Happening Idea: Lets build a gorram yurt!

Happenings
#1

WHAT IS A YURT, you ask? Well, darlings, certain nomadic tribes in northern asia used them as portable lodges, traditionally made out of felt an animal hides, they were circular dwellings on wooden frames that had a sloped roof with a central hole in the top, so they could safely build a fire inside and be sheltered from the strong winds outside. Now yurts are luxurious as hell, but the idea I had was slightly learning more towards ‘back to basics’.

The plan is relatively simple. I build and finish a wooden frame and door for a yurt that’s 25 feet round, 8 feet tall and with a ceiling frame that slopes up to 12 feet tall. You guys volunteer to buy and build sections of panels out of 12 pound canvas. They can be almost any shape and size you want, but the basic rules are leave a 3 inch hem on the outside undecorated with two sets of hole 2 inches apart set 1 inch from theedge, with holes perforated down the length 1/2 an inch apart. Then you decorate the panels however you want. You can inset beadwork, you can pain it, airbrush it, dye it, quilt other fabrics onto it. Heck, if you have an old tapestry, bring that! We get enough people and enough pieces to form the outer skin of the yurt. When we get together at our Happening, I put up the frame, and you guys get your needle and thread and stitch all of your collaborative pieces together, then I’ll work my voodoo magic to transform the canvas into oilskin, and we hang up the skin on the frame, and voila, we have a yurt! We can get a small gas heater inside, set up some lights, and have a little camping shindig in our new shelter. Every year we can build a new yurt and after we outgrow our number of yurts for space, we can auction off the oldest yurts towards some kinda charity. How does that sound?

#2

Crowley, who the hell is going to buy a 12 foot high yurt?!

I think all of it is an excellent idea. Especially the auctioning. :smiley:

#3

The mongols. 8)

#4

Very cool idea, I’ll see how much I can get and bring to the camp.

#5

I can help build it if someone tells me what they need done. And I can help paint and decorate it for sure! That would be just awesome. =3 That should so be the hardcore party yurt. Best memories have to be made in there. NODS

#6

This is awesome!! However, we should know how big the panels are before we go out to buy material, otherwise it’s gonna be weird when we stitch it all together. Also, what type of paints work best on outdoor-type canvas… :slight_smile:

#7

I’ll do some homework and hopefully over the weekend I’ll make up some blueprints and let people call ‘dibs’ on a panel. Also look into paints that work. The end result of converting to oilcloth uses a 3/7 ratio of mineral oil/paraffin mix that’s painted onto the fabric. A high pigment solvent-based dye would likely work well in terms of paint types. Essentially anvas is a really risilient material that takes dyes really well. Using fabric dyes and textile paints are ideal in this medium. Doing something like, say, a titanium oxide primer and oil linseed based painting might be more tricky. I’ll have a definitive answer in the near future.

#8

I vote for obligatory psychedelic black light reactive paintings on the inside! Can’t have a party yurt without psychedelic black light paintings. It’s written in law… somewhere.

#9

If people want to!

#10

Hey guys, as an update, I’ve settled on these plans for a 16’ yurt

http://www.currentmiddleages.org/tents/tent9yurt1.pdf
http://www.currentmiddleages.org/tents/tent9yurt2.pdf

I’ll be modifying these plans as follows:

the roof will have it’s sections attached using heavy duty metal fasteners

Panels will also be attached to eachother using grommets connecting to eachother with heavy duty zipties to form a modular wall.

I’ve divided up the wall panels into 10 parts, and here’s what you guys need to do:

Volunteer! Offer to help by posting here! What you’ll need is:

Tools for attaching heavy duty metal fasteners and grommets to your panels,
1 section of 12 ounce canvas(not waterproof) see below for panel signup and sizes needed. Baseline you will need a 72"width by 2 yard length available here
1/2" grommets and punch kit for setting grommets(see below for numbers on panels. You can get grommets here)
1 spool “Dual Duty Plus Polyester Core Thread” available here
canvas sewing needles available here
hammer
heavy duty fabric scissors or tin snips

Not so bad, yeah? And here’s the number of panels we need:

[i]8 panels, 56" tall, 5’ wide: 26 grommets
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

2 door sidepanels, 56" tall, 3 1/2’ wide, 18 Grommets
1(left side).
2(right side).[/i]

Instructions on 56" tall x 5’ wide panels:

[i]Make note of what side you plan to decorate that will be facing the outside of the yurt. That will be the outer panel and will be designated ‘side x’. First thing you want to do is make a seam along the edges so there’s no frayed ends exposed. To do this, measure your fabric with 2" of extra space so the total measurement is 5’ tall x 64" wide. In the corners mark out a 2"x2" square and cut them out. Edge to edge, fold the flaps in half so they are 1" wide and sew along the length. Fold inwards one more time overlapping side x of the panel and sew the seam flat. Your panel should now be 56" tall by 5’ wide.

Next, you want to attach your grommets. Along the top and bottom of the panel along the 5 foot long hem, you want to place a grommet on the furthest corners set about 1/4" from the edge, and three more grommets on each hem in between, spaced 12" apart and 1/4" from the edge of your fabric(that is on top of the hem, not below it, in between the stitches). Along the sides of your panel, (not to be confused with the top and bottom), repeat the process, adding 6 more grommets to each side, spaced 7 inches apart, set between the threading of the hem.[/i]

Instructions for left and right door sidepanels, 56" tall, 3 1/2’ wide

[i]Make note of what side you plan to decorate that will be facing the outside of the yurt. That will be the outer panel and will be designated ‘side x’. First thing you want to do is make a seam along the edges so there’s no frayed ends exposed. To do this, measure your fabric with 2" of extra space so the total measurement is 5’ tall x 44" wide. In the corners mark out a 2"x2" square and cut them out. Edge to edge, fold the flaps in half so they are 1" wide and sew along the length. Fold inwards one more time overlapping side x of the panel and sew the seam flat. Your panel should now be 56" tall by 5’ wide.

Next, you want to attach your grommets. Along the top and bottom of the panel along the 3 1/2’ long hem, you want to place a grommet on the furthest corner set about 1/4" from the edge, and one more spaced equidistant between the two corner grommets, in between the stitches of the of the hem, not below it. Along the sides of your panel, (not to be confused with the top and bottom), repeat the process, adding 6 more grommets to each side, spaced 7 inches apart, set between the stitching of the hem.[/i]

When we do final assembly we’ll simply join the edges together and attach to the wooden frame with heavy duty zip ties connecting to steel eyelets. As this is a summer outdoors sunny days only yurt, waterproofing will not be a consideration here! I’ll be constructing the main wooden frame and roof, but if anybody wants to help contribute to materials or build time, it’s not necessary but muchly appreciated! Once we’re onsite I’ll be putting up the frame and roof and you can simply ziptie your panels in place. If you want to collaborate with other people contributing panels to create a seamless landscape of patterns or icons, feel free to do so!

When it’s time to decorate, you want any detailed work to be on side x. The other side(the inner wall) will be kept behind a wooden lattice frame, so try to keep designs on that side simpler. Also, try to keep any paints used thin enough that the fabric remains flexible, otherwise your paints may crack and fall off over time, and then nobody’s happy. A suggestion of use would be aerosol dyes, spray pain, airbrush acrylic, oil pastels(with fixative) and sewn or ironed on patterns, such as alternative fabrics, beads, printed graphics, etc. Questions? Ask!

#11

YES, THE MONGOLIANS WOULD BE PROUD!

#12

I’d be interested in helping with manual labor if some is needed, but my funds are pretty tight atm. =\

#13

Some manual labor is needed for construction. Anyone’s welcome to help erect the frame if they want to!

#14

Time’s starting for me to assess whether or not I should construct this frame, and I decided how I’m going to be going about it:

Signups for panels are the same as before, but I don’t think I’ll be getting enough people to be able to do a yurt for this year, SO! If you still dig this idea and want to make a panel and we don’t have enough people to fully skin the outer wall of the yurt, I’ll just put together a simple frame to hold up the pieces that people complete and put them on display. Through consecutive events, if we get enough to do a full yurt, we’ll do it! See above for specific details and signups!