Integrated Bugnet

[Macca81]

Hey guys,

I am looking at sewing in a bugnet to my gathered end hammock, but i cant work out how to work out the measurements for it. I dont have anyoneto lay in it for me while i place the netting over the hammock, and i cant get my head around if there is a way to just 'do' it and have it work... All these hammocks you see with the net sewn in has it night and taught, but i just know that i will either have it so tight that it tears when i sit in it or it is going to have saggy bits... Anyone have any tips for me?

[WV]

One thing that worked for me was to pin the mesh to the ridgeline and let it hang down on the left side (the one I was going to sew to the hammock, then lie in the hammock and mark the mesh from the inside with small pieces of blue painters' tape. This can be done. You need to sit up to reach the part next to your legs, then lie down again and see if the mark is correct. If necessary, adjust. By the way, this is good exercise. Once you have enough points, you can get out of the hammock and cut the mesh, following the curve you just marked, adding an inch or two. Then pin the cut edge to the side of the hammock and sew it. then sew a piece for the right side of the bugnet along the ridgeline. After that you have several choices.

You can just throw it over the ridgeline and sew small pockets into the edge of the mesh where it hangs below the side of the hammock. (These pockets are for light items only - just heavy enough to hold the net against the hammock. I've tried boots, books, even a pair of pants rolled up, but they're all too heavy and will distort the bugnet, so don't go wild and sew lots of big pockets. Try a small flashlight and/or a pair of socks.

Another choice is to start as above, but then also sew the right side netting to the hammock for 2' or so at the foot end.

Another choice involves the placement of the netting relative to the ridgeline: over the top, or underneath and tied or hooked to it.

You could also mark a curve on the right side the way you did with the left, and then sew in a zipper.

For one of my hammocks with the netting over the ridgeline, I found it helped to sew a channel along the ridge and run the ridgeline through it.

There are pros and cons for all these variations, but they can all be done by one person working alone. Good luck!

[dukedante]

Wow WV, that was some great advice. No wonder no one else has replied. Nuf said.

[WV]

Whoa! That's not the whole story. Others may chime in soon. There are quite a few different designs for bugnets that work well. Check JustJeff's site, tothewoods.net for one such. A Youtube search for "bugnet" would proabably be fruitful also.

[sclittlefield]

Here's a few that you might be able to adapt to your hammock. The sewn on design is for a hammock with raw fabric length of 10.5' (126"), so it finishes up around 122" long.

http://www.backwoodsdaydreamer.com/d...mmock-bugnets/

[FlatTire]

To sew my bugnet to my gathered end, I cut a length that equaled my ridgeline length with a couple extra inches on each end. Next I hung it over the ridgeline and clipped weights to the edges. I marked the curve of the hammock sides and cut the netting to that curve. However I left what could be called a "tab" of net at each end.

Each side of the "tab" was reinforced and had velcro sewed to it so that it could essentially make a tube for the hammock suspension and gathered end to feed through. I sewed one whole side of the net to my hammock and 1/4 length at head and foot ends on the open side. I used velcro tabs sewed several inches apart to hold the entry closed. (I would suggest a better closure device such as full velcro or zipper.)

With an 11 foot hammock with a 9 foot ridgeline I managed to make a 60 inch wide piece of net work for the whole bugnet. With the ridgeline on the inside it stays pretty much out of my face.

It's not perfect but it was easy enough for an amatuer.