Bridge Stitching - Possible Future Failure?

**JerryW** · 04-20-2010, 18:51

I am working on a bridge hammock that I started last fall and just now got around to finishing and I'm concerned about some of the stitching.

The material is the JoAnn's ripstop, ~1.8 oz/yd. The webbing is rolled to the inside and sewn with two rows of stitching. My machine was set for about 6 stitches per inch.

When I lay in the hammock, the stitch holes seem to open up quite a bit and I'm worried about a possible failure. Have any of you other bridge builders noticed this on yours?

Thanks,
Jerry

**Dutch** · 04-20-2010, 18:55

i haven't seen that on any of mine. Your weave looks loose on the material but that may be b/c you zoomed in for the pic. When I do mine I first sew it on the webbing on the cat cut, than fold it twice and sew 2 more times.

**MacEntyre** · 04-20-2010, 19:24

Are you using polypropylene webbing? I find that stitches can pull out of polypropylene webbing a little easier than with nylon.

**avalonmorn** · 04-20-2010, 19:31

Tinker, it would help us give our suggestions if you posted a pic of the entire hammock.

Sneaky way of seeing entire design....

**avalonmorn** · 04-20-2010, 19:33

Dang, I forgot my suggestiom! Would using a smaller, or ballpoint needle help the stich holes be less prominent?

**GrizzlyAdams** · 04-20-2010, 19:40

Hi Jerry--
I've seen holes open a little (not big like yours) with the same 1.7 oz material that Brandon used a while back for his Blackbird. Not with 1.9 ripstop or polyester. I think it is the tightness of the weave, or lack of it. I've done double body 1.1 oz versions and not seen it, I guess the doubling helps.

**Ramblinrev** · 04-20-2010, 19:54

Te fabric itself is probably not going to fail. If anything fails it would be the thread for the stitching. If you used good quality thread then I would not worry about it. However, when you enter the hammock listen for popping sounds. Check the stitch lines and see if anything is opening up. The issue behind thread breaking is not a really big issue in my estimation. The reason for that is thread breaks in stitches not feet. In other words, it will take some time before the failure of the thread would lead to a catastrophic failure such that the hammock would fail in total. Before that happened I would expect to see seams opening up and loose threads, not just pulled weave.

I trust that makes a certain amount of sense.

**JerryW** · 04-20-2010, 20:14

Originally Posted by Dutch

i haven't seen that on any of mine. Your weave looks loose on the material but that may be b/c you zoomed in for the pic. When I do mine I first sew it on the webbing on the cat cut, than fold it twice and sew 2 more times.

That's exactly how I sewed mine. And yeah, It's zoomed in pretty tight - the pic is showing a little over an inch of the seam.

Originally Posted by MacEntyre

Are you using polypropylene webbing? I find that stitches can pull out of polypropylene webbing a little easier than with nylon.

The webbing I'm using is 5/8" muletape, so it's low stretch polyester.

Originally Posted by avalonmorn

Tinker, it would help us give our suggestions if you posted a pic of the entire hammock.

Sneaky way of seeing entire design....

I'll get to that eventually, but it's basically a copy of what Grizz is doing.

Thanks for all the opinions. The thread should be up to the task and I haven't heard any unusual noises. I think I'll give it some overnight tests and see what happens. At the worst, I can get a better quality fabric and remake it. Now that I have a pattern I like it would be quick and easy.

Jerry