I found HF about two weeks ago, and my wife already thinks I've lost the few marbles I had left.
Within a day of finding HF I had ordered 15 yd of Silnylon and was developing a grand plan for making my own backpacking shelter hammock.
While waiting for the sil to arrive (funny, I just said "sil"... I didn't know what Silicon impregnated ripstop nylon was 2 weeks ago), I got impatient.
I tore apart the carrying bag from an old pop-up awning, and the sides of the kids old inflatable water slide that no longer holds enough air to be useful.
With this recycled fabric, and a few other recycled parts scrounged around the house, I made a GVP G4 Scout backpack for my son. We are leaving in a couple of hours for a Cub Scout camping trip, and I wanted to have it done in time for him to take it.
I was able to finish the body, straps, mesh pockets (made from an old pair of compression shorts) in one extended sitting (stopped a bit past 4am) and just finished the top section last night with the aforementioned sil, which finally arrived yesterday. Pics attached, but without the Lemon yellow sil drawstring collar on top. The sil hadn't arrive yet when I took these pics. No pics of that yet. Pics are of the blue and green pack beside my black laptop backpack for size comparison.
It actually turned out way better than I had expected.
Tuesday night I bought a crazy leopard print fabric from the $0.95/yd rack at the local Hancock Fabric to make the bodies of 2 Speer types (although with HC4U's HH type fold and a fold-over whip) for my girls (5,6), a green HH type for my son (8), and blue-green a WBBB type for me. The green and blue-green are polyester and a nylon-polyester blend, but I can't remember which is which. I'll figure out what to make for my wife after I see how all the others turn out, and which she likes best.
I did the Speers first, and didn't sew anything. Wanted to make sure the whipping worked, the fabric held, the length (starting dimensions: 9ft x 5ft. lost ~1ft for whipping) was right for the girls, etc before I sewed anything. Everything went great so I'll take these apart and hem the edges soon.
A pic of the hemmed, but whipped version attached, as well as a close up of the fabric. My girls LOVE it!
For the HH I basically of followed HC4U's tutorial, but I folded over the folded ends before whipping. Not sure if I like the fold-over whip. Haven't figured out where I want the tie outs, or cut the bug netting, or ordered zipper(s) yet. This one is for my son. At 11ft x 5ft it feels snug for me (I am 6'4", ~195Lb), but it is huge for him. I'll play with the tie out position with binder clips this weekend to see where he likes them.
Last night I hemmed the edges of the WWBB body, with channels on the ends for the whipping line, and used the ridgeline loops ala HC4U's HH tutorial. I'll play with it this weekend to get a feel for the length. Starting dimensions 12'8" x 60". Likely will end up trimming some off. Once the length is settled I'll add the side panels, footbox, and tie outs. The bug netting will come last, after everything else is settled.
So, congratulations!
The awesome environment, free sharing of information, and general enthusiasm on HF has combined with my ADHD and OCD to create a gear making monster! )
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