I spent some of this weekend making this 1-person tarp tent, instructions here:
https://www.tarptent.com/projects/tarpdesign.htmlI thought I'd give my perspective on the project as a novice sewer:
- Compared to a frame bag or something with a complex shape, a tent is much easier to sew. There is much more sewing to be done than a frame bag, but everything is easier to see and access. The silnylon is also much easier to sew than heavier things like xpac or cordura.
- The instructions on the website are very good and there were not really any confusing parts.
- One mistake I made was sewing a little too much. When I folded the edges over on the raw pieces at the very start of the project, I sewed two lines because that's what I've done for my other projects. But on this tent, you reinforce each edge when you sew the netting on, so the extra line at the start was just wasteful.
- I also chose to sew on a small patch on the exposed side of the pullouts to protect the stitching from the elements. Unnecessary? Probably. But it made my OCD feel better
- Current weight (before seam-sealing) is 15.2 oz.
- I plan to add a removable floor and a beak and will update this with the new weight
- Overall, I'm very impressed with how simple this was to put together (although it took a long time). It is very easy to pitch and you can adjust how you pitch it pretty easily
- Cost of materials was around $70
