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Mine has been punctured, torn, stretched, modified.

The last time I went to use it in bad weather, it leaked badly. I was on a campsite, so I just bought the biggest can of Fabsil they had, and...

Ive been using the same Quechua tarp for ten years. It has a lot of repairs and has been reproofed a couple of times, but it's still the one that stays with me.

For the £15 I paid, it doesn't owe...

Look for something old, Singer or Pfaff.

Singer 15-91, 99 or the wonderful 201k. Pfaff 230 or 260 if you REALLY need zigzag.

My 1" conduit with threaded joint held me, but didn't look very nice, so I bought a foot long 3/4" piece of aluminum. It's held in one side by a pop rivet and also acts as a guide for the threaded...

I gave up with a walking foot because it took too much hassle to set up for the varying materials I sew.

I now use a roller foot.

Parachutes and hot air balloons use straight stitch, & so should you!

The only sound reason I have seen for a zig zag stitch is on the spine of Rokakku fighting kites. As the likelihood of...

I've made a couple of loops using aircraft lockwire. One end has a loop, then it is twisted back to a dowel handle for pulling.

Different lengths for different jobs.

I used snaps on my last TQ, never again! I'll sew it next time.

The only worry I have with cams is the fact that they sometimes 'walk'. Many times, while belaying, I've seen them start to move with the movement of the rope, a restless night in a hammock, with a...

I'm a side sleeper, but not in a hammock.

In a bed, or on a mat, I can't stay on my back for more than a minute, in a hammock, I can do eight hours on my back, and still consider it my best...

It won't make any difference to the way it sews. I personally prefer the kneebar.

I've just had a look at the 201's on eBay. If it's the one I've found, that is a bit more than I paid for mine, but it does seem to be the cheapest there. Mind you, mine is a kneebar rather than...

Parachutes and balloons use straight stitch, so if it's ok for them, it's ok for most other applications.

Zig zag has its place, for appliqué, or structural reasons on fighting kites, but you...

I'm trying to get She Who Must Be Obeyed to overnight in a hammock. I regularly use mine with a Turtledog stand on various campsites.

We have a new tent, a Coleman Octagon 8. This tent will be...

Close! I built a display kite of his wife, I'm her keeper. Hence the name.

My wife is used to camping in a tent, even enjoys it. She also likes lying in my hammock, but has never spent the night in it.

The thought of sleeping outside is putting her off. I either have to...

I took mine off, but decided it would be better loose. I hemmed the cut edge and rethreaded the draw cord to make a warm hat.

It looks stupid, bit it's warm :-)

On my TW XL, I stitched the open side shut after deciding I wouldn't use a mat. I've recently unpicked that and added five 2" Velcro strips so I can choose whether to use a pad.

A couple of...

And i get to hear the inventor on the radio most lunchtimes :-)

Because I camp with tent dwellers (I know, sorry ), and the lack of camp grounds in this country, I have to tread carefully on commercial campsites.

A lot of them just wouldn't allow hammocks, but...

The only reason I made a top quilt is because using my down bag as a quilt was too warm!

TW XL 3m hammock. 2.59m SRL. 86.3%

I currently use a TW XL 3m x 1.8m, with a structural ridge line. I'm happy with it, but after the spider incident, I need an integral bug net.

The DD looks good, but I'm worried about fitting a...

I agree. Open out your sleeping bag and use it as a quilt. Buy a UQ. The biggest problem in a hammock is Cold Butt Syndrome, so get it sorted.

Forget what I said above, having the eyebolts loose in the poles is a PITA. The poles seem to have a mind of their own, you get one in, then the other goes walkabout.

What you really need is a...

My legs can't be short, they reach the ground when I walk!

As well as using my prussik handles, I tend to have to rock a couple of times before launching myself at the ground. The dynamic...

I have a couple of prussik handles on the ridge line to pull on.

I built a kite called Morticia, 43ft tall. I'm her keeper.

Mine is about 11.5 ft and does flex a bit. The threaded joint in the middle has been boosted by a 2ft ally tube inside

I've just got the eye bolts to convert the tops of my tripod poles. 10mm eye bolts with 2 nuts tight up to the eye and a nylon nut on the other end.

I marked how deep the nuts would go into the...

Looking at your drawing, y equal to x would seem better than lowering the guy lines. Load the pole along its length, with as little bending force as possible.

I used a couple of 2" tree stakes...

If I were to hammock that high, I would be wearing a harness at all times and be clipped into a fall arrest system. I would abseil down and jumar up.

Or find a better place to hang!

Bushcraftstore in the UK sell a 550 para cord with a reflective trace. It has a very narrow reflective angle. Walking back to site last year, my wife couldn't see it, I was next to her with a head...

Bushcraftstore in the UK sell a 550 para cord with a reflective trace. It has a very narrow reflective angle. Walking back to site last year, my wife couldn't see it, I was next to her with a head...

Make sure the whoopie is around the knot and it should be fine. I use 6mm alloy tube, or tent pegs!

My lines are black, with a reflective tracer. The angle of reflection is so narrow, of two people stood together, only the person with a head torch will see them.

My 1" galvanized steel flexes, I wouldn't use PVC. Alloy tube of about 2" would be my limit.

As a straight force, they'll be fine, but reality doesn't work straight. Shock loading will take the force much closer to the limits.

Being a bit larger, I would share the load across two, but...

That advert does state that they are not strong enough for climbing, only 4kn.

My tarp is slightly shorter than my ridge pole, so I have a length of para cord with a loop at one end and the same, but with bungee cord at the other. The tarp then sits over the ridge pole, but it...

I also detach my guy lines. It saves tangling when carrying the tarp and it means I've always got to right guy line for the job.

If I'm using a pole, the guy line clove hitches to the pole through...

I only hang outside, a modern house interior wall wouldn't take kindly, nor would my wife!

I don't really think of indoors & outdoors hammocks. I expect that even indoors you would need an...

Welcome IW

We do have a bit of a problem with supply over here, but there is some good gear about. I've got a Hornet from TW hammocks.

Finding that sweet spot for a comfortable night takes a...

I have a 1m length of 6mm aluminium tube & cut from that.

I noticed tonight that my iPad case has a hanging loop on the back.

Typing this while relaxing in the garden, iPad suspended from the ridge line :-)

That was what Spike often did!

All the machines I've got can handle two layers of webbing, two layers of Dacron ribbon and three layers of ripstop in one go.

Do it slowly and use a lube like Sewers Aid. If it's getting a bit...

I wish I still had my treadle. It was a Singer 99, but it was starting to get a few problems. At 102 years old, i sold it on. It's probably some ornament now. The last job it did was a 43' long kite...

But the tension system is the best bit, the more weight, the tighter the tripod. The brackets just make it easier to get a consistent setup when travelling.

Older the better, maybe a treadle rather than electric, it gives better control.

Singer 99, Singer 201 or Pfaff 260 have always been my favourite machines.

The 99 is a good old workhorse,...