diy hennessy NEED HELP ASAP WITH NETTING

**BigTurtle** · 09-04-2012, 00:02

hey guys i decided to have a go on the hennessy diy and the turtural was execelent except on the netting i see the shape on the pic but nothing else and im working with a very limmited supply of netting so basically i need some help figureing out how to cut the netting i already have the hammock body made "tripple layer 1.1" so if anyone has made one of these please help i need to have this done in the next day or so. that way i can test it before the hang in a couple weeks.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
also is there anyway of making the loops with the knots that you whip in the ends where you hook your whoopies and ridgeline to a different way?
thanks
BT

**AtHomeDad** · 09-04-2012, 07:37

My first DIY was a Hennessy Tribute and, like you, I followed the threads here to make the hammock.

I have dual zippers so that the net can be removed entirely. I did find that zippers of that length are very difficult to find at a reasonable price. I found inexpensive fleece sleeping bags at Menards (similar to Lowes or Home Depot) for $9.90 each. I brought two and tore out the zippers. Buying coil zipper is a possibility, but I found that doing the end hardware was too daunting.

I had sewn one side of the zippers into my hammock and then laid the whole thing out on the floor with my ridgeline in place. I pulled the hammock flat and then opened it up at the pull outs and straightened the edges toward the middle seam. By doing this I ended up with a near parallelogram shape for the net. I pinned the net to the zipper (use A LOT of pins) and then unzipped and sewed. I didn't trim my salvage until I had completed sewing. Using a walking foot worked much better.

When I completed using this method, the screen was very nicely fit and didn't have too much tension. I have used this method on all subsequent hammocks.

As a side benefit, I took the one of the left over fleece to made a nice summer/indoor underquilt by simply sewing it back to the original sleeping bag shape and adding shock cord. The second became a summer top quilt by placing snaps near the bottom to create a foot box. I also went a bit further and made a zip off fleece cover for the hammock for cold weather (I had to buy one more bag to get another zipper for the cover).

For the loops on the end, I simply took some Amsteel (probably overkill) and tied a loop about 8" long with two diamond knots (one at the end and the second about 3" in). I sewed these directly into my end channel or to the hammock for a whipped end. I just gather to whip rather than roll fold as demonstrated, I like the lay of the hammock better with this method.

I hope this helps.

**Grinder** · 09-04-2012, 10:28

I did this mod last spring. I too, was unsure of the netting size. Being a brave fool, I dived in. (to continue the metaphor, at least I didn't hit bottom and break my neck.)

It turns out, it's pretty hard to be completely wrong.

I don't really use a structural ridge line, so my length there tends to be a bit variable, leading to saggy net.

Also, measurements should be with you in the hammock, which makes it a two man job. I live alone and decided not to wait.

It worked out okay. I computed the suggested optimal ridge line length (80 %??)) and then estimated the cross width. It worked out okay.

About zippers: Try a few upholstery shops. They buy zipper by the roll for convertible top windows. I think OWF sells this product also. The pulls are sold separate and can be started anywhere along the zipper length in either direction . I put two on the entrance side, meeting in the middle. I sewed off one side of the zipper so that the pulls would not be lost.

Use was simple after a bit of practice.