My dad is sending me a twill parachute. Anybody out there have any Ideas about what I could make? Im thinking a parachute hammock. Not sure what to expect with it though. I hope I am not tempted to jump off the roof with it.
My dad is sending me a twill parachute. Anybody out there have any Ideas about what I could make? Im thinking a parachute hammock. Not sure what to expect with it though. I hope I am not tempted to jump off the roof with it.
Because you fall through the clouds if you try to lay on them, so the next best thing is a hammock.
Hammock, and you could send me the leftovers... Have fun with the chute. Just make sure you don't jump from too low an altitude; you do want it to open before you hit the ground.
Is this thing a real parachute?
I've heard and jumped on chutes made of silk and nylon.
I can't imagine twill.
When I think of twill, I always think of cotton or the open weave sort of stuff the Navy khaki uniform shirts are made of.
By all means- make a hammock.
A lot of our "store bought" ones are advertised as being made of parachute nylon material.
DKPerdue
Twill does not seem to be a parachute fabric to me. Unless it refers to something other than the typical twill fabric. Twill is a weave pattern and is made in a variety of fibers but it is along the line of a lightweight denim in weight and texture. Not the light floaty stuff one typically thinks about with chutes.
The difficulty with making a hammock out of a re-purposed parachute lies in theway the chute was cut in the first place. Often it is virtually impossible to get enluch material to use without having seams get in the way. Guess you won't know for sure until you get it and play with it.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
Apparently, the Forest Service (and others) used nylon twill parachutes during and following WWII.
See history of California's Smokejumpers here: USFS Parachute development
Last edited by Pipsissewa; 10-19-2011 at 14:02.
"Pips"
Mountains have a dreamy way
Of folding up a noisy day
In quiet covers, cool and gray.
---Leigh Buckner Hanes
Surely, God could have made a better way to sleep.
Surely, God never did.
Well that answers the fabric question. The usability of the fabric to make a hammock may still be in question. It depends on how the chute is cut.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
If it is fine fibers and a tight weave a twill should be fine for a parachute. Or a hammock!
I've sewn with silk, wool, and cotton twills in the past.
-Liz -
I got it, its insanely huge. It is quite like a thin denim material, but seems really strong. It has been stored for a really long time, and it kind of smells like an old warehouse. I will cut a few pieces off and throw them in the warsha machine. I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow.
Because you fall through the clouds if you try to lay on them, so the next best thing is a hammock.
Denim IS a twill!Originally Posted by sonic
We had an old parachute when I was a kid. It made the BEST pirate ship sail off the front deck.
The fabric eventually gave way and Dad carefully cut out all the lines. We had parachute line all over the house. I probably still have a tent in the garage tied up with that stuff.
-Liz -
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