

Just use a seam sealer when your finished. I used wind shield silicone from auto parts store. I used a flat felled seam which is a three part seam. More time consuming but I have full confidence it'll hold in all conditions. Check out my copycat thread

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[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Just go slow, it's too slick to really Hussle through. Liquid seam sealer after you're done.

 

[flyinsquirel]

If you can con your better half into helping pull the fabric through the machine at a steady pace while you guide it you can go surprisingly fast. Down side is after about 10min they will want to quit, or start saying you will 'owe them'

I seam seal as shown in the Kifaru video. 100% silicone thinned with mineral spirits. Just brush it on over the seam on both sides. Make sure the seam is tight/under tension while applying.

Don't forget to post pics of your teepee.

 

[Beendare]

I should have done a search.....you guys have a bunch of info here.

Probably not a tipi....been there done that. I hate the poor use of floor space and the center pole. I'm thinking a suspended type shelter- a semi tipi as i always setup backpack camps in the trees.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I should have done a search.....you guys have a bunch of info here.

Probably not a tipi....been there done that. I hate the poor use of floor space and the center pole. I'm thinking a suspended type shelter- a semi tipi as i always setup backpack camps in the trees.

How big are you looking to make it?

 

[WoodBow]

If you haven't ordered material yet you might look into PU nylon instead. It is a good bit easier to work with in my opinion. No down side that I am aware of. That is what I used for my tipi and I have no regrets. Proper presser foot pressure is critical. Some of the cheaper machines do not have an adjustment for this. Play with the pressure until you are getting nice even stitch length. It is much easier to sew if you will hold equal tension on the infeed and outfeed side. You do not want to be pulling the fabric through. You want the feed dogs advancing the fabric. Holding tension on both sides makes the flimsy fabric more rigid so it feeds better.

I seam sealed with the conventional method. Something that worked awesome for me was using plain ole clear double sided tape to lay up my seams. My seams were 10 feet long and that tape was a life saver. It worked exceptionally well. I had no issues with sewing through it. It did not gum up my machine or needle. It also makes rolling the fabric for the French seam/flat felled seam much easier.

 

[5shot]

PU is great if you don't have to carry it very far...

 

[realunlucky]

PU is great if you don't have to carry it very far...

Why is this? They have both in same wieght fabric. Pound of rocks vs pound of feathers i guess. I like knowing I have the coating all the way though so went with sil but pu is supposed to be a much stronger material with its rip stop design.

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[WoodBow]

My tipi weight is basically dead nuts the same as the comparable kifaru. Theirs is the fancy smancy mil spec silnylon.

 

[5shot]

Why is this? They have both in same wieght fabric. Pound of rocks vs pound of feathers i guess. I like knowing I have the coating all the way though so went with sil but pu is supposed to be a much stronger material with its rip stop design.

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The only PU I had seen was like 3.4 oz per yard, which is triple the weight of Sil. I looked again, and see they have some 0.9 and 1.1 now. Those would be a great option.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I used the 0.93 oz momentum and it worked well though is less forgiving imo and it doesn't have quite the stretch so pitching tight isn't quite as easy, but it doesn't sag when wet either.

 

[LBFowler]

but pu is supposed to be a much stronger material with its rip stop design.

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Nope. PU actually weakens the fabric, identical base fabrics will leave the sil coated fabric noticeably stronger. Nearly all lightweight tent fabrics are ripstop and the PU vs. Sil doesn't mean anything about what the base fabric was anyway. Some people have made a fairly strong case that NON ripstop makes a better tent fabric but it is all but impossible to find.

Beyond this the main advantage of sil is the coating won't oxidize, delaminate or get sticky over time. Depending on where you source the sil, getting high enough HH numbers is the trick.

 

[Beendare]

So the PU you are referring to is this stuff at link?
1.1 oz Silpoly PU4000 | Ripstop by the Roll
It has a much higher waterproof rating it seems.....

Then there is the light version silpoly but its only 15 Denier which seems pretty easy to rip. My old GoLite SL5 was 15D (as I recall) and my dog ripped a big hole by stepping on the side.
MEMBRANE silpoly | Ripstop by the Roll

This std silnylon is rated 20D and pretty waterproof.....do you really think the stuff with polyester is better for a tipi tent?
1.1 oz Silnylon | Ripstop by the Roll

I guess i didn't realize there is that much difference between the fabrics...but if a guy is going to go to all the trouble...why not use the best?

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

So the PU you are referring to is this stuff at link?
1.1 oz Silpoly PU4000 | Ripstop by the Roll
It has a much higher waterproof rating it seems.....

Then there is the light version silpoly but its only 15 Denier which seems pretty easy to rip. My old GoLite SL5 was 15D (as I recall) and my dog ripped a big hole by stepping on the side.
MEMBRANE silpoly | Ripstop by the Roll

This std silnylon is rated 20D and pretty waterproof.....do you really think the stuff with polyester is better for a tipi tent?
1.1 oz Silnylon | Ripstop by the Roll

I guess i didn't realize there is that much difference between the fabrics...but if a guy is going to go to all the trouble...why not use the best?

I used the 0.9 oz membrane on the last megatarp I built with good results. It's tougher than you'd think.

 

[Ian]

I built a copycat as well. it turned out great in my opinion, long seams and a huge pile of slippery material to manage. I used a walking foot on all of mine, not sure if it helped or not, but equal tension in and out is key. Also I used two different colors, and they were slightly different in stretch. pay attention to grain direction when cutting material. If you have one piece on grid, and the other at an angle the stretch is alot different between the two. Have fun, I love mine.

 

[Beendare]

Good tip Ian, thx.

I am building a modified wall tent...as weight is not so much an issue as usable space. I have all the fabric but something always gets in the way of starting this project. It sure would be nice to have a spot where I could set this all up and then not have to put everything away in between working on it.

 

[Ian]

aint that the truth, my bride is very skilled sewing, and has a room set up. She was less than impressed with my invasion of her space. I had to sneak time in after she went to bed though. It was a fun project, I learned a lot, as you probably will. I think I used poly thread, you should research a good strong thread. It would be a shame to finish your tent and have the seams pop. good luck

 

[Beendare]

I've got that Guterman mara which is rated highly.

 

[Ian]

Thats what I used come to think of it, it has held up will.