Yesterday I told you about how I sewed a hammock for my backyard by riffing on instructions from the Getaway issue of ReadyMade magazine. If you want to get the exact instructions from the magazine, head down to your local bookstore and pick up a copy. In fact, I urge you to do so, as there are a ton of other cool Summer projects that will keep you occupied and crafting this month.
Want to get comfy in your own hammock? Then read more.
What You'll Need
- Sewing machine
- Thread
- Queen- or king-sized sheet or duvet cover
- Rope for hanging hammock
How To Do It
- Fold your sheet or duvet cover in half lengthwise, pin the edges, and sew. I only sewed the three open edges, leaving the folded side loose.
- Now, after you've finished sewing, fold the top and bottom edge down about four inches. Pin, then sew each pinned edge, leaving the sides open. The sides are where you'll thread the rope through to hang the hammock
- Sew this pinned edge a lot. After all, it has to support your weight in the hammock. I sewed it eight times on each side.
- Cut your rope so you have about five feet on each side (or more, depending how long you need it to be to hang from your tree/deck/porch). Scoot the rope through the ends that you've just sewn
- Tie each end to a sturdy object, such as a tree or a beam on your deck or porch. Knots that I recommend are double overhand stopper knot, water knots, and figure eight follow throughs. Gingerly test the strength of your knots and hammock. After you've determined the strength, kick back.
- Grab a book and a lemonade, and enjoy the afternoon!
G Star
Mulberry
Active Wear
Nice job.
1I would use interfacing and replace regular thread with fishing line just to make sure that the sewing will be secure and can hold the body weight.
Super cool! Our hammock just dry rotted in the garage (it was old tho) and this would be super easy to do.
2I'm waaaayyy to heavy to trust this. I don't have two trees either. I want to get a free standing hammock for my yard.
3My brother built me a stand out of metal (he's a welder) to hold up my old dry rotted hammock (before it was dry-rotted) and it works perfectly. I'm thinking I can affix it to the same stand somehow. I, too, was concerned I'd be too heavy for this Jaime. Have a large friend lay on it first to see.
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