Hi folks,
Long time follower of the forums, but first time posting a new thread, and glad to have a little something to contribute back. My thanks to GrizzlyAdams, rreevestmmk, Hangnout, and Pipsissewa, & everyone else for their posts, inspiration and advice.
I had been looking to make the jump from my old trusty Hennessy to a bridge hammock for a while now. While researching, I came across Hangnout's zipperless bugnet thread, and was intrigued by the ease of getting in and out, but wasn't sure how it might be adapted to a bridge hammock. Then, I came across Pipsissewa's TED Bugnet thread, and that got me thinking. Then I realized that my tarp with the "doors" closed had the same 3D shape as I was looking for, and that a simple tube of net, attached in a rectangle at the hammock edge and pulled flat at the top would form that shape. This was my first sewing project, but I think it came out not too bad:
So basically, my first step was to modify a basic GrizzBridge (thanks Grizz!) by taking off the gathered endcaps and converting it to the same style as in Grizz's instructional videos here and here, including the triangles for the corners. This allowed me to install a zipper, which I wanted so I could remove the bugnet for permethrin treatment, etc.
Next, I cut a rectangle of no-see-um long enough to cover the circumference of the hammock. I made it tall, as I like to be able to sit up comfortably in the hammock, but I probably could have made it shorter and have it still be fine. I did not make curved cuts to match the bridge curves, as I thought it might be an additional hassle, and that it might not make a big difference (which turned out to be the case, phew!). I then made two cord channels in the top for shock cord, and sewed the net to the zipper, and joined the bugnet using a flat-felled seam to make a tube. Edges were bias taped using organza ribbon, as per rreevestmmk's method.
Not sure if those folks making top entry bugnets for gathered-end hammocks have had this problem, but soon noticed that after pulling down on the net to get in and out, the net started to slide toward the middle and bunch up, which made the sides loose. This was an easy fix though, and I added a couple of tie-out loops and a bit of shock cord to maintain tension on the net itself. They have a little more slack than the main shock cords, just enough tension to keep the net taut.
Last, I made a top cap similar to rreevestmmk's here, but open on two sides like Pipsissewa's. Unlike in my first pictures above, I ended up putting the top cap directly on the shock cords, which let everything move with the hammock when it settles. I may hang the ridgeline a little higher and hang my my tarp from it.
Or I might try to figure out how to bury the ridgeline in the whoopie sling suspension.
Any feedback or advice appreciated! Hope to have a field report soon. Thanks everyone!
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Originally Posted by DemostiX
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