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Attaching the Pebble Ties

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17. ATTACH PEBBLE TIE CORDS TO THE TIPI COVER at spaced intervals around the bottom perimeter. If you prefer, you can attach the tie cords to the cover before putting up the tipi. Attach all the tie cords to the tipi cover before securing any of them to pegs. Otherwise, you will not have enough slack in the fabric to attach the cords. One end of each tie cord is attached by placing a pebble, wood ball, or marble (about ¾ inches in diameter) under the fabric (about three inches up from the bottom edge) and by pushing up a small pouch of fabric that can be grasped from the top, pebble and all. Using a 1/8-inch cotton, polyester or nylon cord, form a clove hitch and slip it over the fabric-covered pebble with the long end hanging downward toward the bottom of the cover. Pull the clove hitch tight behind the pebble so as to capture the pebble and anchor the tie cord to the fabric. See clove hitch and pebble tie drawing on page 59. NOTE: You will find a sample piece of fabric in your rope kit with a wooden pebble tied into the fabric, with a pebble tie cord, to illustrate how this is done. We use a tie cord 40 inches long. We tie an overhand knot in each end after searing the ends (if polyester or nylon) with a torch or cigarette lighter. We tie the clove hitch around the fabric-covered pebble with one end of the pebble tie as close to the clove hitch as possible. This makes it possible to loop the long end of the cord around the peg two or three times. Then secure the end of the cord with a single or double half hitch around itself between the peg and the fabric. Or you can simply secure the cord to the peg with a double half hitch. You can get by with one pebble tie between each pair of poles if you expect no wind. However, we recommend at least two - especially on extended encampments. The tie cord at front center can be tied to the bottom lacing pin. We loop the end of the cord around both ends of the lacing pin and tie it back to itself with a bowline knot.