Just hanging around...

I have a new toy. *grin* Well, not really a toy. But it is my newest object, and ranks up there in favorites.

I have my own hammock. Really, I made my own hammock.

I've wanted a hammock for quite some time now. Several months ago, I did research into different types of hammocks, but I wasn't ready to shell out that type of money. I'd rather be saving for a kayak.

Then, just a few days ago, I got an email from REI highlighting some cool things. One in particular caught my attention, for a site called Outside Mom. I'm not a mom, but someday I'd like to be, and I'd really like to be an outside mom myself. The next thing that caught my eye (a nod to those of you who know this really, really awesome joke) was an article entitled, "Make Your Own Hammock." Needless to say, I was hooked. And completely surprised at how easy it was.

Supplies:
1 twin-sized sheet
2-3 feet webbing for each side of hammock
Sewing machine

Basically, you sew the edges on the two shorter sides over to make a little "pocket." Then you thread the webbing through and tie a knot. Repeat on the other side.

There's another version that doesn't require any sewing, but you can check it out here if you'd like.

Lindsey, the author at Outside Mom, suggested using a yardstick or a flyswatter to thread the webbing through. You tape the webbing to the end of the yardstick and then push it through. But I didn't have either. So... I used my bow.

 Then you tape the webbing to the bow. Scotch tape worked quite well. And then you push it all through the little pocket!

This is one end with the webbing through and tied off nicely. An ordinary knot will do; just take the two sides, hold them flat, and then carry both of them through the knot. Neat and secure (at least in the twenty-four hours mine has been tied as such).

 This is the completed hammock, with both ends threaded and tied. All that was left was to hang it!

Note: I made this one out of what I believe is Jersey cotton. It's very stretchy and soft. The soft part is great, but you have to keep in mind that the hammock gives quite a bit when you hang it. I'd like to try it with a plain cotton sheet, and perhaps with a folded in half king sized cotton sheet.

 The only thing that Lindsey did not mention in her article on how to make one of these nifty hammocks, was how to attach it to a tree. In the first picture of this post, I have attached it under my loft bed using two carabiners and two pieces of webbing 5+ feet long.

This is the obligatory Chaco picture, but it also shows (kinda) how I tied the hammock to the tree. Basically I took the webbing (the orange piece and the yellow one I used for the other side were both over ten feet, but they really didn't need to be that long), folded it in half, and then wrapped it around the tree. I threaded the ends of the webbing through the loop and tightened it against the tree so that it would not slip. Then I made a simple double knot (also known as a figure eight), keeping a loop on the other side. It was through this loop that I clipped the carabiner. There's probably a more secure way of doing it, but this way worked just fine for me, and it also held my dad up when he tried it.

See? It holds up quite well! (I even slept in it last night)

I took the hammock outside and found two nice trees to attach it to, and thus spent the afternoon in lovely 80-degree weather with some books from the library and my water bottle (celebrating the finish of my first summer class!). There was even a well-placed smaller tree on the side that I could push with my foot in order to make myself rock. When I finally got down to fetch my laptop to do some online work, I found myself a bit unsteady, as if I had been on a boat! I had to laugh at myself a bit.

That's all for now! Shalom, everyone. I'm going to enjoy my hammock.