Tarp from a bed sheet?

[Robbo]

I found this (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30050376) on Ikea's website and it got me thinking (it only hurt a bit).

The large size is 2.4m x 2.6m the British Army basha is 2.65m x 1.75m.

Plus this is 100% cotton so no holes from sparks.

It would need eyelets or preferabley webbing loops sewing on and possibly dyeing to a less eye catching colour(it is available in blue, dark blue, natural or white).

And it would of course need soaking in Fabsil or Thomsons water seal or similar to proof it.

Or Ikea have 100% cotton fabric 1.5 m wide at £1.59 p/m (http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/51725112) so 6 Metres would cost you £10 ish. of course this would need a seam along the middle. so I'd need to get my sewing machine out.

Am I talking out of my posterior? Answers, opinions and nonsensical diatribe on a postcard please.

Andy

 

[sharp88]

Lofty Wiseman says in his book that 2 layers of any tightly wooven material at a slant will stop water getting in. Not sure how long it would last up though. Would be a pretty kool experiment to try out though.

 

[Hoodoo]

I think water would go through that nonstop.

I know guys who have made tarps from sheets but they used egyptian cotton sheets which are pretty close to the same as ventile. High thread count, long stranded cotton. What they did was shrink them as much as possible and sew a couple together to get the right size.

Good egyptian cotton is PRICEY.

 

[Hoodoo]

Also, as far as holes from sparks, that's true only if you fireproof it. Cotton is like canvas in that, when it catches a spark, it often will smolder and burn a nice round hole. Back in my boyscout days I recall seeing a hole burned in the side of a canvas tent you could walk through.

 

[ForestNH/VT]

This is a great link for just this type of thing. These ladies guide hunts and such "Indian Style" and only use oilcloth made from cotton sheets. There are several pictures of how this works and there is a recipe at the bottom of the page. Very lightweight and very waterproof, but also flammable so caution must be used. Hope this is helpful.

http://www.womenofthefurtrade.com/wst_page5.html

 

[Toddy]

Cotton can be fireproofed, either by using a commercial spray or soaking the fabric in alum or borax.

Tbh in our climate wet is a **major** issue, by the time you've done all the fussing about to make the sheet waterproof, eyeleted, dyed, etc.....if the budget is really tight just buy the cheapest hoochie you can, it might be noisier than an expensive one, but it'll be just as dry.
Lidl's had a 3 x 4 metre tarp for under a tenner not so long ago, waterproof, dark coloured and came with eyelets already fitted.

Probably kind of strange advice from me, who really appreciates diy, but sometimes it's not always the best option.
That cotton from Ikea is, "Spit peas through stuff", not really suitable. They did have a twill cotton that would have done, (about £4 a metre iirc) but it would have been incredibly heavy.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Robbo]

Ok thanks for the answers Looks like Im going toi have to start svaing for a Tatonka then.

I already have one of those cheap lidl tarps Toddy just wanted something cheap and less noisey.

Saying that however I've found egyptian cotton bed sheets with thread counts of 200 'here' (http://www.yorkshirelinen.com/index.php?dept=1&sec=49&range=257) for £14.99

Andy

 

[Cairodel]

I think water would go through that nonstop.

I know guys who have made tarps from sheets but they used egyptian cotton sheets which are pretty close to the same as ventile. High thread count, long stranded cotton. What they did was shrink them as much as possible and sew a couple together to get the right size.

Good egyptian cotton is PRICEY.

Not here it isn't.....

 

[Toddy]

Oh nice find Thanks for the link

I'm trying to confirm a price for 60" wide dp waterproof ripstop of under £2 a metre. If it comes in at that I'll let you know.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Robbo]

Would my cunning plan work with that bed sheet then Toddy?



Andy

 

[Toddy]

Can't see why not, *if* you waterproof it thoroughly. It's just really hard to keep a cotton tarp taut enough not to sag and and let water pool and then drip through in a wet windy Scotland, but it has to be worth a shot......certainly at £15 for a kingsize 200 count sheet.....you'd really *have* to dye it though....otherwise it'd just look like someone's washing blew away Personally I like the stuff for wax jackets but no idea how good it'd be for this...a bit heavy I know.
Bye the by, Millets are selling a pack of twelve green self cutting eyelets for £2.99 that are very suitable for tarps and tents They're two sided as well so they'll support the fabric not just tear it.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Fenna]

Erm ....Cairodel
I think I am right in saying that "Egyptian Cotton" is a strain of the seed/quality of cotton not some thing that you pick up cheap in the Old Bazzar.....
Though that is not to say you cannot get Egyptian Cotton in cotton traders stalls in Cairos markets as they say "you can get most any anything in the Old Bazar in - Cairo"
Any one fancy a watch without a spring.....

 

[BushTucker]

Bye the by, Millets are selling a pack of twelve green self cutting eyelets for £2.99 that are very suitable for tarps and tents They're two sided as well so they'll support the fabric not just tear it.

Thanks for the heads up Toddy, been looking for these.

Don

 

[Robbo]

So thats £15 for the sheet, £3 for the eyelets, £7 for the dye.

Looking at £25 already not including webbing for loops or Thread to stitch it all together with and something to proof it. So lets say an even £40

Considering you can buy a tatonka tarp for that its not worth it really.

Andy

 

[Toddy]

Or, £2 a metre, buy six metres and that'll be *more* than ample, even for a Hex fly, £3 for eyelets, £2 for tape and £1 for a reel of thread = £18, and that's a better deal altogether. You'd still need guy lines....20m washing line for £1 in a poundstore, and needles, so probably £20 all in. It won't be a Tantonka but it'd be something you could use, adjust and alter to suit yourself.

If you use decent cotton, you could dye it in tea or coffee or oak bark, then saturate it with too much fabric conditioner and roast it dry in the tumble drier to shrink it as tight as possible. That'll make it fairly waterproof, as cheaply as possible if you just keep it taut when up.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Cairodel]

Erm ....Cairodel
I think I am right in saying that "Egyptian Cotton" is a strain of the seed/quality of cotton not some thing that you pick up cheap in the Old Bazzar.....
Though that is not to say you cannot get Egyptian Cotton in cotton traders stalls in Cairos markets as they say "you can get most any anything in the Old Bazar in - Cairo"
Any one fancy a watch without a spring.....

I've a couple of those watches, John.....

As far as the cotton goes, I can pick up quality stuff for 10 Egyptian pounds a metre.
1.2m width x X no. of metres. Ten Egyptian pounds = under a squid...!!!

 

[John Fenna]

Now that is CHEAP!

 

[xylaria]

I have experimented with this type of thing, by pegging out a quality cotton bed sheet in my backyard. It wasn't proofed in anyway but it ran water off pretty well, it behaved very simmerlar to unproofed canvas, by swelling up and wicking it to lowest point. I put tickle me elmo under this tarp for two nights and he remained dry, there was one part where it came in because I couldn't get that area tight.

I need a tarps for 3 MK hammocks, and I haven't really the pennys to buy off the shelf. My local fabric suppliers does do ripstop but rarely in green, and don't think bright yellow will die well.

 

[Matt Weir]

I put tickle me elmo under this tarp for two nights and he remained dry...

was he still laughing when you picked him up?

 

[xylaria]

Elmo is old and has consented to some quite horrific abuse in the passed, including be bathed by three year old, so now when he gets damp he laughs a bit weird, so he is a good choice for kit experiments.