I was commissioned by a buddy to make a lightweight tarp for his thru of the Long Trail later this summer. We decided on Argon sil. What a labor of love. This thing was a really fun project. I was extremely excited when I got the package and started feeling the slippery goodness that is Argon Sil. Its just a simple hex tarp, 11ft ridgeline with side pullouts. I did a true flat-felled seam on this tarp, which was actually pretty easy. You just gotta keep this stuff taught as it feeds through the machine or it puckers quickly. I spent a good amount of time practicing on scraps before I started on the tarp itself. I laid it out at the climbing gym I work at, which worked great. I could pin straight into the floor. I cut it out and took it home to start sewing. This stuff is slick, but it compacts real well, so sewing the ridgeline was not too bad. I dealt with starting and stopping my stitches by using a scrap of material to help keep tension on the end of the fabric. Otherwise, I had a few issues with the argon getting sucked into my machine because it is so light. I just cut the scrap off afterwards. We decided to put reinforcement patches on all tie outs on the inner side. It is amazingly light at a little over 11oz for the tarp, ridgeline, guylines, dutch bling, and stuff sack. My buddy is pleased, and I don't wanna give him this tarp! I took a few pics of it set up, you can see my ugly assistant in one of them.
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