USING A SHEET AS A TARP


bush_buzzard

bush_buzzard

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I went to a garage sale at a huge house in my area and scored a bed sheet for $3.00. Not just any bed sheet. I have never seen a bed sheet so large and with such a high thread count. I have never seen anything like it. The thread count is at least 1200. The label is completely faded from washing.

My question is this:

Have any of you ever tried to seal a bed sheet with scotch guard (other) and successfully use it as a tarp.

The edges of this sheet are stitched to look like rope. It would hold a grommet in the highest of winds. Trust me. This thing is tough.

Thanks,
BB
 
bush_buzzard said:
I went to a garage sale at a huge house in my area and scored a bed sheet for $3.00. Not just any bed sheet. I have never seen a bed sheet so large and with such a high thread count. I have never seen anything like it. The thread count is at least 1200. The label is completely faded from washing.

My question is this:

Have any of you ever tried to seal a bed sheet with scotch guard (other) and successfully use it as a tarp.

The edges of this sheet are stitched to look like rope. It would hold a grommet in the highest of winds. Trust me. This thing is tough.

Thanks,
BB
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting.

I used an old king size "bamboo" (rayon) sheet as a tarp after my dog chewed through the fitted bottom. It worked pretty well but I didnt grommet it right and it got a huge tear. :(

I havent found a replacement yet but if I could find either another bamboo sheet or a really high count egyptian cotton, Id be all over it.

Consider me jealous.
 
Jennifer said:
Sounds interesting.

I used an old king size "bamboo" (rayon) sheet as a tarp after my dog chewed through the fitted bottom. It worked pretty well but I didnt grommet it right and it got a huge tear. :(

I havent found a replacement yet but if I could find either another bamboo sheet or a really high count egyptian cotton, Id be all over it.

Consider me jealous.
Click to expand...

The rope like stitching on the edges is about 1cm thick, and it touches the next stitch. In other words the stitches are connected. It has to be the most well made sheet I've ever seen. It had to cost a fortune.
 
I was reading the label on comercial box of powered fabric softener , it said caution to much would water proof the item ,I thought I would just throw that out although I have never tried it.
 
HOP said:
I was reading the label on comercial box of powered fabric softener , it said caution to much would water proof the item ,I thought I would just throw that out although I have never tried it.
Click to expand...

hmmmm very interesting
 
I waterproofed a king size top sheet with a product I got from Cabelas called "Canvac". It wasn't that high a thread count, 400 I think. It worked
 
You can use non waterproof fabrics as shelters. But, you need to layer them. One serves as the main shelter. You then need to put another layer over the top of the first as a rain fly. You need about 6" of separation between the two sheets.
 
The sheet will make a fine shelter! Nessmuck covers it very well in his book Woodcraft.

Here are several related threads here on BCUSA that you can read through. I'm sure you'll find a good answer to many of your questions within one or more of these threads. Sorry if I've missed a thread somewhere, there are so many great people, ideas and topics on this forum it's easy to do! If I've missed one, please post a link so we can all find the information we are searching for...

All of these threads do not cover specifically how to waterproof a sheet (except the oil cloth one), but the steps and techniques are still the same for waterproofing all types of natural materials (and some synthetics).

I'm sure there are even more threads than these, but these are the few I can recall off the top of my head:

Applying Wax to Canvas?
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38581

Canvas bedroll question:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25988

Question: What is the best material to make the pad part of the cot from?:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24660

9 Ft. x 12 Ft. Canvas Dropcloth ?:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28831

Oilcloth or other method for waterproofing:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29877

Canvas waterproofing:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45485

Rewaterproofing Older Nylon Packs:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?p=349451

Hope this helps to get you going in the right direction, but most of all have fun and enjoy your new diy shelter cloth! :D
 
Last edited:
waterproofing fabric

BackwoodsUncleBub said:
The sheet will make a fine shelter! Nessmuck covers it very well in his book Woodcraft.

Here are several related threads here on BCUSA that you can read through. I'm sure you'll find a good answer to many of your questions within one or more of these threads. Sorry if I've missed a thread somewhere, there are so many great people, ideas and topics on this forum it's easy to do! If I've missed one, please post a link so we can all find the information we are searching for...

All of these threads do not cover specifically how to waterproof a sheet (except the oil cloth one), but the steps and techniques are still the same for waterproofing all types of natural materials (and some synthetics).

I'm sure there are even more threads than these, but these are the few I can recall off the top of my head:

Applying Wax to Canvas?
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38581

Canvas bedroll question:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25988

Question: What is the best material to make the pad part of the cot from?:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24660

9 Ft. x 12 Ft. Canvas Dropcloth ?:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28831

Oilcloth or other method for waterproofing:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29877

Canvas waterproofing:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45485

Rewaterproofing Older Nylon Packs:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?p=349451

Hope this helps to get you going in the right direction, but most of all have fun and enjoy your new diy shelter cloth! :D
Click to expand...

Great list! another link to another sight-http://www.womenofthefurtrade.com/wst_page5.html which has good instructions.
 
Just guessing here, but Hyvent smocks are a very high count cotton. When they get wet the fibers swell and make it shed water. Might pitch it out and see how it does in rains. My guess is it might hold, but if ya touch it, it will break the seal like in those ol shelter halves. If not, water proof it. I didnt know about what IA said, but it makes total sense. Kinda defeats the purpose if ya have to pack 2. Unless you could figure out a way to pitch with the fly and base shelter from one sheet. Might be tricky, and it would have to be a big sheet. Might make a nice bivy/ summer bag out of it too.
 
My tipi was never treated with anything. It was just cotton canvas and nothing else and it never leaked. We weren't particularly careful about not touching it during rain events, either. The cover is, by design, quite steep so maybe that makes a difference. It has a liner on the lower half to prevent dripping from the water running down the poles, too. Tipis without liners are a poor shelter:28:
 
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Here is a recipe from some women who really use these tarps for primitive camping. At the bottom is a link.

Making oilcloth[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]by Allen [/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]A few issues back in the T&LR, Jim Hannon wrote of a new fly that he'd made.
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Jim used a 100% cotton King size sheet. It was made of Egyptian cotton, with a 250 thread count. Jim and I are friends and so I contacted him to see how it had worked out. Jim told me that he'd had good luck with his, so I figured I'd try it out. [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]I procured the sheet at our local Dillards store. It turns out that 250 threat count sheets are not all that common, and worse, not cheap. Cheap is always high on the priority list, but so is weight savings, and this was my goal here.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]After getting the sheet I washed it to remove any sizing, then I proceeded to undo the factory sewn hems. This is when I learned that a King size sheet is pretty big! It took a while, but finally I got it done.
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Next was to get the lindseed oil and paint thinner together. Jim recommended 2 parts linseed oil to 1 part paint thinner, so that's what I went with. I got 2 quarts of linseed oil to go with 1 quart of paint thinner. It is recommended to add a little iron oxide pigment in the mix for
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]color. Rick Palmer provided me with some, which was a reddish brown color. I mixed the mess together in a bucket, in went the sheet. The 3 quarts of liquid was just right for that size of sheet. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Here's a major tip.....wear LONG rubber gloves when you mix up the sheet and liquid. The mixture really sticks and the pigment is highly effective. Wear clothes that you don't mind relegating to work and not social occasions![/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]I hung the sheet up to dry in the barn. Using 2 lines attached to the exposed rafters I draped the sheet over the lines to dry. Another tip. If you have the room, only hang the sheet from a single line. This way the liquid will drip off more evenly than mine did. Also, plan on at least a
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]week of drying time in warm weather. [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]I took the sheet/tarp along with me on our 5 day ride in 2002. I found it to be completely waterproof. The pigment was a little more red than I'd hoped, but at night it was actually harder to see than a darker brown one that Jim used. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]What would I do different? I think the major difference would be, having ripped out the factory hem, I'd sew in a hand-sewn hem. In a pretty good wind storm before a rain, the corner of my sheet/tarp tore. We'd set it as a wedge tent and one staked down corner ripped a little. We worked around it, but I think that having a hem would have prevented the problem. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Overall, I'm really happy with this project. It's considerably lighter and much more waterproof than my canvas fly. These were the goals I was hoping for in the new sheet/tarp, and these goals were accomplished. I'll probably have it with me when we're out camping, so if you're interested, come take a look.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] [/FONT][url]http://www.womenofthefurtrade.com/wst_page5.html[/URL]
 
I've thought of testing out a waterproofed sheet as a tarp.

But I wanted the experiment to be with a small sized sheet as I'm concerned that a large sheet bowing in the middle from its own weight would pool condensation and complicate the test.
 
Daywalker said:
If it's still in good shape, you could make a real nice hammock out of it. Just my 2 cent's worth. Peace
Click to expand...

My main requirement for a hammock is a mosquito net. I have heard that everything is bigger in Texas, except those annoying little tiny bugs that love to fly up your nose. I promise you we have several different varieties of "Nose Flyer Uppers" and "Eye Rammers".
 
Whitestone: Here is a recipe from some women who really use these tarps for primitive camping. At the bottom is a link.
Click to expand...

Thank you. You really can find anything on the internet. Great web site too. Thanks for the link.
 
BackwoodsUncleBub said:
The sheet will make a fine shelter! Nessmuck covers it very well in his book Woodcraft.

Here are several related threads here on BCUSA that you can read through. I'm sure you'll find a good answer to many of your questions within one or more of these threads. Sorry if I've missed a thread somewhere, there are so many great people, ideas and topics on this forum it's easy to do! If I've missed one, please post a link so we can all find the information we are searching for...

All of these threads do not cover specifically how to waterproof a sheet (except the oil cloth one), but the steps and techniques are still the same for waterproofing all types of natural materials (and some synthetics).

I'm sure there are even more threads than these, but these are the few I can recall off the top of my head:

Applying Wax to Canvas?
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38581

Canvas bedroll question:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25988

Question: What is the best material to make the pad part of the cot from?:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24660

9 Ft. x 12 Ft. Canvas Dropcloth ?:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28831

Oilcloth or other method for waterproofing:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29877

Canvas waterproofing:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45485

Rewaterproofing Older Nylon Packs:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?p=349451

Hope this helps to get you going in the right direction, but most of all have fun and enjoy your new diy shelter cloth! :D
Click to expand...

I think I am going to buy some of the Greenland Wax mentioned in one of the threads. You can get on ebay for around $12.

Thanks
 
Cattlemen living on the range in the mid-west would paint one side of a canvas tarp as waterproofing, maybe a technique similar to this could be used?
 
some people use something like Thompson's waterseal. couldn't say from personal experience but i'd try it.
 
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