because i am nowhere near being able to afford one of those fancy camping hammocks that i want so badly, i decided to try to make one.  my plans started about two or three months ago, when i first read about these hammocks, and i first saw them.  then i saw their price tags and wanted to cry.  i decided to try to make one, perhaps of canvas, and drew up a design. 

it was a rectangle of canvas, maybe 6 ft by 7 ft, on the short ends there was a sleeve sewn, and a metal ring could be inserted into the sleeve to gather the material at that point.  this was done on both ends, and it would make a long pouch that would cup one quite comfortably.  the planing was going great, intil i decided to ask my mom what the going rate for canvas was these days.  she asked me what it was for, and i told her that someday i would like to make a hammock, and i was collecting information on materials and the like.  well, you wouldn't believe how heated my mom can get about " more unnecesary junk" in the house.  needless to say, my plans were shut down for a while. 

then, i was thinking of an idea for a harness used to rappel cofortably, instead of with those webbing harnessess cutting into you.  i came up with a miniature version of my hammock that fits around your behind, with the rings meeting in front of you, and the rope threading though them to support you.  this reminded me that i wanted to maek a hammock.

so, when my mom dug a huge thing of this nylon mesh(desert camo pattern) i started thinking: i wonder if this stuff will support me. 

i rigged up a small hammock with some of the netting and some nylon rope that i had, and i took it outside to play.

it worked like a charm.  it was a little cramped, i had to lie in the fetal postion pretty much when i was lying from one rope to the other, but i was comfy.  i could easily have gone to sleep.  toss in a light weight tarp or a shower curtain for a rain fly, and you have a sturdy, CHEAP, camping hammock, even if it really is only appropriate for the summer months. 

pics will be coming later, when i can get outisde to take some of it set up.

i don't think that a sleeping bag would fit in the hammock without anything else next to it, but i plan on making a larger one.

and the pics: because of some pretty hard rains all day, those pics are going to be a couple of days late.

my big hammock was a failure, and now i have two lare camo nets.  because of the way that the net stretched, and the way the strength of the threads run, i had to take two peices and try to attach them.  i could not just unroll a long length of the stuff.  that failed, so maybe i will hit walmart for  a 6 dollar camping hammock and feel like a stupid magnet for bugs.  but who knows?

kahuna, where do you buy one of these?

also, i plan/ned on making one of these because i can't make one any longer, i thought maybe i could make it wider and have it be just as comfortable.

awesome.  thanks.


here are the pics:


i am a little cramped, but comfortable


it makes quite a comfy chair when i sit this way


it fits my brother a little (alot) better. 

yes, it is something to the effect of a chair.  it is pretty comfortable.

Hey Siguy, check your messages.

There is a book out, "Bushcraft" by Richard Graves that shows you how to weave and use a hammock for camping. Of course, its made from twine woven from native plants, but it tells you how to do that too.