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Stretch-Side Hammock
A while back WV posted about making the sides of a hammock less floppy using a bungee cord. I haven't seen his method but was inspired to experiment with the idea.
One of the complaints people have with the gathered end hammock (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=15205) is that the sides are loose and your top quilt, pillow, etc. can easily fall out of the hammock. On one of my gathered ends I added a foot box triangle on one side. It shortened that side and helped keep things in place but limited the hammock to entry and exit only from the opposite side. Sitting on the side w. the foot box risks tearing the stitching and material.
Bungees to the rescue!
An existing gathered end hammock can now be easily modified to become what I'm calling a "stretch-side hammock". The stretch-side tensions the edges, keeps your gear in place and allows you to enter/exit from either side.
The basic idea is to have an adjustable bungee cord run through a 2' section of the hammock's side hem, on both sides of the hammock, at about where a foot box would normally be.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...h-side_mod.png
Using grosgrain ribbon create two attachment tabs.
The first tab is the one closest to the end (end gather is to the right). Rather than create a bulky knot I used whipping to create a loop in the bungee.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...7/p1000822.jpg
The second tab is a little more than two feet further into the hammock. At this end the bungee goes through a cord lock so you can tension it. A simpler approach is to figure out the length you need and whip an eye on this side as well.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...7/p1000823.jpg
Use a soldering iron or heated pin to burn holes in them hem to feed the bungee through.
Here's the whole two foot section untensioned...
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...7/p1000819.jpg
...and tensioned.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...7/p1000824.jpg
This is my first go at the idea and I'd love to hear about other ways to do it or improve on what's shown here.
Thanks again to WV for coming up with the idea.
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Hey Knotty,
That is a good looking fix to the floppy side problem. Very neat work on the improvement.
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Very Nice...
How do you like the result...? Does it do what you hoped....
...also, how would affect a zippered design...
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Thanks guys. So far it seems to do exactly what I hoped it would...eliminates floppy sides but you can still sit on the edge.
DD - I think with some creativity you could apply it to a gathered end that had a zippered bug net. Hopefully someone will try.
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Great work Knotty! It doesn't even look like an after thought.
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Just found myself a new project for this weekend. Thanks for posting this.
Fronkey
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Well done, Knotty! You just allowed me to scratch one item off my "potential projects" list. :D I like the way you're attaching the bungees to the hammock. I've hand-sewn bungees in similar applications (i. e. - bungee in a tube of fabric), and it's a pain pushing a needle through the elastic core - tough stuff.
We can take the photos to prove it works at MAHHA. Of course, I mean pictures of someone lying in the hammock with the side taut and then sitting in it with the side stretched. :lol:
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When I read your description, before seeing the pictures, I had a thought. Make the hammock body in three pieces, like an ENO Doublenest(wide center with a narrow strip on each side), but make the side pieces out of a stretchy fabric.
If you sewed them together with the stretchy fabric extended, the hammock would gather on the sides until it was loaded, then it could give, and the stretch would keep the sides tight.
I'm not sure I explained that very well...:confused:
Jerry
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very nice idea Knotty,..
the section where you added the shock cord looks like it only runs the length from your shoulders to your thigh, is this correct? does the shock cord add any pressure to your sides?