Cat Cut on Bottom Hemmed Edge?

[Adam Thibault]

I’m planning on a 10×10 pyramid and will do cat cuts on the ridges…however, I wonder if anyone had any insight into whether or not cat cuts work well for the bottom hemmed edge? Do the panels pitch that much tighter to justify the extra step? Approximately how much deflection would be about right over a 10 ft edge? Thanks!

[Jordo _99]

My rule of thumb for calculating deflection is 1/4″-1/2″ for every foot of length — If that 10ft edge is running to the peak, I wouldn’t go over 3″…you’d be giving up a lot of head room. For every 1″ of deflection you put on a cat curve, you pull in the side walls and reduce height by about 2″ each.

When I made my 5-sided tipi I used 3″ defection for the 9 foot seams and left the bottom edges flat and it pitches really well…I pitched it before I hemmed the bottom flat to see if I needed cat cuts and it was fine. I’d rather be able to have it run straight to the ground anyway.

The key to a drum tight pitch is a consistent stitch (didn’t mean to rhyme that–ugh)…it will spread out the tension better than if the stitching is a little wiggly.

[Adam Thibault]

Thanks Jordo, I checked out your hot tent tipi and the pitch does look very tight, well done. Maybe I’ll skip the cat cut on the bottom edge, I guess I could always stake it a bit closer to the ground in a storm pitch…

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