New DIY Bridge Hammock

**egrant5329** · 09-22-2012, 16:34

Here are the basic dimensions. I allowed for a little more length than 36" (38") because I wasn't sure at the time how I would sew the ends up.

Keep in mind that I am 68" tall so you would need to adjust the design based on your height.

- I cut the material to length and folded the it in half marking the 22" and 25" heights at the ends. I then placed my 7.5" deep x 48" long cat curve and pinned it down. Then I cut it out.

-I unfolded it and then sewed the 3/8" polyester webbing down the edges. Leave extra webbing at the ends to sew your triangle ends together and make an area to attach your whoopee slings. I rolled each edge two more times sewing them on each fold (just like in Grizz's videos). This is a little tricky because you want to follow the shape and remember where the cat curve starts and ends. I also think the webbing Grizz uses is better because it stretches less.

- Then I took 4 x8" pieces of webbing and sewed each down to the cat curve so that I could just slip the spreader bar tip in.

-I tied the ends and hung the hammock to make sure it all aligns like it should. Finishing the ends is very hard to describe. I sewed the material at the angle I wanted, turned it inside out and sewed it again (like Grizz does on his end Caps).

- Not having seen the side pockets, I guessed how to do them. I cut them out, rolled a hem on the top edge of the pockets and sewed them up, then sewed the inside edge of the pocket to the cat curve. Note: If I were doing it again when I sewed the pocket together, I would sew it so the outside of the pocket is taller than the inside to attach the bug net.

Ed

**egrant5329** · 09-22-2012, 16:52

Yep it is simple in concept, but the devil is in the details.

One of the irritating things about DIY is that as you figure things out you see things that you can do better next time That's why this is bridge 8. There are quite a few things I would tweek slightly next time, but I'll live with this one.

**tammons** · 09-22-2012, 17:34

So I want to build a double layer 1 oz and I am 6'-3". Do I make the 48" section longer and the cat cut deeper ??

Also cant figure out where the opening would be to slip in the pad.

**egrant5329** · 09-22-2012, 17:58

I would make the 48" section longer and keep the 7.5" cat cut. I believe the ridge runner uses a 7" cat cut. If you increase the cat cut the hammock gets very narrow in the center.

For the dual layer I, took a piece of 1.1 and made it 48+8+8=64" long and 1/2" more narrow than the main body of the hammock. I hemmed the two ends and cut the cat curves. Then I sewed it to the main body before I rolled the sides in the webbing (don't sew the hems at the head and foot down to the body just the sides).

The second layer is on the inside of the hammock and the pad just slides in under it from the head end.
I made it extend beyond the bars because I didn't know if it would pull toward the center of the hammock as this was my first dual layer. I didn't make the entire hammock dual layer because I didn't want the weight.

If you have never made a hammock, I would recommend doing a Grizz bridge first and following his videos. Perhaps using a flatter lay like my header and footer ratios. There are a lot of skills and insights that I picked up when I did my first one.

I find making the bodies of hammocks easy, but the bug nets drive me crazy.

Good luck and post some pics when it's done!

**egrant5329** · 09-22-2012, 18:02

This pic shows the end of the 2nd layer which is where I slide the pad in.

**tammons** · 09-22-2012, 18:34

Is the head end the one noted at 25" ??
So foot end 22" ??

**egrant5329** · 09-22-2012, 19:00

Those measurements are with the material folded in half width wise. The foot is the 25 and the head is 22. Double the number, subtract the material that gets rolled in the nylon and divide that by the spreader bar width to get your ratio.
Footer ((25x2)-(3/8*4))/36=1.35

Header ((22x2)-(3/8*4))/36=1.18

I rounded my measurements from my initial ratios for cutting purposes.