This is what a tipi looks like spread
out; a semicircle with its centre point located at the top and
middle between the smoke flaps.
The tie flap where
the cover is tied to the lifting pole is about 3' down from 'x'.
This makes the back of the tipi shorter than the front, causing
the tipi to tilt to the rear, rather than being a perfect cone,
and allowing more headroom in the back where most activities
occur.
The tilt also lines
the smoke hole front of centre, where the fire pit is located.
As a result, the floor is egg-shaped, and the distance from door
to the centre of the back is longer than from side to side. The
"size" of a tipi, therefore, refers to the radius,
as well as the floor diameter.
All stitching done
on SUNMAKER tipis is in heavy-duty polyester-cotton
thread, which is designed for use with canvas. It has the strength
and mildew-resistant qualities of polyester, plus cotton's ability
to swell with moisture, thus expanding to fill the needle holes
in wet conditions. Seams are overlapped shingle-style to shed
water, and sewn with two rows of straight interlocked stitches.
Because the canvas has such a dense weave, the needle penetrates
between the threads and doesn't disrupt the fibres. The stitches
are small, tight and straight, shown to be the strongest way
to hold two surfaces of canvas together. These seams do not leak
or weaken with age.
The lacing-pin holes
run down the front of the tipi. Wooden pins are inserted through
them on the right and left sides of the cover, to hold the tipi
together, forming a three dimensional cone out of the flat shape.
Many tipi makers use a zigzag buttonholer to reinforce these
holes, and others use metal grommets. We have seen zigzag holes
weaken and tear under the stresses these holes are subjected
to when the tipi is laced together. Metal grommets often cut
the canvas around their edges and aren't flexible. We have found
that the best holes are those which are hand stitched with waxed
nylon thread. They outlast all the others by far, so we do all
ours by hand. This is not an "option", but a feature
of all our tipis. Areas where we have added extra-strong reinforcements
are at the tie flap, over the fitted gores, along the top of
the smoke flaps, and under and around the door - high traffic
areas.
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