Tyvek Ceiling - a User Sends a New Innovative Use for Tyvek

Zach Nagle from Czarnowski Display Service in Chicago emailed recently to describe a new innovative use for Tyvek - a Tyvek ceiling. In Zach’s words:

The problem: We have a dusty sample room, and wanted to add a new roof to repel dust, yet breathe air, and let more light in, and it had to be affordable, presentable and easy to install.

Solution: Make a ceiling out of wood frames and hard paper Tyvek!

The Tyvek looks great, and any imperfections in the tension/stretch are hidden by the fiber texture appearance of the material. It is lightweight and durable, and we think it looks great.

As seen in the photos, the translucent property of Tyvek allows light to come through, and the random swirl pattern of the nonwoven material adds to the attractiveness of the ceiling. And of course it does fit all the requirements stated here as Tyvek keeps out dust, is breathable, lets in light, is affordable, presentable and easy to install.

Thanks to Zach at Czarnowski Display Service for sending the photos and the Tyvek ceiling story.

If you would like to do something similar, Material Concepts would be happy to supply the Tyvek for your application. Click here for more information on hard Tyvek, also commonly called Tyvek paper. You can purchase Tyvek online or contact us for Tyvek product information or to place an order.

Tyvek ground sheets for camping and hiking

A recent discussion on an online Appalachian Trail Hiking forum talked about using Tyvek ground sheets as tent ground cloths. The first post said that they found their Tyvek ground cloth used under their tent was slippery. Some replies suggested washing the Tyvek ground sheet, and cautioned against drying it in a hot dryer - good advice! Others suggested tying the ground sheet to the tent poles, and one reply may have even been reading our website’s Tyvek Ground Sheet page, saying "they recommend bunching the corner and using a sheet bend to tie a line to it."

As described on our Tyvek Ground Cloth page, there are two types of 8’ x 10’ Tyvek ground sheets that Material Concepts offers - Hard and Soft. Ultralite OmnicovR® is the Material Concepts’ brand name for ground sheets. The Hard Tyvek Ultralite OmnicovR® is a little less expensive and people to run it through their washing machines to soften it. The Soft Tyvek Ultralite OmnicovR® is a little more expensive and is a little more compact, which can be a critical factor for backpackers.

Of course, Tyvek’s properties - water resistance, toughness, tear resistance and lightweight - make it a good choice for use as a ground cloth. This also makes it a good tarp or rain fly too. And it’s washable. Yes, Tyvek is slippery (especially when wet) and should not be walked on.

As far as tying Tyvek, we recommend:
When attaching a rope or cord to the corner of the Ultralite OmnicovR®, use a sheet-bend knot to achieve the strongest tie downs. Never use traditional grommets; instead, use fabric clips, spring clamps, or tarp and fabric fasteners.
See the illustration on how to do a sheet bend knot.

You can purchase the Hard or Soft Tyvek Ultralite OmnicovR® ground cloth from our online store.

Let us know by commenting below on how you are using Tyvek in your hiking and camping activities.

Fiber Artist - Another Tyvek Art Series

In the last post we featured fiber artist Paulette Lancaster and her Coral Series pieces made with Tyvek on her Art Dust blog. Paulette has done another series called the Bodice Ripper Series. She comments:

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As I placed different pieces together on my fabric it came to me that they looked liked a ripped corset. The project took off from there.

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Read more about this project on the Art Dust blog. Photos used here with permission.

Fiber Artist Working With Tyvek - Paulette Lancaster

Recently we found the Art Dust blog of fiber artist Paulette Lancaster when she posted about working with Tyvek. We asked Paulette to do a guest post about her Coral Series work and post images of some of her work. Here is what Paulette wrote about her work with Tyvek, with photos used with her permission:

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Being a fiber mixed media artist I am always on the alert for new materials to use in creating my art. Upon reading Chapter Two: Creating the Surfaces - Tyvek Film and Fabric in Gwen Hedley's book, Surfaces for Stitch Plastics, Films, and Fabric, I wanted to try incorporating Tyvek into my work. On my search for Tyvek , I discovered 10" x 13" Tyvek mailing envelopes at my local office supply store where I purchased a package.

To prepare the Tyvek, I used a pair of paper scissors and cut down one side and a cross the bottom of the envelope. Opened up it gives me a 20" x 13" piece of working fabric. I choose to use acrylic paints to color my Tyvek because of the quick drying factor. I tend to favour metallic acrylic paints because of their sheen and richness of color in my art work but my subject matter can also dictate my choices of paint color and their luminosity.

The inspiration piece in my Coral Reef Series was a hand dyed fabric that I used as the background in each art quilt. The play of colors on the fabric suggested sunlight shinning down into and through a body of water. A school of fish and a coral reef was all that was needed to complete the scene. I researched coral reefs to learn their shapes, structures and colors before I picked orange and peach colored acrylics for my coral colors. These I painted onto one side of the Tyvek and let it dry. I experimented to find the best coral shapes by cutting out pieces of the painted Tyvek and placing them between sheets of parchment paper which I pressed with a warm iron. When Tyvek becomes hot enough it changes shape rapidly. You must be vigil and check the progression of shrinkage often or you'll be left with nothing but vapour.

After arranging my selected pieces, I machine stitched them to my presewn quilt tops. Fish cut from a commercially printed fabric were wonder undered onto the quilt tops as well. Wonder Under is a fabric adhesive. Embroidery, beads and shells were used as embellishments. The quilts were finished with hand quilting and then bound.

I have exhibited my art quilts in several venues. My second art quilt in the Coral Reef Series was exhibited in the Indiana State Fair where it took a third place in the embellished art quilt catagory.

- R. Paulette Lancaster

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Many thanks to Paulette for sharing how she works with Tyvek. We'll feature more about her work in another post in the near future.

Of course, you don't have to cut up Tyvek envelopes for art work - You can always buy Tyvek online from Material Concepts in many styles.

Tyvek Design Photos from MIO

Recently this Tyvek Innovative Uses blog feature the work of Philadelphia design firm MIO. Thanks to the folks at MIO for allowing us to use photos of their products made with Tyvek on our blog.

The first photo is MIO's Loop By the Yard MoireDot Pattern. Loop By the Yard is Tyvek that can be used for many projects and is available in the 3 colors/patterns shown in this photo: orange-red, green-grey, and pink-purple.


The second photo illustrates one of the MIO products made with the Loop By the Yard Tyvek material. This is just one of many and varied innovative uses for this Tyvek material.



The third photo illustrates the MIO product called the In + Out Bag. This bag is also made with Tyvek and is available in two sizes and the 3 color combinations.

All photos provided by MIO and used with permission.

Fashionable Tyvek material for DIY projects from MIO

MIO is a Philadelphia design firm specializing in green design for products like wallpaper, lighting, seating, tables, shelving and accessories. Among the accessories is a line of printed Tyvek® material called Loop by the Yard for use in decorating, covering, or making anything that would be nicely done with a printed material with the qualities that Tyvek® brings - strong, lightweight, breathable and water resistant. Also available is a line of bags called In + Out Bags in the same print patterns as the Loop by the Yard Tyvek® material.

The green element is that MIO offers a postage pre-paid envelope to recycle the Tyvek® material when the purchaser is done with it, or scraps from the project work.

MIO offers downloadable instructions on various do-it-yourself (DIY) projects that can be done with Tyvek®, including:

• Table coverings
• Book covers
• Pillows
• Pouches
• Curtains
• Ponchos
• Kites
• Tents
• And an Ideas sheet with more suggestions

The material is offered in 3 patterned colors: green-grey, orange-red, and pink-purple.

Here is an interesting article about MIO and their products.

Upcyling Tyvek into Tyvek Totes

Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, NY‎ is having Craft Night with Betz White on Upcyling Tyvek into Tyvek Totes on Monday April 20, 2009. If you can't be in Brooklyn, join in via their Virtual Labs.

Betz White, author of the book Sewing Green, will be leading the activities to create totes from used Tyvek mailing envelopes.

Of course, it's good to recycle, but if you want new and unprinted Tyvek or the very cool new Black Tyvek, you could always order Tyvek directly from Material Concepts.