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After reading about NOT cooking in your tent I rather stupidly set my frying pan on fire and the fine black insect mesh covering the top of the window burned away.

Fortunately this was the only damage done. My tent is a Vango Killington 400. I have already emailed Vango but does anyone else have advice on purchasing some of the mesh ?

Needless to say I won't be be cooking in tent again !!

Lidil insect screen

get yourself down to lidil one of todays offers may be just what you need 

Thanks so much Force Ten !!

Just had a look at my local store and they do this mesh for 1.99 !!  Bargain.

Any ideas how to attach it to window !!!

Quote: Originally posted by neeta on 28/5/2010

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Thanks so much Force Ten !!

Just had a look at my local store and they do this mesh for 1.99 !!  Bargain.

Any ideas how to attach it to window !!!

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it comes with a roll of velcro tape also shown in the photo, so i dont know if you could fix it with that stick one part to the tent and one part to the screen 

or find somebody that is good at sewing and sew it in 

To replace the whole window? I think you'd need to put the tent up, to get the window taut, then equip yourself with a curved sewing needle (any haberdashery shop). Or a patient helper to pass the needle in and out to you. I don't think you'll be able to get a sewing machine arm far enough in to the tent to access the window area, though if you have a long arm model it might be worth a go.

I would look at it first to see whether the patch would look better in the inside or the outside. My gut feeling would be inside, to get the raw edges out of sight. Cut the section oversize, pin into the window with safety pins (no, don't trim out the edges of the old one yet) and attach with close running stitches at least an inch from the edge, if possible. Use a polyster thread and remember these stitches are going to be structural and have to take the force of the wind, like any other part of the flysheet. Keep the patch smooth. Trim to an overlap at the seams then whipstitch the edges down into the seam stitches on the inside. Go outside, trim the excess damaged mesh off without cutting into the new mesh and leaving a good loose edge all round. Whipstitch or herringbone stitch the edge in to keep it flat. Seam seal the tent seam where you stitched into it, leave to dry for 24 hours before packing up tent.

Sounds a faff but that's how I would do it and it would be as strong as the original. Don't glue or velcro it....as soon as the wind started shaking the flysheet around the patch would fall off. Unless very tiny holes of course. I've repaired mesh panels in cotton canvas tents like this (we all used to repair our mega-expensive frame tents till they fell apart from old age!) and it worked very well.

Another place you can get mesh is Pennine Fabrics.

i have been in the sewing industry for years, and i couldn't have explained it aswell as val. also sounds like a plan. unless you can find a dressmaker / curtain maker with an industrial machine, which they would fly through it.

well put val!!

Hi

They sell the insect screens in our poundland and 99p shops

cheers

steve

Thanks so much guys.

Val - you are a star !!

Have already bought the insect mesh from lidil so will try that. Dh wanted to glue it in but I think Vals idea is the best one.

The mesh is above the actual window so not a big space to fill.

Just wish I could get rid of the image of me running out of the tent and leaving 3 kids and my dog behind !! Only for a second and dh was still in tent with all doors open. I'm a terrible mother !!

Quote: Originally posted by neeta on 28/5/2010

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Just wish I could get rid of the image of me running out of the tent and leaving 3 kids and my dog behind !! Only for a second and dh was still in tent with all doors open. I'm a terrible mother !!

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Question is did you take the frying pan with you as you ran??????

Three things that might prove useful in the future. Fire extingusher, fire blanket and fire bucket. My fire extingusher lives in the car but the fire blanket lives on the shelf under the cooker and the fire bucket lives outside the door. A fire blanket or wet teatowel would have put your fire out almost instantly.

Fire blanket and extingusher now bought.

 I have to admit to leaving pan behind with kids, dog and dh !!

Vango have kindly sent me some netting free of charge after I emailed them.

Wonderful customer service !!