Attaching Fabric to Bridge Suspension

[SteelToe]

Okay,
I'm forcing myself to get back to work on my Unnecessarily Complicated Hammock project

UCH Version 2.0

But before I can go much further, I need some advice on how to proceed. My previous hammock design used heavy nylon webbing for the suspension, and I was able to sew my (also heavy) nylon Oxford cloth fabric panels directly to it for a very strong connection that kept the fabric from bunching up and tearing.



However, I am attempting to make my new design much, much lighter. The fabric is polyester taffetta (or the CVS equivalent), and I'd prefer to make the suspension of cable. If I were to use something like Dyneema, there's no way I could simply sew some rolled up fabric onto it, so what to do?



The panels are currently attached with basting pins to garden twine--not exactly load bearing--but if I can sort out this issue, I can proceed almost directly to test hanging the rig. Anyone have any recommendations for attaching the fabric panels to cable in such a way they cannot slide or bunch up when loaded? My only thought was to sew the fabric to a short piece of webbing, and somehow tie the ends of that to the cable suspension--seems kinda iffy, though.

TCB

[linuxhack]

How about something like mule tape or the thin webbing used down the sides in bridge hammocks?

[mrmike65]

Perhaps you could sew channels to run the Dyneema through. Tie a figure-8 knot into the cable where you want to secure the fabric to, then hand stitch through the fabric into the knot. I'd love to see pics of someone in your rig when you get it done.

[hangnout]

Actually you can sew the fabric to the amsteel style dyneema but there is no room for error. I have 3 bridge hammocks with the amsteel sewn into the arc. The amsteel is a "flat" cord when brand new and will go thru most sewing machines easily. Sew it along the edge of the fabric, then roll it a couple times and put in a couple rows of stitches. If your fabric cut is straight and you lay the amsteel with no waves it will work.

BTW .5" webbing would be much easier

[SteelToe]

I'd love to see pics of someone in your rig when you get it done.

You and me, both

Actually you can sew the fabric to the amsteel style dyneema but there is no room for error.

Really? That makes things potentially a bit easier. I thought the stitches would get cut up against the fibers of the slippery Dyneema, or something. If I go with the webbing solution, I could also sew it to the cordage as well as the knots on the end (they won't weaken the cord too much, will they?). Sounds like a better plan than splicing cord/webbing in a dozen places.

If your fabric cut is straight and you lay the amsteel with no waves it will work.

Ruh-roh; my panels almost exclusively have catenary curve edges (I said it was unnecessarily complicated ). But hey, I was able to gros-grain all the edges, so tacking on some webbing for cord-channels should be cake.

I guess I'd then load down the hammock with the laundry-dummy () and slide the channels around to get the best load-distribution, then baste it in place and sew through the cordage a bunch of times. I suppose a ball-point needle would be appropriate for this?

Guess I'll chase down some Dyneema here in the next day or so. Any almost-as-good-but-slightly-heavier-and-a-lot-cheaper alternatives I should consider? I'm thinking that a slightly larger diameter cordage may actually be a good thing in this case.

TCB

[tgilmore]

how complicated would you like to make it?
if you turn channels when you hem, then sew a bit of the aforementioned mule tape or webbing ( even 1/4 " mule tape) to each end of each panel, leaving a small loop protruding from each end (6 to 8 " attachment would likely do) you could string your cable (dyneema of appropriate size) through the channels, then use a long small soft shackle (of zing-it size) for a prussic loop attached around the cable and through the web loops. This would allow infinite, yet stable adjustment, and permanently entertaining fiddle factor.

any excuse to play with hammock design and mods is a good one!

[hangnout]

You and me, both



Ruh-roh; my panels almost exclusively have catenary curve edges (I said it was unnecessarily complicated ). But hey, I was able to gros-grain all the edges, so tacking on some webbing for cord-channels should be cake.


TCB

I meant "straight" as in a perfect cat cut without any waves along the line. Good luck with the project

[ExPXGUY]

+1 to sewn channels. If the channels are built carefully, the amsteel can be stitched in place. Practice on scrap first, it is a bit of a challenge.

[SteelToe]

I'm sure this has been asked a billion times, but there appears to be no sticky on it; where's a good place to buy Amsteel? I'm gonna go ahead and plunk down for some 1/8" stuff (150ft should leave plenty to practice/play around with). Some of my edges have 1/2" bias tape binding them, so the 1/8" shouldn't be that much harder to sew through when the time comes.

Would simple tubular polyester webbing work for holding the Amsteel? I've heard Mule Tape likes to fray a bit, but would the Polyester wear well against the cable?

I'm also toying with the idea of adjustability (at least for testing) that was mentioned earlier, since I'm certain my initial guess at geometries will be off. Is the Amsteel too slippery for something like an Alpine Butterfly to grab onto, even temporarily? I could leave some extra material at the ends of the channels hanging down to tie them with--seems like that would allow for the flexibility to get all the angles right.

Thanks for the help, ya'll

TCB

[SteelToe]

For the record, it looks like Reddin Marine has the best deal on Amsteel, as well as a discount code for forum members. That extra bit of service deserves a shoutout . 40$ for 100ft of 1/8" Amsteel (black--everything must be black) shipped.

TCB
*I need to remember to not do anything stupid like try to break the stuff by hand when it shows up (I still have a scar from trying to do so with some fishing line )