Ripped!

[Debi Jaytee]

I made my boyfriend a tablecloth hammock for Christmas. He hasn't used it a whole lot, but when he did, he said it felt "funny." So I hooked it up in my stand and spent a night in it and, yeah, it felt kinda cockeyed, way too much fabric on one side. So I figured I must have whipped the ends wrong or something and took it apart to fix it. I found that the taffeta was ripped! Not on the seam I'd sewn or near the whipping (I used the zip tie method) but the fabric itself had torn about an inch and a half down from the zip tie. I immediately checked the other hammocks I'd made that I still have (four in total) and they were all fine. My main hammock I've been sleeping in for six to eight months and no sign of wear. Has anyone else had this happen? Did I get a bunk tablecloth? I sure am glad I found it before he went crashing onto the floor, he's already had one hip replaced, I'd feel horrible if I was the cause of him needing the other one replaced!

[gmcttr]

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...th-rip-failure

[SilvrSurfr]

I have five or six tablecloth hammocks and these tales of spontaneous destruction have me checking the heck out of them. I'd suspect this is a quality control issue. Minor fabric flaws that would likely be unnoticeable in a tablecloth are revealed when used as a weight supporting structure. Still, most of the stories I've read lately seem to put the tear just around where you're describing.

I do the sewn-channel method: 1.5 inches rolled over and triple stitched with an Amsteel 7/64" continuous loop through the channel to gather it. I never even considered zip ties or other gathering/whipping methods because they seemed a) not repeatable; and b) put too much stress on the fabric.

There's also the possibility you are just using too many stitches per inch. I usually use 7 to 9 per inch.

[Debi Jaytee]

Thanks, gmcttr, that does look quite similar to what happened. I'll make him a new one and scrap the old...maybe make a new kittykat hammock now that I've refined my skills a bit, one of them might actually get in it without being forced

[gmcttr]

...one of them might actually get in it without being forced

Just tell them not to get in the kitty hammock and I'm sure they will use it all the time.