BlackBird Top Cover

**GrizzlyAdams** · 03-26-2009, 17:31

great job Finn!

Grizz

**Shug** · 03-27-2009, 00:30

I have one of FF top Covers and REALLY like ... love it.
Thanks for the tutorial FF .... can't wait for June!!!!!
Shug

**animalcontrol** · 03-27-2009, 06:09

Thanks for the tutiorial Finn...pics make a world of difference

**fin** · 03-27-2009, 07:00

Originally Posted by jeffjenn

Too cool where did you score the fabric??

Ebay. I'm always poking around the internet for deals on 1.1 ripstop.

I have WWAAYY too much fabric for how much I sew. But that is the end of the camo woodland 1.1, or at least the two shells/patterns I have cut for topcovers in my basement are the end of it.

Too busy (or too lazy) to finish the sewing on them.

I plan on keeping one pattern, so I don't have to go through this whole "hanging the fabric on the hammock," and "CAREFULLY cut" anything.

Makes it much easier to do the next one if you have a pattern laying around.

**fin** · 03-27-2009, 07:03

Originally Posted by Shug

I have one of FF top Covers and REALLY like ... love it.
Thanks for the tutorial FF .... can't wait for June!!!!!
Shug

Yeah, me too! I'm still planning on a recon in April, but looking more towards the end of April now. So busy.

Thanks for doing the video on the topcover.

**headchange4u** · 03-27-2009, 07:48

You got 2 BB's Finn? The first picture is an olive drab hammock and the rest are camo.

**fin** · 03-27-2009, 11:39

Originally Posted by headchange4u

You got 2 BB's Finn? The first picture is an olive drab hammock and the rest are camo.

I will have 2 BB's soon, but the OD is not mine. The Olive Drab is the one we (You, AngrySparrow, Slowhike, Attroll, NcPatrick, Myself) custom ordered from Brandon for Jeff, and shipped to him overseas - which he has received, but I haven't had any updates since to find out if he has used it. That pic is the first topcover I made, to include with JustJeff's gift hammock. That was my personal gift to him.

Remember, I lost some of my instructional pics due to a glitch with my camera, and I just haven't gotten around to making any more gear lately, so I scrounged for pics that I already had. I just felt it was time to get the instructions up, so I used what I could find.

**jeffjenn** · 03-27-2009, 15:04

Finn, are the fabric edges that you sew around the elastic hemmed or sealed in some manner? Being non-coated material it seems if not protected in some way they would soon fray & pull from the elastic??? Also, is there any reason this can't be done the exact same way for the Hennessy? Just leaving really small openings for the pullouts since they are smaller than the BB wings. I picture the OEM HH overcover being like this, but having never seen one in person do not know if it has some form of elastic surround like yours.

**fin** · 03-27-2009, 15:51

Originally Posted by jeffjenn

Finn, are the fabric edges that you sew around the elastic hemmed or sealed in some manner? Being non-coated material it seems if not protected in some way they would soon fray & pull from the elastic??? Also, is there any reason this can't be done the exact same way for the Hennessy? Just leaving really small openings for the pullouts since they are smaller than the BB wings. I picture the OEM HH overcover being like this, but having never seen one in person do not know if it has some form of elastic surround like yours.

I've never see an OEM HH overcover, either - so I can't comment on it. I don't know why it wouldn't work, though. If the pullouts are close to the same distance from the ends of the hammock as the BB, you wouldn't even have to make any mods - that's what the velcro on the wing slots would work for. Just make the opening smaller by velcro-ing together. Then you could use for both the BB and the HH. That is, IF the HH tie-outs are close enough to where the BB tie-outs are. I seem to recall they are in a slightly different place, however - it's been a while since I've seen a Hennessy firsthand. Someone with a BB and a Hennessey care to elaborate on how much difference in location on the respective hammocks the tie-outs are?

Yeah, the best way would be to sew a seam on the fabric edge before sewing the elastic, even though best case by rolling the fabric over the elastic, you are sewing through it twice. Hmmmm. Maybe the real solution would be to sew a draw channel down the entire edge, then pull the elastic through the draw channel and sew. How to keep tension/stretch on the elastic while sewing? That would be the trick. But that would also solve the "ugly" elastic edge as well as any fraying. A lot more sewing, though.

**jeffjenn** · 03-27-2009, 16:22

Originally Posted by FishinFinn

Maybe the real solution would be to sew a draw channel down the entire edge, then pull the elastic through the draw channel .

Seems this would be like the KAQ instructions? Would you need to sew the elastic once it's in the channel or could you just bar-tack the ends after stretching the elastic? If so it might save the tricky step of stretching the elastic while trying to roll the edge & sew all at the same time.