mxa's blog

Since I'll need some light in the tent, I've decided to make the top pentagon of the dome cover from clear plastic. I bought a length of heavy, clear vinyl material also used in boat covers, which should not degrade or become opaque when exposed to the sun.

Unfortunately, the roll of plastic was not wide enough to make the entire skylight out of a single piece. Instead I've used two pieces, glued together with special soft-PVC glue, so the seams are still flexible. I took care to site the seams at the highest point of the cover, so as to make sure that no water can collect in them.

I've also spent some time familiarizing myself with the Pfaff 238 industrial sewing machine. This is the wonderful piece of machinery that I'll be using to sew together all the segments of the dome cover. It's almost 40 years old but still in perfect working order. It's strong enough to sew through several layers of tent fabric and a layer of plastic, something that I would not want to try with a common household sewing machine...