The forest bridge, a Christmas present.

I made my father a bridge hammock for Christmas. This was my second bridge hammock and I'm happy with how much faster and comfortable I feel at making this type of hammock. its open at both ends to make it easier to put pads between the two layers. The top layer is a poly taffeta and the bottom is some sort of heavy duty army material. It was a round thing with four triangular pieces sewn onto the top and bottom of the circle. Both of the bridge hammocks I've made have had some super heavy duty bottom material and I'm looking forward to making my backpacking bridge out of easier to sew material. My next hammock will be pretty much the same as this one with either ripstop or taffeta.

Length: 80in
head width: 46in
foot width: 38in
head bar: 32in
foot bar: 20 something in.

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IMG_3523 by pappy2012, on Flickr

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IMG_3524 by pappy2012, on Flickr

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IMG_3526 by pappy2012, on Flickr

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IMG_3525 by pappy2012, on Flickr

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IMG_3527 by pappy2012, on Flickr

Looks great Bohlmann! Awesome gift even more so since it's DIY.

I smell a father-son hammock/fishing trip coming up soon...

Also you should invite a friend...

the seams appear way too straight to be diy. just say'n. :P All my diy stuff has seams that are functional, but not "pretty". I've gotten better though, and am thinking about trying to make a bridge.

Is that doubled para-cord I see going through the suspension?

It is two cords of 550 cord. My brother got out of the marines a couple of months ago and came home with a couple of spools of the stuff. I think we have enough of 550 cord to wrap around the world at least 3 times. :)

Jazilla- do you think that will be strong enough to support my dad who is about 250? I also used two strands on each side of the suspension triangle on the foot end. I figured two strands would equal 1100 pounds of weight support and would be fine. my Dad is going to use this for car camping so weight and bulk is not an issue.

I am not a fan of 550 as suspension myself. I don't trust the stuff to hold my weight. You are right about the 1100 lbs but you also have to take in to consideration the affect of putting a knot has in 550 cord. Plus it stretches like a mother.

Wow...what a wonderful sew job of the hammock! I personally would be fearful of the paracord...but that's JMO.

Thanks for all the complements on the sewing job. Before this project I had just sewn a rolled hem for about 90 feet worth of purple fabric so I had much practice at getting my stitch strait.

As for the 550 cord, does anyone think it will break with only two lengths or should I add another length of the stuff? At this point I'm not as concerned about the stretch as much as my father falling because of a defaulty suspension ropes.