Stefan's Florilegium

Pavilions-101-art

Pavilions-101-art - 6/28/99

"Pavilions 101" by Lady Giovanna Theresa Battista di Firenze.
A two-part article on getting started making a pavilion for use at SCA events.

NOTE: See also the files: p-tents-msg, p-tent-const-art, tent-fabrics-msg,
pavilions-msg, tent-making-msg, tent-floors-msg, tent-painting-msg.

************************************************************************
NOTICE -

This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set
of files, called Stefanıs Florilegium.

These files are available on the Internet at:
http://lg_photo.home.texas.net/florilegium/index.html

Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author.

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be
reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first
or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,
Mark S. Harris
AKA: Stefan li Rous
stefan@texas.net
RSVE60@risc.sps.mot.com
***********************************************************************

This article was originally published in Volume I (June 1999) of the Northshield
A & S magazine, "The Northstar".

Pavilions 101
Part 1: Getting Started

Well the solstice has come and gone officially marking the beginning of the
Summer season. In the SCA we have another annual occurrence that tells us that
the warmer months are once again upon us; the first camping event of the season.
There you are dutifully setting up your nylon tent that you bought in college
or received as a gift from your parents one holiday or birthday long ago.
Suddenly your attention is drawn to the bright white walls and colorful dags of
the group of pavilions near your camp. Moving closer you see the space inside
artfully arranged with furniture, a clothes rack and a bed! Glancing back at
your 2-3 person Coleman Dome Tent you can think of only one thing. "I want a
Pavilion"!!!!!

Weıve all been there. However, there is a lot to consider before we make that
type of investment. Most of us do not have $800-$1000 at the ready to buy a
pavilion from Panther or Tentmasters, so many of us have opted to make our own.
To date I have made 4 dining/ shade flys and 3 pavilions. Needless to say I
have learned a lot about what types of fabric, thread, wood, stakes, rope,
designs, patterns, etc. work and I have made my fair share of mistakes as well
as discoveries. In the following series of articles I will share with you what
I have learned in hopes that it will help you in undertaking this project if you
so choose.

1) Where do I get started?
This is the best time of year to think about a pavilion. A lot of people bring
pavilionıs to events, a lot of manufacturers are advertising, and itıs the
camping season. The next camping event you are at take time to walk around and
look at the different tents keeping these questions in mind. What type/ size/
style pavilion do I want? What do I need for space inside? How easy is it to
set up/ take down? How does it handle varying weather conditions? Can I
transport it in my vehicle? Do I have the skills to make it or should I start
saving now so I can afford to purchase it for next year? Take the time to talk
to owners, theyıll tell you all about what they like and donıt like about their
pavilion. They can also tell you where they got it or how they made it. They
may even let you inside so that you can experience the space. Donıt be shy.

2) Start making sketches.
You donıt have to be Leonardo youıre just drawing squares, circles, rectangles
and triangles. For a guide look at Pantherıs or Tentmasterıs catalogs. They
have the rough dimensions for their tents written next to the diagram of each
tent style. All you should need is some graph paper, pencil, ruler, compass
(for the circles), and a calculator. The two equations that you will need is the
Pythagorean theorem ³the sum of the square of 2 sides of a right angled triangle
is equal to the square of the hypotenuse² (a + b = c ) and 2r to calculate
the circumference of a circle. [ = 3.1415, r = radius of the circle] . Make
a good clear drawing and label all of your dimensions and look at the amount of
wood you are going to need as well as fabric. Unless you are really good with
fabric (and you should be if you are thinking about doing this) it might be a
good idea to get someone to help you figure out how much yardage you are going
to need. Itıs usually a good idea to overestimate instead of running out of a
certain color and not being able to find any more. Itıs also a good idea to
talk to someone who is good with wood/ engineering to suggest which dimensions
of wood you should use to support your pavilion as well as suggest places where
you can get them. You may want to take this person with you to help select the
individual pieces if you are not confident in your own wood picking abilities.
Itıs also a good idea to talk to someone who has made a pavilion before, they
may have suggestions for you that you didnıt think about. They may also be able
to offer changes or improvements to your design that will make a huge difference
in the end.

3) Resources:
Some good places in the Twin Cities to get fabric for tents: S.R. Harris, Mill
End Textiles, Suburban Tent and Awning INC, Harris Warehouse and Canvas Sales,
Canvas Plus, and Minnesota Fabrics. Take a look in the advertising sections in
magazines for Civil War/ Revolutionary War/ black powder groups. A lot of them
have adds for people who make tents/ pavilions or who sell canvas. The design
for the wall tent that is used by the Civil War groups can be researched back to
Roman times, donıt limit yourself.
Use the World Wide Web as your guide. Panther Pavilions (www.RenStore.com) and
4 Seasons Tentmasters (www.tentmasters.com) both have web pages. Friends of
mine, originally from Chicago, have a great web page dedicated to pavilions
(www.adelphi.edu/~sbloch/sca/tents), they have a lot of links to other sites as
well as great pictures. They camp with the Enchanted Ground at Pennsic each
year and I encourage you to go talk to them if you have a chance and admire
their pavilion up close and personal.
The Compleat Anachronist has a pamphlet for sale titled ³Pavilions of the Known
World² which I really liked. Good designs and clear instructions make this a
great source for beginners. I made my dining fly using the plan for the
tournament gallery in this booklet.

As you can see there is a lot to think about when undertaking this project and
we have just scratched the surface. A pavilion is a very challenging item to
make and can be frustrating and difficult. I donıt want to discourage people,
but I do want to be honest in letting you know that this is not easy. You
should be very confident about your sewing skills as well as your sewing
machine. I will tell you that when you do complete your pavilion it is
extremely satisfying, especially when you think of the money you have saved in
doing it yourself. Do plan on spending anywhere from $100-$300, not cheap, but
a lot less expensive than buying one ready made. The part I like the most is
you donıt have to have a white tent! Look at illuminated manuscripts,
youıll find pink, blue, gold, green, a whole rainbow of colors used for tents.
People who have seen my tents will certainly attest to their ³vividness². Have
fun and be creative! A roomy pavilion is worlds better than a nylon tent any
day and they add so much to the decor and character at our SCA events.

Good luck in your project!

Lady Giovanna Theresa Battista di Firenze
(Elizabeth Pearson)
valkyr8@yahoo.com

Pavilions 101
Part 2: Supplies and Assembly

In part one of my articles on how to make a pavilion we looked at the design
process. Now we come to the nuts and bolts of the project, the materials. I
have been playing with outdoor structures for four years and the most frequently
asked question I get is ³what do you use for fabric². In this article I devote
a whole section on how to choose fabric as well as its treatment. Because there
are so many elements that go into creating an outdoor structure I decided to
have a separate article devoted to them. Hopefully I will address most of your
questions.

1) You have your design, now what?
You want to sit down and seriously assess your sewing/ building skills as well
as your tools. I have an old Singer from 1953 that handles anything that I put
through it beautifully. I sewed my first pavilion, a 10ı high, 10ı wide x 12ı
long modified Viking A frame, on my portable Kenmore with few problems. My
Singer is a better choice, but my point is you donıt need an industrial machine.
You do want to use a strong 100% nylon thread ( you can purchase this at most
upholstery stores) and size 16 (leather) sewing needles. You want to use a flat
felled seam, sometimes referred to as a French seam, when you sew your pavilion
together. This is the type of seam that you will find on the side of your
jeans. It is a very durable seam and perfect for pavilions. It can be tricky
to use, but once you get the hang of it itıs a breeze to do. For an example on
how to make this stitch try looking in the manuals that come with your sewing
machine. I usually sew a nylon or cotton webbing, that you can buy at
upholstery stores, over the seams that run along the tension points. I also use
it to reinforce the fabric at any point that Iım putting a grommet. This will
keep the fabric from ripping away from the grommet as well as keep your tent
from stretching when it is staked out. For these items I go to Do It Yourself
Upholstery in St. Paul; they have a good selection, they are really helpful and
they also sell grommets so you can get everything in one trip. They are
located next to a Mill End Textiles as well.

2) FABRIC
I have found that it is not necessary to use heavy canvas when building a
pavilion. What you want to look for is a 100% cotton fabric with good weight
and zero stretch! Cotton denim is a good choice as is Sportweight. Do not
get a natural undyed fabric!!!! I made this mistake last year and my
pavilion and dining fly mildewed completely while they were still up at Pennsic!
Upset doesnıt cover what I was. If you still want to use natural undyed canvas
you must treat it! There are products out there made especially for canvas that
you can buy at tent suppliers or United Stores; Camp Coat is one that I know of.
Some people have used Thompsonıs Water Seal and have found that works fine. I
have also heard of a product sold at Wal Mart that you can use to treat items
against moisture, Iım planning on using this product for my new tent so Iıll let
you know how it went. My suggestion is to treat any outdoor structure no matter
what fabric you end up using. When canvas becomes wet the fibers swell and act
as a barrier to keep the rain out, however before the fibers become saturated
the canvas will allow moisture to pass through in the form of a fine mist. This
isnıt a big deal, but it can be annoying. Essentially what you are treating
against is mildew getting a hold of the fibers in your fabric because once itıs
there youıre not going to get it out and it will eventually destroy your fabric.
You can by fabric at tent or awning stores that is already treated however this
fabric tends to be extremely expensive!!!! $12 - $15 for a yard of fabric
thatıs 37 inches wide. Once you start spending that amount of money you might
as well go and buy a ready made pavilion. The fabric I buy is typically 60²
wide and costs anywhere from $1.99-$2.50/ yard. The fabric for the pavilion
that I have just finished cost approximately $87. This doesnıt include the wood
framework, stakes, rope, webbing, grommets, binding tape for the dags, plastic
ground tarps, thread and needles. All of this probably added another $50 making
a grand total of $137, not bad for a 12 foot round pavilion.

3) Stakes and ropes:
In order to support your pavilion you will have to use metal stakes and good
quality rope. The rope I use is the 3/8² hemp look rope you can get at Home
Depot or Menards. For my first tent I had my boyfriend at the time bend an
angle in the end of a 12² piece of 1/2² steel ribar to use as a stake. This
worked all right for a while, but the hard angle eventually broke off after
several uses. If you have access to a torch you can soften the steel and make a
curve on the end, these last a lot longer. Last year I decided to order a
couple dozen tent stakes from Panther and I found the quality really good and
the price reasonable. I usually put slides on the ropes to help tighten them.
I buy a one inch diameter hard wood dowel and cut it into 4 inch sections and
drill two holes through the dowel that I fish the rope through. It makes
adjusting the tension on the tent a lot easier than pulling the stakes up and
hammering them down over and over.

4) Wood Supports:
Most of the structures I make donıt require lumber larger than a 2 x 2 to hold
it up. My Viking tent uses 4, 10ı tall 2 x 4ıs. Originally I had the uprights
made out of 2 x 6ıs that I had ripped in half, but when three of them shattered
in the tornado at Lilies I decided to upgrade. The center pole for my round
pavilion is a pressure treated 2 x 4. Iıve seen some pavilions with center
poles made out of 4 x 4ıs which, in my opinion, is a bit much. Once again if
you have any doubts about what dimension of lumber you should use donıt hesitate
to ask a professional.

Iım sure that I didnıt cover every question you had but I hope I provided a
reference point to guide your decisions on certain products. After reading my
two articles I hope I have prepared you to actually make a pavilion. In my
final article I will provide a plan for a simple shade fly. It is a great
project for beginners and I hope it will encourage people to move on to bigger
and better pavilions.

See you next month!

Lady Giovanna Theresa Battista di Firenze
(Elizabeth Pearson)
valkyr8@yahoo.com
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Other publication notes: An earlier version of the article was first published
in the Baronial newsletter, "The Crystal Quill", June and July issue 1998. It
was published in Mistress Therica's September 1998 issue of the "The Booke of
Divers Knowledge".

-------
Copyright 1999 by Elizabeth Pearson. <valkyr8@yahoo.com> Permission is granted
for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited
and receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted, I would appreciate a note in your publication
that the article was found in the Florilegium. In addition, an email to me
would help me track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -editor.

<the end>