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  1. #1
    Senior Member Mule's Avatar
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    PLEATED HAMMOCK, BY Mule

    Here is the video utube address:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHIDrpJUCXs



    Comments:
    MULEBRIDGE PLEATED HAMMOCK

    I have just completed my third pleated bridge hammock. Here’s what I learned:
    1. It is worth the work. Each one took me over 15 hours focused sewing and forming pleats.
    2. 3 to 1 ratio fabric length to hammock length is best. The first two, though intending to be 3/1 ended up being approximately 2/1 due to not having the pleats in better control while sewing them.
    3. I think the space in the hammock that is occupied with the person’s torso does not need pleats. Make pleats from a couple inches below the shoulder to a couple of inches below the butt. If your pleats are too many, or if they extend way below the neck or above the butt it won’t matter. It will matter however if you don’t have enough of the hammock pleated if you want to sleep with your knees pulled up laying on your side or stomach sleeping with your arms under your head.
    4. The masking tape is by far better than pinning. Make masking tape supports within a quarter inch of the seam line. Make the actual shape of the hammock the inside seam lines, then one 3 inches outside of those and another in between the two. Using one inch masking tape leaves just enough of the pleats to sew without having the walking bar pulling the pleats out as it tries to advance the fabric. Sew while moving the fabric with your hands the same speed of the walking bar, that keeps your pleats in place while being sewed.
    Below are the initial comments made about doing this pleated hammock. I wrote them while the concept was fresh in my mind between the 1st and 3rd hammock.


    “The pleated hammock can be configured at the time of assembly to suite individual tastes in sleeping postures. For instance, I don’t get in the fetal position much so I saved fabric and weight (and labor) by pleating only below my knees and from the head side of the hammock to just under my, well, you get the picture.
    Making one of these is extremely time consuming and labor intensive. I think it’s a huge job. The reason I think so it that I could not find a way to pleat the hammock all the way across so that the pleats remained the same on both sides of the hammock where the webbing is connected to the body.
    I had to, finally, after attempts to pre-iron the pleats, pin the pleats, sew the pleats by steps down the length of the the hammock, baste or sew the pleats in across the width of the hammock after folding them and pinning them on each side. One of the problems was when sewing several seams working from the edges and progressively working my way toward the center three feet of the hammock, (that beginning rectangular 16 foot shape of the fabric) to hold the folds down and parallel to the ends until the pleats reached the actual form of the hour-glass shape of the cutout, I noticed missing keeping the folds exactly straight stacked up an error the more seams I sewed. I sewed a seam every three inches from the long edge of the rectangle in to where the cutout would eventually be. By making this error, it made some of the folded pleats a little shorter that some others, which would put all the force on the shorter pleats.
    Looking down the length of the hammock from the end, i.e., a cross section view, the hammock’s shape is the same as a normal bridge. As the weight is put in the hammock the forces normally being applied to vertical and angular planes in the fabric, now, were all vertical.
    The pleats prevent the fabric from sharing it’s stitch strength with adjoining sections of the bridge because they make extra room in the hammock by expanding length-wise. As the weight of the person is suspended vertically by whatever pleats are directly under the person, the extra fabric in the pleats prevents the fabric from sharing it’s load in angled, or diagonal fashion as is the case in a normal bridge. So, the shorter edge of each pleat holding up the weight takes most of the weight applied to the pleat. In other works, this makes keeping the pleats parallel to the ends very important. If one were to sloppily sew the pleats onto the webbing at angles this way or that off being parallel to the ends, it would make whichever side of the pleat is shortest to first bear the weight.
    Some of the stitches pulled out in three places for an inch or less when I first laid in it. Applying another length of webbing to the other side of the fabric sandwiching in the rolled fabric seam made the hammock strong enough to bear my 215 pounds while trashing around changing positions whenever I liked.
    It is very hard to make. The improvements I hoped to make on the second attempt were to get the pleats to be smaller, meaning each pleat had to bear less weight the smaller they are and also to get more material into the pleats to make more freedom in the hammock. #2 failed on the latter and about half failed on the smaller pleats. What happens is not matter how well you lay the fabric out, when you sew the pleats in the feeding foot on the sewing machine just straightens out the pleats allowing the slippery material to sort of un pleat itself as it goes through the machine. My next attempt will be to used sewing / basting glue to put in the pleats before sewing. That will stop the slipping in the machine. The way it is pleated, a half inch pleat every half inch should give you a ratio between the actual length of the fabric before and actual length of it after pleating of 3 to 1. I have only been able to get about 2 to 1 because of the slipping. Once I glue in the pleats all the way across, then sew them through and sew on the webbing I just wash it in detergent and the glue disappears.”
    New comments, forget the glue, use masking tape as seen in the photos and video.
    Happy Hangin,
    Mule
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    Predictions are risky, especially when it comes to the future.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Mule's Avatar
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    Sorry, just saw that the video is not quite processed by YouTube yet. Coming soon.
    Predictions are risky, especially when it comes to the future.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Mule's Avatar
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    What, no comments on this. I can take it. LOL Mule
    Predictions are risky, especially when it comes to the future.

  4. #4
    Senior Member angrysparrow's Avatar
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    Looks like a great project, Mule! I think a lot of us need to get off our bums and make one of these to try out for ourselves...
    “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

  5. #5

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    I really like this one Mule

    I might have been one of the first to view this one after you recently posted it and I really like the differences it has over its non-pleated brethren. I will admit that the "shoulder squeeze" is one of the things that has kept me a little away from the bridge style hammock but this design seems to address this issue. I am working on a summer quilt set up (tq and uq) right now but when that is done I think I might try my first DIY bridge...

  6. #6
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    Mule, does the pleating reduce shoulder squeeze?
    Noel V.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Mule's Avatar
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    Sure does. Remember, you still have the same cross sectional shape and the weight is borne the same way as usual, but you can make room, extra room for your limbs. That makes shoulder squeeze an issue only when laying flat on your back like a mummy. My next one, if there is one, will be pleated everywhere except from my shoulders to my butt. That will give me stretching room for arms and legs. Mule
    Predictions are risky, especially when it comes to the future.

  8. #8

    Pleats

    Hi Mule,

    I think what you have discovered with pleats is very significant. I have been experementing with bridge-hammocks for years and have about 5 (each one better than the last). I would like to start experementing with normal hammocks but with the addition of pleats.

    I like the comfort of a traditional hammock, not to mention the light weight and the simplicity. The problem has always been that curve. I wanted to ask your opinion about wether pleats may be able to reduce the curve allowing side-sleeping.

    I was think of adding pleats to the foot and head end the wood provide room for the head and shoulders and one end and the feet at the other. I have attached a quick sketch of what I mean. The plan-view shows where I would add the pleats. The elevation-view shows with broken lines how I would like the pleats to reduced the curve.
    What are you feelings? Do you think this might work? What about rations and pleats numbers and sizes?
    Any help would be great and I'll let you know my progress if I go ahead.
    Greeting from Ireland!
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  9. #9
    Senior Member Mule's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kirkpatrickdrive View Post
    Hi Mule,

    I think what you have discovered with pleats is very significant. I have been experementing with bridge-hammocks for years and have about 5 (each one better than the last). I would like to start experementing with normal hammocks but with the addition of pleats.

    I like the comfort of a traditional hammock, not to mention the light weight and the simplicity. The problem has always been that curve. I wanted to ask your opinion about wether pleats may be able to reduce the curve allowing side-sleeping.

    I was think of adding pleats to the foot and head end the wood provide room for the head and shoulders and one end and the feet at the other. I have attached a quick sketch of what I mean. The plan-view shows where I would add the pleats. The elevation-view shows with broken lines how I would like the pleats to reduced the curve.
    What are you feelings? Do you think this might work? What about rations and pleats numbers and sizes?
    Any help would be great and I'll let you know my progress if I go ahead.
    Greeting from Ireland!
    Yes, when I make my next one it will be just like that. Mule
    Predictions are risky, especially when it comes to the future.

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