sewing .6oz cuben? how to work with it?

[Jared Cook]

I've been tossing around which fabric I was going to make my solo tarp out of for awhile. Now I'm torn between cuben and spinnaker. I've decided also on the myog 5 yds to sul pattern for the actual tarp, but extend the ridgeline by a foot.

How hard is cuben to sew? what special considerations when sewing a flat felled seam or how to sew the ridge line? I've worked with sil, and can sew that just fine, but am curious how much more difficult or what stitch count, or how to seam seal or a good needle size or… down the list, I just need tons of info on cuben, so that I can make an educated decision about whether sewing cuben is going to be worth the effort. Thanks

[Aaron Sorensen]

This should hold you over.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=2346&skip_to_post=17550#17550

[Matthew Roberts]

I would recommend using adhesive versus sewing.

My Zpack Blast backpack is beginning to fail on the stitching. Joe uses 1oz cuben for this backpack. I would imagine .6oz would have a higher tendency to fail under stress.

I don't have more than a few trips on my backpack.

The fail points are where the needle created a hole for the thread. Overtime, the sewing holes grew. Adhesive eliminates the weaknesses created by a sewing machine.

[bj bretzke]

I'd have to agree with Matt. I also like to carry a small tube for emergency repairs. Be sure to make sure the adhesive you use is "washable". I get mine at Ben Franklin Crafts:)
If you can't rock on, walk on!

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