My daughter is three and I've already got her swinging free in her own hammock. Many moons ago I made her a GE hammock that was smaller and made from some random piece of fabric I had at home.


Daughters hammock by pappy2012, on Flickr

Fast forward to this current moon and I've updated my GE porch hammock to include mini-spreader bars. I wanted to do the same for her and at the same time add a bed sheet layer to the hammock that is more pleasant against the skin.


IMG_0565 by pappy2012, on Flickr

I made my hammock the width I wanted by cutting a piece of fabric in half and sewing them along the edge of the main fabric piece. It ended up being to wide so instead of cutting it off I just shortened the channels and left the fabric hanging. This ended up being really nice because it was like having permanent small blankets on each side to wrap up in when I nap or when its a bit chilly out.

For my daughters hammock I wanted to include the blanket feature. but instead of small ones on each end I sewed the layers together so all the extra fabric was on one side.


IMG_0567 by pappy2012, on Flickr

I sewed on tie outs so the blanket can be gathered when not needed.


IMG_0566 by pappy2012, on Flickr

For the mini-bars I used endcaps I made for a bridge hammock and bamboo to make the spreader bars. I didn't have any amsteel around so I used 550 cord. A thirty pound girl barely makes the 550 cord stretch so I wont be changing the rope anytime soon.


IMG_0564 by pappy2012, on Flickr


IMG_0563 by pappy2012, on Flickr

This a porch and park hammock so weight isn't much of an issue. Having the mini-bars for a short, thick, and multiple layers of fabric hammock really makes it comfortable and I would say an essential feature. The blanket/sheet mod is really convenient and I think from this point on if I make a lounging hammock that I will include the this feature. This isn't the typical type of hammock on the forums but I thought it might be useful for those who also like to have a lounging hammock at home.