How to Weave a Rope Hammock, the Main Body

Weaving hammocks is not that complicated. This article tells how to weave hammocks -the main 7 foot bed. This rope hammock also requires support ropes and wooden spreaders which are described in other articles listed below. When totally put together it measures some 13 ft. long and 5 ft. wide making a nice hammock for two.

Things You'll Need

• Hammock cord
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Tape
• Soldering Iron
• 2 three ft. sticks
• An electric drill and bits
• 2 inch Wood screws
• 2 wooden clothes pins

Instructions

1. 

   Gather the supplies necessary for making hammocks. It takes some 300 yards of rope cording to make both the main hammock bed and support ropes. Cotton cording while nice and soft is not good for an outdoor hammock as it absorbs water and will mildew. Synthetic ropes such as nylon or polypropylene are not as soft but make the best hammocks as water will not affect them. Sunlight will deteriorate these synthetics but it is what they use for the Pawley's Island Duracord Hammock one of the better known brands. Braided cords are better than twisted and the rope should be easy to tie in knots that will stay tied and not slip. 5/16 inch thick, no. 40, braided polyester is the best bet and can be found in many colors on several internet sites. A large shuttle cock to wind the cording on, is necessary to make it easy to work with while weaving. The shuttle needs to be about 17 to 24 inches long and 4 to 5 inches wide in order to hold around 100 yards of rope at a time. Read the article explaining how to make a hammock weaving shuttle listed under Resources below by following the link. Tools needed for making a rope hammock include: measuring tape, a soldering iron (or some other way to melt the rope ends), scissors, a drill with bits, screws, and paper tape.

2. 

   Set up the hammock weaving frame in the area where the weaving will be done. Look for two porch columns or poles at least 80 inches apart, that screws can be placed in. The two wooden dowels or broom sticks, will be fastened to the columns so the tops, which are angled inward, are 74 to 76 inches apart and are about 4 1/2 ft. high. Pre-drill holes through the sticks for the screws before fastening them to the columns or they will split. Fasten them securely as they will be supporting the weight of all the cording. The tops are angled inward so the loops will not slip off, and there should be about 20 inches of free space on either side of the columns. Tape a wooden clothes pin on the side of each stick at the top. Only tape one side of the clothes pin to the stick so it can be opened to hold a rope securely. Look at the diagram of what the hammock weaving frame set up should look like. Measure from the top of the left stick to the top to the right stick then measure from that point down the right column for a total of 86 inches from the top of the left stick and make a good mark at that point. Do the same measuring from the right stick and making a mark on the left column at the 86 inch point. For a alternate hammock weaving frame read the article explaining how to build a nice light weight weaving frame that is portable, "How to make a hammock weaving stand". It is listed under resources and related articles.

3. 

   Fill the shuttle with the hammock cording. The cut end of the braided polyester will fray and come unbraided unless the ends are melted. Be careful as the melted material will badly burn fingers if handled too soon. When cutting the cord, tape around it first with the paper tape, cut across the middle of the tape, and then melt the two cut ends. Always tie a hard knot about two inches from the end of the cord as a safeguard to keep other knots from coming loose. Place the end knot in the groove of the shuttle, and put the hank of cording in a bucket as it is unwound so it will not roll all over the floor. Hold the shuttle over the bucket and wind the cording onto it by flipping it end over end. Don't wind by using a hand to wind the cord around the shuttle as that will cause it to twist each time around and will cause problems later. Fill the shuttle with at least 200 to 300 ft. of cording. It will be quite bulky but workable as you make a hammock.

4. 

   Make the starting chain. The first and last rows of rope hammocks will be chains of loops some 80 inches long. To start this chain make a loop by tying a sailor's knot. For the sailor's knot cross the cord over itself about eight inches from the end forming a loop, pass the cord end back up this loop to form another loop under the first. Pass the cord end around the rope that is sticking up out of the first loop and then pass it back down into the first loop. Hold the bottom loop open to keep it around 2 inches wide and pull the knot tight. Look at the picture to see how to tie this knot. Practice this sailor's knot till you to get the hang of it. A good tight knot with the right sized loop that won't slip close is what is needed. Now pull the cord up through the 2 inch loop to make another loop and keep repeating the process of pulling loops up through one another until there is a chain some 80 inches long. Mark the distance on the floor to be able to just lay the chain out to check its length. All the loops need to be the same size. Once the chain is long enough, cut off the cord about a foot out from the last loop, melt the end and tie a hard knot. Wrap the end around the second loop back from the last and then stick it back through the second loop then through the last loop and pull it tight. Make the other chain the same as the first, but don't worry if the number of loops in each are not equal.

5. 

   Start the hammock weaving. Hang one of the chains over the two sticks by its end loops. Be sure the chain is not twisted and notice that it has two different sides, a single cord side and a double cord side. The single side, which look like a row of bumps should be facing up. Measure out about ten ft. of cord from the shuttle, and pass it down through the first free loop of the chain next to the right side stick. Pass the cord end through the single cord side of the loop and then thread it through chain loops at sixteen other places going through the single cord side of each loop. It may take several tries to get sixteen passes that are evenly spaced. The cord should be attached to the chain at 17 places and when certain that it is, make a sailor's knot at the end of the cord and slip it over the left stick, just above the chain's loop. Make any tie on loops going on the sticks loose enough to get a finger between the cord and the stick. Mark the left side column with an upward facing arrow and the right side column with a downward facing one. These are to help remember which way to stick the cord through the loops when making each row.

6. 

   Make the woven hammock bed. Pull the shuttle end of the cord so it is stretched tight from the left stick to the right stick, but not so tight that the left stick is strained to breaking. The rope should be just taut. While holding it with one hand at the top of the right stick, use the other hand to measure out its length to the 86 inch mark on the column. Hold the cord at the 86 inch mark and take this point on it back up to the clothes pin on the right stick and stick the cord into the pin to secure it. This is how to keep the length of each row of cord equal. With each row measure out to the 86 inch marks from the top of the sticks and secure the measured length of cord in the clothes pin until coming back to that side with the next row. Pass the shuttle behind the stick and unwrap about 7 ft. of cord. Look at the arrow on the right column and see that it points down. Stick the shuttle down into each of the loops that were just made for the first row. Open the first loop using the slack in the cord and pass the shuttle down through that loop and back up to then go down through the next loop. Repeat all the way across for 16 passes down the loops and then stretch the cord across the top and measure out to the 86 inch mark. Secure the cord in the clothes pin on the left stick at its 86 inch point, pass the shuttle behind the stick, and then look at the left column. The arrow points up so make the next row by passing the shuttle up through the previous row of loops. Until well practiced at making rows, check each loop to be sure it is part of the previous row by pulling it up to see if a four cornered shape is formed without any other loose rope going through it. Start each pass after the first set of crossed ropes on each side and keep a count of the passes to be sure there are always 16 in each row. When at the end of a row where the clothes pin already has a rope in it, drop that rope around the back of the stick and replace it with the next measured length of rope. The hardest part will be the beginning because of learning the process and because the shuttle will be so full of cord. It gets easier as it goes along and as the weaving shuttle gets to a manageable size.

7. 

   When the shuttle runs out of cord go back to last complete row and tie it off to the stick by making another sailor's knot. Don't make any knots in the bed of the hammock. Reload the shuttle and tie the next row on this same stick with another sailor's knot. These two loops, the tie off and tie on, will be counted together as one loop on the stick. Continue weaving rows until there are 41 loops on each stick counting the chain loops, and any tie off/tie on loops as a single loop. Don't count the begining tie on loop on the left side stick, because the tie off loop should be made on the right side after the other chain is attached. After measuring out and securing this last row at the left side, place the other 80 inch chain on the sticks making sure it is not twisted and having it with the single strand side down. Now take enough cord off the shuttle to make the last 86 inch row plus about 2 ft. for tying, cut it off, melt the end and tie a hard knot in it. Go around the back of the left stick and through the first free loop of the chain, then go up through the first loop of the hammock body. Continue making passes, spaced out across the chain and through hammock loops till there are 16 evenly spaced joinings between the chain and the hammock, ending at the right side. Make the 17th pass through the last free chain loop, measure the rope out to 86 inches and tie it off at that point below the chain loop. To tie it off under the chain loop which is already on the stick, put the bottom loop of the sailor's knot around the stick as the knot is tied. Now there should be 43 loops on each stick counting all the loops and remembering to count any two tie off/tie on loops as one loop.

8. The woven hammock bed is now finished. To complete the hammock, two sets of braided support ropes are needed. Making these support ropes and connecting them to the main hammock bed are described in another article listed below. These support ropes will connect the main hammock bed to wooden spreaders that hold the hammock open. Before taking the rope hammock bed down from the frame, pass a short section of rope down each stick through the loops and tie its ends together to keep the loops together. After doing this the sticks can be taken down with the loops left on them to move the hammock bed. Be careful to not tangle the rope hammock. There is also an article on how to make wooden hammock spreaders for completing your heavy duty hammock. Look in the resources list to find links to these articles. Please rate this article and any others you check out, thank you.
   All contents and photos copyrighted by Aupoet

Tips & Warnings

• Hammocks are not safe around young children. They can get tangled in them, fall out of them, and get ropes around their necks.