Tarp and Net-Tent

We got the Tarp and Net-Tent kits from Ray Jardine’s website after reading his book, Trail Life. The kits included the fabric and lines, webbing, patterns and detailed instructions aimed at people who have never sewed before. I was too scared to cut the fabric, fearing that I would make a mistake and ruin everything, so Jess laid the huge pieces of fabric out in the hallway and cut them up, much to the amusement of our neighbors. The instructions were very clear, and I was able to sew them together. This experience really changed my perspective.

Prior to working on these, I had never sewed anything using the sewing machine and that kind of thing was always a mystery to me. My stitches started off really crappy and uneven, but as I progressed I got better and better.

Setting up the tarp and netting for the first time was a great feeling! We put it up downstairs by the pool area and a couple of the building managers came out to take a look and ask us questions about it. They were very impressed that we had made it ourselves. I can’t wait to try it out for real!