Do you put the Dyneema X for the top of the shoulder strap and 1/4” closed cell foam then another layer of Dyneema X and the the 3d foam? To make the strap more water proof and stiffer.

Or only use top layer of Dyneema X ,closed cell foam,3d foam?

Also I use white colored pencil for marking the pattern I am having problem getting it mark on the back side of the fabric. What does the board members use colored pencil or fabric ink markers in a different color than black or white to mark out their pattern on Dyneema X?
I also noticed you need new or sharp scissors for this fabric.

Thanks,

-John

My new/old sewing machine is a used Riccar Rm 540 super stretch my main reason for purchasing it because it has a 1.0 amp motor verse most home sewing machine have 0.75 amp motor.I purchased it from Sew Pros here in San Diego so it been gone through by tech to tune like new. The owner of the company was telling me they just don’t make sewing machine like this anymore he would buy thousand of them if he could find them.

So I tested the machine It has 5 mm length stitch you can use the 1st step in the button hole to bartack it bartacked easily thru 3 layers of 1 inch flat webbing when I was testing the machine It also stitched through Xpac fabric and webbing like it was nothing . I down loaded the manuel and I was surprised to find out it has hemming foot that folds hem automatically once you start the hem. They use this type of foot on industrial machines to sew straight uniform hems and also for sewing cross grain ribbon because it makes your work faster and cleaner because of uniform folding attachment .
So I am happy camper now with the Riccar sewing machine.

I have also been using dimension polyant sail cloth Xpac fabric .
Have any of used this fabric?
I have been sewing using the VX07 version of Xpac. It is a 70 d ripstop laminated to a .25 PET film sailcloth technology it weighs 4.9 oz. per sq yard. I made one pack but was not happy with the design it weighed in a 23 oz on a post office scale. The pack was 12” wide by 10” deep by 36” tall with a roll top closing and outside front pocket made out of Xpac also. So the weight was great but I am not happy with the design. So back to the drawing board. 
Terry

Would Momentum MR (the one that comes in multiple colors) be a suitable fabric for the fly? I’m envisioning a very lightweight tent. I take very good care of my gear, so I’m not worried about it snagging on branches or anything because I’ll just prevent that from happening. Momentum is the lightest DWR ripstop I’ve found and it seems to be excellent at keeping water out according to another thread.

Second, I’m at a complete loss as to how to sew the seams for the corners of the tent. I have a hexagon-shaped bathtub style floor drawn up, but I can’t seem to figure out how to so the seams.
In the picture, A and B are the sides to be sewn together, and C is where the corner will be. My fear is that when I sew A and B together, C will become an nice little entrance for water. Should I just add a second layer of fabric to the corner?
[method a.png]

Another idea was to sew the walls separately to the floor, but then the seams would all be at ground level… o.0

Third, I’m going to make a footprint for the tent anyway, so is it OK to skimp on the weight of the floor material? I just want to save as much weight as possible, and it seems unnecessary for two separate layers of heavy-weight fabric for the floor. And if I’m going to be using a footprint, do I really need to worry about the corners?
Thanks,
Shadycakes

The hat weighs 7/8 of an ounce. I like it but it did come out a little more snug than I anticipated so the insulation is compressed a bit. I will add an insert into the center back seam to give myself a little more room. I get earaches when my ears get cold so I like caps with ear flaps.

The booties, at 2 5/8 ounces, are heavier than they need to be - first because I just used what I had (some heavy coated taffeta) for the outer soles, and also since I have not decided what I want to use for the foam inserts so the foam is not included in this weight.
Since they have a study sole I can shuffle around camp in them and the foam will make that more comfortable since the insulation will compress when I stand on them. Mostly, though, I’ll wear them while sleeping.
They have a two part inner sole so I can slide the foam in there and it will stay in place.
The booties are secured at the ankle with a scrap of round elastic (although plain cord would have worked as well), a cord lock, and a little brass bead (so the cord lock does not escape). The ends of the elastic are sewn into the seams of the gusset.

To make the pattern, I just measured my foot in a few places, made a pattern out of butcher paper, and taped it together with masking tape (the flange sticking out around the bottom of the paper mock up is just so I had something to tape to), stuck it on my foot, admired it, then took it apart so I could make the real thing.

The pattern pieces from left to right are:
Upper, cut on fold
Two-part inner sole
Below that is the pleated gusset for the ankle opening (like a sewn-in tongue)
The little oval piece is the pattern for the foam insole
The big blob at the right end is the outer sole

I will even settle for a web page or book page that tells me how to lay out a catenary cut ridge line seam. I guess my main question is how many inches of deflection off the straight line should I build in per linear foot of seam? And I suppose this changes per the material I choose to use and so on..

There was a thread on this forum a few years ago where a guy posted a link to Six Moons Designs, where they were offering a pattern for a tarp with cat cut ridge line. When I clicked on it I got an error. I went to the Six Moons web page and searched for “pattern” and came up empty.

Here’s what I’m looking to come close to: an Oware Cattarp:

http://www.owareusa.com/images/solocat.jpg

Any help out there?

One added complication was trying to fill all of the outer pocket chambers from below, and getting the down past multiple small seams into the upper chambers (If you’ve seen the Whitney instructions you’ll know what I mean).  To compensate for this I left the pocket open on the end (basically skipped the first step of making the jacket) until the very end.  Then, after filling the outer pocket from this open raw edge, I finished it off with lycra binding.  Not only does it add a nice accent, it is nice and soft on the wrists. 

Another thing that gave me trouble when I made my whitney was filling the collar.  Again, I solved this by not closing the top of the zipper where the collar is.  Essentially, when you are finished assembling the shell and liner and go to sew the liner to the shell, sew across the top of the collar, up the draft tube, but on the right hand zipper, only sew up to the start of the collar.  When you turn the jacket right side out you can see a little opening between the zipper and the liner of the collar.  This is easily sealed by extending the double row of stitching up the collar after the down has been stuffed.

Also, with the small baffle size I didn’t want a big drop tail, so I made a separate compartment at the bottom of the back.  When sewing the baffle line, just don’t go all the way to the end so you leave a hole to stuff from above (from within the chamber above it) then close it up and continue filling the upper chambers.

This was meant to be an under-shell layer for skiing and hiking, so it was cut trim and kept thin.  2.5” baffles in the body and 2” in the arms.

I currently use a double layer 1.1 ripstop nylon hammock, and wouldn’t mind reducing the weight a little.  I could probably use a single layer of 1.7ripstop, but I like the idea of having double layers, thinking two layers of Momentum, since it would be a winter hammock and I feel that two layers are warmer than a single layer.  I’m about 200 lbs.