TENT - Need help hanging my walls

[Cherie Nolan]

The best way we have to pre-shrink our tents walls is to set up a clothes line outside on a warm day.  This can even be a simple rope stretched between two trees.  Place
your canvas sidewall or roof sections over the clothes line.  You can fold the canvas over the line so that half the fabric is on each side of the rope.  It will dry just
fine.  Wet them with a hose, making sure to wet both sides of the canvas well.  Let it dry.  It will pre-shrink all it is going to shrink while on the clothes line.  On a
warm day, it might dry in as little as four hours.

Please remember the canvas will SHRINK.  It has to be cut longer than needed so it will shrink to the length you want.  It is our experience that it will shrink by about
10%.  If you want a 6' high wall, it may need to be cut to 6'-7".  There is very little shrinkage in fabric width, maybe only 1/2" on a 60" wide roll.  If you are unsure
about the amount of shrinkage, test using a small piece of canvas first.

Do NOT use a washing machine and dryer.  The canvas will exit the dryer with lots of wrinkles, which make it difficult to sew and it will look terrible.  It can be ironed
out, but that is more time and effort.  We recommend hanging the canvas on a clothes line because it doesn't cause wrinkling and keeps the canvas looking nice and easy to
handle.  Make sure you fold it when taking it off the line, because it keeps it easy to work with.  Please keep in mind that WET CANVAS IS HEAVY, so make sure the rope is
secure.

Another caution, sometimes it is difficult to tell pre-shrunk canvas from not pre-shrunk after it is dry.  Don't accidentally mix them up.

Natural canvas should be pre-shrunk prior to sewing.  While 10% doesn't seem like much, consider this. Without pre-shrinking, a 10' high tent can become a 9' high tent
after it's first rainstorm and drying out.  Think about the sloped roof.  A 10' x 20' tent can shrink to become a 9' x 18' tent.  What if it happens at an event?  Not fun.  

Pre-shrinking is easy, quick and necessary.


> Question:  how do you pre-shrink these things?  Do you take them to the
> local Laundromat you like the least?
> 
> Regina Romsey
> An Tir/Barony of 3 Mountains/Portland, Oregon
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-tentguild at ansteorra.org
> > [mailto:owner-tentguild at ansteorra.org]On Behalf Of Tanya Guptill
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 4:28 PM
> > To: tentguild at ansteorra.org
> > Subject: Re: TENT - Need help hanging my walls
> >
> >
> > Rhys,
> >
> > Glad to hear you got a good deal on your fabric.  :)  You have
> > probably already
> > done so, but you may just want to double check it for waterproofing, and
> > especially shrinkage.  I met a gentleman here in An Tir that had
> > done his yurt
> > wall covering out of drop cloth material, and he had about 9"
> > shrinkage after
> > the first rainstorm.  He was not a merry man...
> >
> >
> >
> 
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Please note the address change on the web site and the personal e-mail!

Spinning Winds Pavilions and Tents: www.spinningwinds.net
Kingdom of Ansteorra's Tent Guild: tentguild at ansteorra.org
Lady Marguerite des Fleur, marguerite at ih2000.net
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