Question about tablecloths...

[Firetruck]

I know the tablecloths from tableclothsfactoy.com have a hem but is is strong enough to hold or do they need reinforcing?

[gmcttr]

The end hems are not strong enough to use as a channel to hang from. You can put a small cord in it to gather the end or gather the end and whip it. The suspension is larks headed on behind that.

[Brute1100]

My method of doing it looks like this...
that is my daughters hammock... But mine is done the same way but different colors...

[geneaut]

I used the channel to run mason line through, and then gathered it. The channel is too narrow for many cords.

[Firetruck]

I was wondering how others were doing it. I guess just gather it with small cord then cross it over then under and back to the top and tie it off? Then whip it behind that?

[Brute1100]

I used the channel to run mason line through, and then gathered it. The channel is too narrow for many cords.

I could be wrong but i think that is the Warbonnet whipping store... nothing wrong with it but just if you wanted to look up the threads about it those are the words to use... i used the Caveman method because he is a buddy of mine and taught me how to do it... it works so i don't see any reason to change it...

[Jimbo3b]

I was wondering how others were doing it. I guess just gather it with small cord then cross it over then under and back to the top and tie it off? Then whip it behind that?

Firetruck, I'm not clear on what you're asking. A good link to the whipping methods most of us use is at Just Jeff's page: http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeHammock2.html

In Brute's picture above, it looks he does it this way, but leaves both ends long enough to tie a knot on top of the whipping. That's a nice idea, because you can pull it all out, run it through a washer, and then rewhip using the same cord.

Some people like to run a line through the hem, like a tiny end channel, so that the end of the fabric forms a bigger knob when you gather it. That's probably safer, but not necessary in my opinion. I like to whip it very tightly, and my whipping never seems to migrate to (and off) the end of the fabric.

When I first made a gathered end hammock, I whipped it by tying a series of overhand knots on the top, then the bottom, then the top, etc. That whipping slid right off the end--I think it was because I couldn't keep the first knot tight enough while wrapping the cord and then tying the next knot. I had no trouble once I followed Jeff's instructions and wrapped it all tightly.

[Firetruck]

Cool, thanks ya'll for the info. My first try was with some thin fabric I found on sale and then used a small loop of nylon and made a sheet bend knot. It is very strong and I feel confident in it but I think that method caused one side of the hammock to be a little tighter than the other and it feels lopsided when you lay in it.

I'm looking forward to giving this a try.

[geneaut]

My first tablecloth I simply tied an overhand knot in each end, and larks-headed the suspension behind that. You sacrifice a little length, but it looked and felt rock solid.

My next one I did the method Brute illustrated. It Seemed to work pretty well, but I was convinced the whipping was migrating. I never measured so it may have been in my head. After that I went to the line through the hem method to make a gathered bulb, and just for fun whipped behind it again. I felt twice as secure then.

Brute's W-fanfold gives you some benefit as you can arrange the length of the outer edges versus the middle before whipping to create floppy/non-floppy sides

[SilvrSurfr]

I like to sew a triple-stitched channel in my tablecloth hammocks.