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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnSawyer's Avatar
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    DIY Ridgerunner Top Cover - Pic Heavy

    Some years ago, when I started hammocking, I discovered that I didn't like breathing cold air. There were lots of people making socks, but I wanted something simpler. Thanks to Risk and his quarter weight Hammock, I made a couple of covers that were just a piece of rectangular fabric with corner weights. I met with mixed success as a light wind would blow the cover around. Grizz came up with the KISS Over Cover (I think), which solved some of my blowing about problems, and I found a thread by Dutch where he had made a cover for his blackbird. Since I'm the proud owner of a new RidgeRunner from Warbonnet (Brandon Rules!) I thought I would see if I could make my own Ridgerunner cover based on Grizz's and Dutch's designs, similar to the Bear Burrito Oven (made by Paul at Arrowhead for the Warbonnet Blackbird).

    If I have forgotten to credit somebody with the creation of covers, please let me know so I can correct this text!

    This will be a 2 (or 3) part series as I cobble together a top cover for my ridgerunner. I'm heading out to Big Bear this weekend, where the overnight temps are expected to be in the high-30's. So I figured it was time to break out the Sewing Machine...

    The fabric I picked is an uncalendared 1.0 ripstop (Digital Camo) that I bought as part of an earlier group buy... Lightweight ripstop makes great top covers and socks, but calendared is more windproof and will hold in more heat, but also breathe a bit less... (YMMV)

    I laid the fabric over the Ridgerunner, and cut it about 2.5 feet longer than the hammock. I pinned it to the net tie-outs, and on each corner to the amsteel suspension. (Safety pins are your friend!).



    On one side, I left about 6" hanging. I marked the points where the netting tie outs touch the cover, cut 3" lengths of 7/8" grosgrain, and sewed them on, length-wise with the hammock:
    (sorry about the fuzzy pics... didn't have my glasses on)

    Using a heated piece of coat hangar, I melted a 2"-ish slot through the fabric and grosgrain, then sewed along both sides of the slot. (Note the stylish - un-straight stitching that characterizes all my gear as mine!) The long slot is to accomodate the cordlock on the net suspension.


    I then mounted the cover:


    And trimmed the excess on the one side, and hemmed the long lengths, with a wide (3/8" or so) rolled hem, with the roll on the under side.

    Lessons learned: You're better off figuring out the maximum desired width, and cutting the fabric in a rectangle. We'll be using super thin (1/16"?) shock cord to tighten the sides up anyway... and hemming a curve sucks...

    I then re-mounted the cover...


    That's enough for tonight. Tomorrow night I will be cutting the corners in, where the spreader bars meet, and making the cover fit the ends.

    More to come . . .

    John
    "Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda


  2. #2
    Nice work brother. Looks good, so Im kind of lost, how exactly does it mount and stay on?

    Jeremy

  3. #3
    Senior Member JohnSawyer's Avatar
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    Up late?

    The net suspension goes through the melted slot. The ultimate goal is to have a shock cord around the perimeter holding the bottom down...

    Where the spreader bars are, I'll need to cut the fabric. I'm thinking I'll cross the ends under the corners and hook them together, but we'll see how that works out tomorrow...
    "Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda


  4. #4
    Oh, very nice work man. And intuitive. And yes Im up late, cant sleep, my knee is in excruciating pain lately. I hate this surgery recovery But great work brother I really like it.

    Jeremy

  5. #5
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    Good idea John. I had been thinking along the same lines that an over cover would provide much the same warmth as The spindrift without the reported hassles reported with mounting. And lighter.

    Could you not lay out the RR and measure the netting as a basis for the over cover, adding a couple inches all around for hemming and attachments?

  6. #6
    Senior Member angrysparrow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnSawyer View Post
    More to come . . .
    I really like the idea of a top cover for the RR. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the project.
    “I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy

  7. #7
    Senior Member JohnSawyer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheCoyote View Post
    Oh, very nice work man. And intuitive. And yes Im up late, cant sleep, my knee is in excruciating pain lately. I hate this surgery recovery But great work brother I really like it.

    Jeremy
    Sorry to hear about the pain, hopefully it'll fade quickly and have you back on your feet. Thanks for the note!

    Quote Originally Posted by BER View Post
    Good idea John. I had been thinking along the same lines that an over cover would provide much the same warmth as The spindrift without the reported hassles reported with mounting. And lighter.

    Could you not lay out the RR and measure the netting as a basis for the over cover, adding a couple inches all around for hemming and attachments?
    I guess I could measure the net, but the trick is to get the cinch cords UNDER the net, which is affected by the shape as it hangs. My other concern is the pockets, and how the cover may affect them, but we'll see...

    Quote Originally Posted by angrysparrow View Post
    I really like the idea of a top cover for the RR. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the project.
    Thanks! I've been putting of my down UQ project, (ok, I was starting it back up, but I can't find the fabric I cut! Grrr...) so I decided I needed a cover for the So-Cal Hang. It's good to get the sewing machine back in operation. My first non-backyard hang, I used a poncho liner as a cover and it worked great... This one will be just a little lighter...

    John
    "Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda


  8. #8
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    i've been messing around with a topcover design as well, still in the prototype stage though

  9. #9
    Senior Member Jazilla's Avatar
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    Don't cut the corner. Roll the corner doubling the normal roll hem width you use. That way when you roll the edges it will give your corners a nice finished edge and a hole to run the cord out and around the perimeter. Just my thoughts, good luck.
    Yosemite Sam: Are you trying to make me look a fool?
    Bugs: You don't need me to make you look like a fool.
    Yosemite Sam: Yer deerrrnnn right I don't!

  10. #10
    Senior Member JohnSawyer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazilla View Post
    Don't cut the corner. Roll the corner doubling the normal roll hem width you use. That way when you roll the edges it will give your corners a nice finished edge and a hole to run the cord out and around the perimeter. Just my thoughts, good luck.
    The only problem is I need to get below the suspension triangle, or attach to the ends, but that brings the edge up to a point where it can slip off... By cutting and hemming the corners, I can keep the cover on despite wind and a shifting sleeper...

    Am I missing something?
    John
    "Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda


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