making my own hammock - hammock construction

Pattern

I have been reading Just Jeff's Hiking Page on and off for over a year now.  It was his site that got me interested in sewing my own hammock, actually.  To be extra sure that it will support my weight and in case i ever want to camp somewhere that gets cold at night (not completely unheard of) i have opted to sew the Two Layer Hammock.  Jeff copied Risk's ZHammock.  I did not use a zig-zag stitch, but i did leave the sides open near the ends so i can insert a mat/pad/underquilt if need be.  Risk has some nifty mods to his gear that are food for thought as well, but on this, my first foray into sewing camping gear, i'm going to keep it simple.  I'm not going to start counting ounces but since i am considering trying backpacking someday i do want a lightweight setup, so his mods probably won't be that applicable to me anyway.  But they are shiny.

Construction

The most difficult part of this project was the first seam somehow.  I was delayed even sitting down to start several times and it took me a long time to pin everything into place.  I was hesitant while sewing at first because this fabric is slippery and i had never sewn anything similar before.  Fortunately the dining room table was cleared off and i was able to spread out the fabric to pin it (mostly flat, hanging off the sides and end) otherwise it would have been hopeless.  I did things in a different order than Risk did...i started with the rolled hem at one end (he's got a nifty diagram...i sewed green red red green and omitted blue seams).  I turned it under 1 1/4" twice for a combined 2 1/2" lost at each end.

Then i had to figure out if my machine worked.  It's an old Singer that only sews in a straight line that was once my Grandma's (i'm pretty sure it's one of the machines i learned how to sew on).  Fortunately the manual was still with the case to remind me how to thread it, wind the bobbin, etc., and i was soon able to start with surprisingly good tension.  I sewed once with the folded seam on top once and then again with it turned towards the bottom, trying to sew closer to the edge of the hem the second time.

first rolled hem

It isn't pretty, but it's serviceable.  It turns out that the little machine does still work after all these years!  The rubber belt gets a little warm/stinky when sewing/winding at full speed but i had very few issues compared to my other machine that i received as a present when i graduated from junior high.

ready to tackle the side seam

Next i pinned one of the long sides from end to end and measured out the first side seam.  I gave it the same double-run treatment.  Then i pinned the opposite side and sewed it in the same way.  And lastly i pinned the second rolled hem, which required me to trim some of the red/purple fabric away because it was cut slightly longer than the brown.  It was a lot easier for me to pin this second rolled hem than it had been for me to pin the first.

second rolled hem

stay/top stitched to imperfection

 The last thing i did was turn the entire hammock right side out.  This required me to pull the hammock through itself.  I stay-stitched all of the seams to reinforce them.  Once again, this came out a lot uglier than i would have liked, but considering that this is the first time i have used Rip Stop Nylon it could have been a lot worse.  The entire project took me less than four hours from start to finish.

Unlike Risk, i did not hem the free edges on the sides of the hammock.  This fabric has salvages with a frayed look but i'm pretty sure that it's not actually fraying, that's just how they were left after the fabric was woven.

Suspension Prep

whip it good

This afternoon i whipped the ends of the hammock as outlined by Just Jeff.  I'm happy with my knot but am surprised by how much of the hem is sticking out above the whipping.  It feels like a lot, and definitely looks thicker than the hammock in Jeff's examples (which is because it's double-thick, of course).  Tree huggers are on the menu tonight, and hopefully my first hang will be Tuesday night.

Now i know that i said in my last post that i'm saving ~$60, but this isn't strictly true.  That is $60 is i went with a barebones, less-than-ideal setup.  To buy a similar hammock at REI that apparently doesn't work right with the pad inserted it would cost me $95.  I paid $42 for my hammock materials, an additional savings of $43 were i to buy the hammock that's most similar to what i'm sewing.  So of course if you consider what i would have bought if money were no option...i might have chosen just to buy a Hennessy.  In that case the bug net, tarp, and snakeskins would have been included, but i would be saving even more money by customizing my setup.  This also means that if something wears out i can fix or replace what is broken rather than the entire hammock tent.