View Full Version : Hammock patterns please!
To all the Hammock Hangers & Gear Makers out there,
I am curious about making my own hammock. I want to try and make one from hemp if possible, as I can get a good deal on hemp rope or twine. Plus I like the old-school fabrics. :sun
My question(s) for those who make gear and for those who are familiar with hammocks are: What diameter rope/twine is good for making my own hammock? Are there any readily available designs/patterns for making your own hammocks? Will I need other materials besides my hemp rope/twine? Any crazy knots that I'm going to need to be familiar with?
Feel free to chime in with examples, ideas, etc. I need all the info I can get and would love to learn a few things by examples already set out before me. Thanx!
Most of us amateur camping hammock makers use ripstop nylon fabric or occasionally silk to make camping hammocks. Ed Speer's book describes the process in detail. The thing about camping in hammocks is keeping warm when the temperature dips below the tropical level. A macrame-type hammock wouldn't be very warm below about 80 degrees. It wouldn't do much to keep bugs off you either. But...if you're planning to make one anyway, good luck and let us know how it turns out!
peter_pan
01-21-2006, 00:47
Rope hammocks are a pain...
Pan
Just Jeff
01-21-2006, 11:37
Tudor,
If you want a comfortable, lightweight, easy to make hammock, use a solid material like nylon. Check out the pics on these pages for some examles:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCamping.html
If you still want to tie a rope hammock, I can offer some suggestions...I've helped to make one before but haven't completed the project on my own. I can try to hunt down a thread where this was discussed, though.
But seriously - if your goal is a piece of useful lightweight hiking gear, use a solid material. If your goal is to have something made out of hemp and you're willing to put in lots of hours making it, a rope hammock is one option.
Jeff,
The hammock that I want to make is just for kicks, and to give me an appreciation for how hammocks work, and are created. I definitely won't be taking it with me on the trail! It's like taking a canvas shelter-half for camping! :sun I'm gonna buy a lightweight hammock for my thru this year. If you could find that old thread about making a hammock, that would be great! I had a friend that made one out of 550 cord (parachute cord) back in my OSUT days. Quite humorus, when it collapsed on him! :)
get the hammock camping book by ed speer it covers it all:cool: neo
http://www.speerhammocks.com/Products/PRODUCTLINK2.htm
the books is $19.95 and free with all orders over $65.00,he sells complete kits also:cool: neo
Just Jeff
01-22-2006, 01:03
I looked for the hammock thread but couldn't find it...I'm pretty sure it was on the Yahoo hammockcamping group, but the Yahoo groups search engine sucks and it didn't come up. If you want it bad enough, search through message by message until you see a subject like "traditional hammock" or "rope hammock" or something like that - the discussion was about traditional, old-fashioned hammocks. I think it was about 10 months ago.
I Googled "making a rope hammock" and saw a few pattern links, though.
Otherwise, here's how we did the rope hammock...
- Tie one piece of rope between two trees, about 6' above the ground and 5-6' wide.
- Cut enough ropes to the length you want your hammock to space them every 2-3", and tie them to the horizontal rope so they all hang vertically to the ground.
- About 3" down from the horizontal, tie the first two vertical ropes together. There are several knots that work...we just held them together and tied a single overhand knot.
- Skip to the third and fourth, and tie them together the same way. Continue across the entire width of the hammock.
- For the second row of knots, skip the first vertical and tie together the second and third. Complete that row, and you'll see the net start to form.
- Continue row by row until the net is comlete.
For the end, you can thread a support rope through the ends of the net, or just use a biner instead. Probably want to double up the knots so the support doesn't pull out.
We used inner core from 550 cord...about 1 mil, maybe? It makes a better net than a hammock. I've slept in a cheap-o hammock of that size rope before, though - it's ok if you have clothes on, but not comfortable against the skin. Stuff gets stuck in the holes, too - buttons on pants, zippers in sleeping bags, etc. But it works.
If you use thicker rope, you'll have to adjust the spacing a bit.