1st hang - something not quite right, give me some feedback please?

[MiriRose]

Hey all, I recently made my first hammock using a crinkle taffeta tablecloth from tableclothsfactory.com and more or less following the instructions here: http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeHammock.html.
I was able to try it out last week when I was camping in the woods with friends at a festival. It was nice but it felt a little off compared to descriptions here and I felt like I couldn't get a flat lay, no matter how much I fussed with it. Would any of you wonderfully helpful people be willing to take a look at a photo of the hammock with me in it and give me some feedback/ideas for things to try?
Photo is in the Hammock Forums gallery, click on the thumbnail to see it larger.

In the photo, my feet are to the left and my head is to the right from the point of view of the camera. My knees are bent and sticking out to the side, the bumps towards the left-hand end of the hammock are from them and my feet.
Details:
It took a while to figure out suspending it - which trees were a reasonable distance apart, how high to wrap the tree straps, etc. I really wished I'd brought a long tape measure - heavy for sure, but peanuts compared to all the other stuff we packed in (5 loads on a game cart for just 2 of us, festival glamping can be kind of ridiculous!). I didn't, so the distances were all trial and error. I did have a way to measure hang angle, in the form of an app on my phone, and in the picture below both ends measured somewhere between 30 and 35 degrees.
The suspension was: loops made with an Ashley Bend out of 8 mm accessory cord, larksheaded around the hammock body, and clipped with climbing carabiners to ENO Atlas Straps.
I don't remember whether the hammock body in the picture is the one I made from a 60" x 126" tablecloth or the one I made from a 90" x 132" tablecloth, I was playing around with both of them.
The ends are knotted because when I tried whipping the ends with braided polyester mason cord, the hammock would look fine when I first hung it up, but after someone had lain in it for a few minutes, the whipping on one end would slip towards the end of the fabric. Yikes! Maybe I wasn't whipping the ends tightly enough, I don't know, but it was a pretty alarming experience. I didn't have a way to make a channel for a Warbonnet-style end with me, so I just tied an overhand knot in the fabric at each end.
I think the reason my butt is so close to the ground is because the ground between the two trees I was hanging from has a pronounced bump in it. Because one of the trees was downhill from the other, I wasn't able to wrap the webbing straps any higher on the trees for more clearance from the ground.

Anyway, I would very much appreciate hearing from people with more experience than me about anything that looks off or anything you suggest trying. Thanks!

[Red Cinema]

Your height? If you are quite tall then this could be an issue. . . .

In general, when I took this great way of camping up, it took a lot of fiddling--and I was fiddling with a WBBB, a known quantity with lots of online info that pertained to that hammock exactly. I suspect you will need more fiddling. And by fiddling I mean hang it about what you figure is right, then get out and change one side by two inches, and get back in. Feel the hang for a few minutes. Get out, change the other side by two inches. Back in and feel the hang again. Rinse and repeat.

I recently made two hammocks using the exact same directions. I notice that you have more material on the tree side of your gathered ends than I do. It does take strong hands and/or pliers to get that wrap to work. Once the fabric slipped out it may not have been "right" for the remainder of your trip there--not sure how much you went back and refolded/rewrapped the ends. . . .

One common trick you've read here is "hang the foot end a little higher." That works for me. (Guess what: hang it. Get in and feel the hang. Get out and move the foot end up six inches. Get back in. . . .)

That's my two cents. Unlike tenting, this hammock thing takes fiddlin'--but the payoff is "best night's sleep in the woods--ever." And even if not quite right, was it more or less comfy than being on the ground? I hope you keep fiddlin' and find the sweet spot. Of course if you have a chance to meet up with hangers I'm sure accumulated wisdom will find its way into your habits and practice, too.

[SilvrSurfr]

I sew channels in my tablecloth hammocks - whipping or knotting the ends seems like a black art to me. Too many variables and fiddling required. That looks like a 60 x 126 tablecloth hammock to me, and your method of knotting/whipping appears to have effectively shortened it from 10.5 feet to maybe 8.5 feet.

I love my tablecloth hammocks, but I doubt I'd love them at 8.5 feet.

[sargevining]

I sew channels in my tablecloth hammocks - whipping or knotting the ends seems like a black art to me. Too many variables and fiddling required. That looks like a 60 x 126 tablecloth hammock to me, and your method of knotting/whipping appears to have effectively shortened it from 10.5 feet to maybe 8.5 feet.

I love my tablecloth hammocks, but I doubt I'd love them at 8.5 feet.

Agree that most likely possibility is that the hammock is too short.

[Trail Runner]

What the others have said + the angle of the strap for your head end seems pretty steep to me.

[Boothill]

to me it looks like your head end is higher than the foot end, try reversing that and see what that does for you, i like my foot end 8-12" higher than my head end

boot

[Bubba]

As others have said, the hammock body is too short and the head end is higher than the foot end. Try and undo the knots and sew an end channel.

I found my table cloth hammock much like my parachute nylon hammocks (ENO and the like) create more of a bath tub feel vs ripstop nylon. I can get a flat lay in the table cloth but it feels flatter in my ripstop nylon hammocks.

[Charliev]

With the tablecloths cut a small slit in the hem in the ends of the tablecloth then fish a cord (mason line or similar) through them hem using wire. The hems can be small so you have to attach the cord to the wire so you can pull the cord through the hem. After you get the cord through cinch up the material as tight as you can on the cord then tie a knot in the cord. Using larks head knot attach your suspension and there you go. This will give you max length of the table cloth for a better lay.

[GregB]

Great photo tip Charliev.

Yep, length is everything. I've gone from a 9 1/2' hammock to a 10 1/2' hammock up to a 12' hammock. The 12 footer is hugely more comfortable. Also, I set my foot end a MINIMUM of 6 " higher than my head. With the 12 footer I can go as much as 12" higher on the foot end. That really makes a big difference.

Also, I'm a big fan of structural ridge lines. Tie a piece of Amsteel between the two ends and play with the length. You'll find a sweet spot where you really fit. Now make a permanent ridge line of that length so every time you hang your hammock you get exactly the same sag.

Back to the length issue. I made this video several months ago where I tested the comfort of my 3 hammocks. I hope you can find it useful.

[MiriRose]

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions, Red Cinema, SilvrSurfr, sargevining, Trail Runner, Boothill, Bubba, Charliev, and GregB. I pulled out the end knots and did the end whipping that Charliev provided pictures of. The whipping didn't slip, which was great, and the effect was pretty comfortable. I ended up with 126" from the inside of one whipping to the inside of the other whipping, working with the nominally 132" tablecloth. When I held it and the shorter tablecloth, which I'd only converted one end of to this whipping (the other end was still a knot), up next to each other I was surprised to see that the shorter one was a *lot* shorter than it, more than 2 feet shorter instead of the foot and a half or so I was expecting. Yup, think I've found the main problem! I still need to fiddle with the suspension, but at least now I won't be doing so with an ridiculously short hammock.
The good news is that even with how exceedingly less than ideal the setup was, it totally sold my wife on the idea of hammocks for camping.