seaming canvas

[Yurtman]

The only trouble with wedges is there is a lot of sewing. If you do a Flat Feld seam, like the seam on the outside edge of your jeans (strongest seam) and you want to hem the outermost drip edge you will have a tough time getting through all those layers of canvas.

The size of the yurt and the width of the canvas, the type of seam used will determine what method you use. If it's a big yurt, you may have to do wedges or just overlay canvas and sew through both layer. Teepees are made this way, but the seam is not as strong.

We us 60" Sunforger and lay 2 strips of canvas one on each side of the center line of the yurt. Position them so they overlap each other inside the ring by 3-5". So with a piece on each side, the ring should be covered. You will see that as the canvas conform to the roof, they overlap each other down the center line - quite a bit at the bottom edge.
Mark both surfaces down the center line and cut back to the line, but allow extra for the hem.
Sew them together and then add more strips until the roof is covered. You will have to decide on how you hem the bottom edge all he way around

Because the biggest yurt we do is 25ft, and the canvas is 60" wide, when you add strips 3 & 4 the seams do not meet. This is important as two flat feld seams meeting is 8 lauers of canvas and is nearly impossible to sew through this "knot". We can do it this way because we use 60" canvas and it is much less sewing than doing wedges.
You can't use this method if you have 35" canvas as seams will meet and you cant sew through them.
Very hard to describe, but if you look at our yurts, they are basically 4 strips of canvas, 2 on each side, cut and joined down the middle.

I can see why yurt makers do it in Vinyl. You can cut it and it doesn't require hemming, it doesn't shrink, you can glue it easily, it lasts 10yrs+ and is completely waterproof.
Our yurts are for camping and must be lightweight and really portable so vinyl is out for us. Plus canvas is nicer for camping with, but for more permenant yurts, I would use Vinyl. You can get used billboard vinyl that should last a few years which is really cheap or you can make with new 22ozor thicker and it will last a long time.

[Bob Rowlands]

Thanks Richard.