DIY Insulated Hammock , Crude but effective to 10 degrees .

**riverjoe** · 03-23-2014, 22:14

Building this for those late night setups in the dark after a long trek .

I should say we hope its good to 10 degrees . I will be testing it a lot so Ill report honestly how it does . I am a cold sleeper so if its' comfy for me chances are itll be more then enough for you .

Decided to build an insulated quilt for 3 and one half seasons . Trying to get down to about 10 degrees without augmenting the bottom insulation . Start by building a table 5 foot wide by 6 foot long so I can basically measure without having to use my brain if possible .

The basic hammock is made app 10 ' 6 " by 5 ' . I add iron on patches to sew quilt loops thru ,ala WVs method from the Hammock Forum .

Start laying out quilt . Using ultressa which is extremely breathable poly ester for first layer .

Iron a 2 inch hem onto the ultressa to tuck the 1 inch insulation into . It will be then sewn onto the underside of the hammock . 2 inches of width will be added to the quilt bottom so that in doesn't compress the insulation .

Adding temporary basting stitches about every 18 inches to test the hang .

Did a prelim hang in my messy old barn with the basted stitches to see how everything lay .
The foot end stiches ripped out from being too tight so I revised the bottom seam to give a lot more slack to the underquilt .

Made some marks on the hammock while I was laying in it to maximize the slack so that the insulation would lay uncompressed .

So what I came up with was a VEE shaped bottom hem about 10 inches above the straight line I had . This creates a bag for your body more or less .

So I enlisted the help of my willing little fabric monkey and we proceeded to sew all around the perimeter of the ultressa quilt .

So now we have a one inch thick quilt but with the very breathable poly on the outside . I decided to add another inch of insulation and a ripstop calendered layer on the exterior to help block the wind .
On this quilt I decided to sew it up first with a seam and then added it to the hammock .

So here I am laying in my insulated womb . Note the bungee cords in the outer seam to pull the sides around me in a cocoon fashion .

Ok full disclosure here . I made that gray ripstop a little too tight and compressed the insulation a little tighter then I wanted it . Dont' get me wrong it was toasty warm in my 35 degree barn but I might have to cut the bottom and add an expansion patch on the gray before I add my quilt loops .

Final weight 4 pounds 2 oz. . Cost app . 20 bucks in cheap insulation from Joan . Ultressa about 7 bucks from local Amish store . Ripstop from DIY hammocks about 30 bucks I think . Bungee from the Harbor Freight cargo net ( the gift that keeps on giving ) about 10 pr cent of that so about a buck .

**Knotty** · 03-23-2014, 22:19

What's the insulation and what scheme are you using to keep it from compressing when you're in the hammock?

**riverjoe** · 03-23-2014, 22:33

Probabley your questions will be answered as I add the final pics to this long winded post . But the insulation is just cheap quilting polyester from Joann fabrics for quilting . Actually there are about 4 1/2 inch layers in the quilt
with two layers of fabric . At first I had plenty of hang on the first quilt but I got it a little tight on the second layer . As I say I may need to add smiley shaped cutout in the gray ripstop so I have at least 2 inches of slack beneath me and then I will add the quilt loops idea stolen from WV to make sure it does not hang too low .
THe reason for two layers of fabric is from my old trade school days when I remembered about the surface tension on a membrane adding R value with basically very little weight and bulk .

WV · 03-24-2014, 06:41

Great work, Joe. I like the V-shaped bottom hem. I make things that are way too complicated and try to figure out how to simplify them after the fact, but you've jumped ahead to a more workable solution. Kudos also for laying it out with basted seams and testing before sewing the final seams.

**FireInMyBones** · 03-24-2014, 10:14

Well done. You have the right idea. I'll be looking forward to the finished product.

**riverjoe** · 03-31-2014, 23:28

Well I have the patches added . Look pretty awful since it's hard to sew them on with the quilt already made .
Added a ton of slack but still kind of snug . I also added a zipper on the bottom . It's 3 feet long and I will be able to add a cold weather quilt in there pretty easily unless I put the quilt loops in .( still debateing that since the first layer seems quite snug on my back . When adding the Extreme cold weather quilt I may leave the zipper open which gives me about an 8 inch expansion joint more or less .

I have to make 3 more of these so I just ordered 45 yards from Magna Fabrics . Great price if you buy in volume .

**Zilla** · 03-31-2014, 23:54

Nothing wrong with that, nice job 2 thumbs up joe !..

**riverjoe** · 04-01-2014, 07:45

Thanks Zilla and others for the encourageing comments .

**nothermark** · 04-01-2014, 08:11

Neat way to go about it. I wonder if you are really compressing the insulation or if it is moving down as the hammock stretches. The only way you can tell without equipment is to have somebody else check while you are in the hammock or find a friend to lay in it. As I recall that stuff does not pack well because it is hard to compress so it should move away if it can.