Fixing a 6' canvas bell tent?

April 6, 2022 9:49 AM

I was a dumbass taking down a 6' canvas bell tent, left something sharp inside, and it ripped a seam. It's a fairly important seam, near the top of the tent where the central support is, about 14". Most of the fabric is left. How should I fix it? I made a pitiful attempt to sew it before realizing that sewing canvas with embroidery thread is hard. Is Seam Grip glue enough? Maybe combined with Tenacious Tape? Here's a picture.
posted by insteadofapricots to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

Best answer: A Speedy Stitcher makes that kind of sewing much easier. Plus some Tenacious Tape on the outside for waterproofing should be good.

Photo doesn't seem to work for me.
posted by gregr at 10:19 AM on April 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

Cobblers are great for any kind of heavy-duty sewing. If you've got a shoe-repair place nearby, check with them.
posted by adamrice at 10:25 AM on April 6, 2022

If it's near a seam you're probably going to want some backing and maybe even fronting cloth to disperse stress and prevent the tear from continuing. I'd be dubious of any fix that doesn't involve some sort of thread securing it.
posted by Ferreous at 12:56 PM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Glue and tape are not sufficient for this. Just sewing up the fabric won't work in the long run either.

This needs to be patched. As Ferreous said, likely back and front. You can find half a meter/yard of water resistant canvas at a large fabric shop. Take that and the tent to (as adamrice said) a shoe & handbag repair place and see what they charge.

Embroidery thread won't cut the mustard either. If you do this yourself, use linen thread or heavy-duty polyester, and run it through a block of beeswax. And use a metal thimble.
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:04 PM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]