sailmaker or a tent-maker cut the cloth, and show you how the work is to
be done. If you cannot have their help, you must at least have the
assistance of one used to planning and cutting needle-work, to whom the
following hints may not be lost. We will suppose heavy drilling 29-1/2
inches wide to be used in all instances.


THE A-TENT.

To make an A-tent,[15] draw upon the floor a straight line seven feet
long, to represent the upright pole or height of the tent; then draw a
line at right angles to and across the end of the first one, to
represent the ground or bottom of the tent. Complete the plan by finding
where the corners will be on the ground line, and drawing the two sides
(roof) from the corners[16] to the top of the pole-line. This triangle
is a trifle larger than the front and back of the tent will be.

The cloth should be cut so that the twilled side shall be the outside of
the tent, as it sheds the rain better.

Place the cloth on the floor against the ground-line, and tack it (to
hold it fast) to the pole-line, which it should overlap 3/8 of an inch;
then cut by the roof-line. Turn the cloth over, and cut another piece
exactly like the first; this second piece will go on the back of the
tent. Now place the cloth against the ground-line as before, but upon
the other side of the pole, and tack it to the floor after you have
overlapped the selvage of the piece first cut 3/4 of an inch. Cut by the
roof-line, and turn and cut again for the back of the tent.

In cutting the four small gores for the corners, you can get all the