In previous posts I gave an overview of camping hammocks and a very high level look at making your own DIY hammock. 

Here is an example of what a reasonably unskilled, but persistent person can do with some common materials and a very basic Thread Injector (aka “sewing machine”). 

Why go through all this trouble when I could just order one pre-made? 

A few reasons:

To get features that aren’t readily available “off the shelf”

To get the color-scheme I wanted

For fun

Homemade camping hammock in my home office

This mosquito net camping hammock is a loose copy of the Warbonnet Outdoors Blackbird design.  I created it having never actually seen a real Blackbird in person, so there are more than a handful of things that differ from the original.  At the end of this post I’ll link a discussion thread that has a pretty good plan for making this hammock.  I wish I had found the plan prior to starting this project. 

Features of this hammock:

I am 6’4″ tall, so I needed a long hammock.  This one is slightly longer than a real BlackBird

Extra large shelf.  A brilliant feature of the Blackbird hammock is a large flap that hang off of the non-entry side of the hammock.  The mosquito netting covers this flap, making a shelf that can be used to store books, clothes, etc.  I made this shelf HUGE since I get cold easy and wanted room to stash extra warm clothes in case I need them during the night. 

huge shelf is pulled out by the side tie-outs

Lots of pockets and storage options.  I added a ridgeline organizer that holds my phone, a water bottle, flashlight, glasses, various weaponry, etc.  Also included side pockets near the head end of the hammock, and small pockets at the top of the shelf. 

small items pocket on shelf

Homemade ripstop mesh ridgeline organizer

ripstop mesh pockets near the head of the hammock

Adjustable ridgeline.  Most hammocks with mosquito nets have a fixed length ridgeline.  I wanted to be able to shorten my ridgeline, so I made it adjustable via a buried constriction adjustment at one end. 

Extra wide!  Since most folks that camp in gathered end hammocks lay diagonally across the hammock to sleep (which can provide for a nearly flat sleeping surface), and I am taller than most, I made the hammock an extra 10″ wide to give me more room to get diagonal. 

Custom bottom insulation.  Hammocks lose heat through the bottom, so additional insulation is needed under the hammock in cooler seasons.  I added a nylon and fleece “underquilt” (UQ)… which is not quilted at all… and a custom suspension system to hold it in place.  This one is differential cut (based on the dimensions of the Kick Ass Quilt design… link below), so that it conforms to the diagonal that I lay on while sleeping.  It is a single layer of camo nylon on each side, with a single layer of fleece on the inside.  The head end was left open so I can insert additional layers of insulating material, as the single layer of fleece only provides so much warmth.  I can only get down to about 45 degrees with this UQ below and a mummy sleeping bag on top of me in the hammock.  Many folks use down, which does require actual quilting.  I’ve also heard of using the down from cat tail heads, but have yet to find any to experiment with. 

hammock underquilt with access to add more layers of insulation

homemade hammock underquilt UQ rolled

homemade hammock underquilt UQ

Custom top insulation.  Sleeping in a sleeping bag in a hammock causes the bottom of the bag to compress and lose insulating efficiency.  Many folks use a “top quilt” (TQ) as an alternative to a sleeping bag, to keep their top side warm… while the UQ keeps the bottom side warm.  I made a single layer fleece TQ/bag liner that is about 9 feet long by 5 feet wide.  From my waist down I have rolled it into a cylinder and boxed the end (the foot box).  This is good for temps down to maybe 65 degrees.  Below that and I will pull my mummy sleeping bag over me at an additional TQ.  A more robust and form fitted TQ is in my future, at some point. 

homemade hammock top quilt / bag liner

Custom “skins” to roll up the hammock and store it for easy deploying.  I made mine of a ripstop-type mesh that is very light, but breathable, and added little pockets to hold the suspension lines. 

Skins, along with tree straps, and 12' x 10' silnylon tarp

Custom “woopie sling” suspension lines on each end.  I made one orange and one yellow so I can tell which is the head end (orange) when hanging.  They are incredibly easy to adjust to get the hammock just right.  Made from Amsteel Blue 7/64″ rope rated at 1200#. 

homemade snake skin and woopie sling suspension

Custom tree straps.  Mine are white, so I can find them easily if I drop them, and are 2″ wide to protect the trees from being damaged by the hammock suspension.  I made looks on one end of each strap, but not on the other.  To hang the hammock, I wrap each strap around a tree and thread the bare end through the loop on the other end.  Then I tie a marlin spike hitch with a nail inserted.  I use the nail as the point to hang the loop of the woopie sling suspension. 

Full length zipper on the entry/exit side.  Used a #3 coil zipper with two bi-directional zipper pulls.  Can be opened from the middle, or either end. 

Custom UQ suspension using triangles with bungee or shock cord attached to keep the UQ tight and in the right position.  Triangles are attached to the hammock suspension line with soft shackels made of 7/64″ amsteel blue. 

homemade underquilt suspension triangle

Shockcord tie out lines with barrel lock adjusters.  Shockcord absorbs much of the force of my clumsiness when I trip on the tie out lines.  Also allows for easy lifting of the side entry, which unzips below the side tie outs. 

A “foot box” on the non-entry/exit side of the hammock to give more room for my feet when sleeping on diagonal. 

Should you make your own camping hammock? 

That is really a personal question that you’ll have to answer yourself. 

For me, making my own hammock was a challenge.  I’ve always liked making things, but never really sewn much.  Part of me just wanted to see if I could pull it off… and I did! 

I also wanted to save some money.  Warbonnet charges about $180.  I’ve probably got $60 worth of materials in this project.  However, I have lost track of how many HOURS of my time.  Easily over 40 hours.  I could make one far faster now, as there is a big learning curve on this type of project and I spent lots of time ripping out seams and re-doing things that I screwed up.  Even if I place very little value on my time, I think I clearly lost money by making instead of buying. 

If you like making your own stuff, have lots of time on your hands, are really into design and want to customize your color scheme, and are up for a big challenge, GO FOR IT!  If not, Warbonnet’s prices are more than fair, given the intense labor involved in making something this complex. 

Please let me know if you find this useful or have questions.  I’d love to hear from you if you make a hammock. 

You’ll notice that most of the links below are to HammockForums.net

I’ve never participated in such an open and supportive forum.  You should check it out. 

3 Comments

Very impressive work.. is the shelf, footbox and the connecting fabric all in one piece or did you attached them separately?  I’m planning to build my own too and still gathering as much infos as I dont want to screw this up for my first DIY proj.  Right now Im kinda “stalled” at the shelf/foot box area.  Can you share what dimensions you used?  From the whipping foot end how much distance you think is best before you start seaming the triangle(footbox)?  Is the shelf connected all the way to the channel and included in the whipping?  Any inputs will be greatly appreciated, thanks much! –  Ash

I replied to a thread on Hammockforums.net and thought I’d share it here, as it is very pertinent to this post:

Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewP123
Hello community,
I am having a crisis: i don’t know whether to stay with DIY hammocking or buy manufactured products. 
I’m pretty new at this, but here’s what I did (and there is a reason I’m giving you this much detail )
1) borrowed a friend’s HH Expedition to see if I even liked laying in a hammock.  It sounded uber cool, but didn’t want to spend a bunch of time and/or $ just to find out if I liked it or not.  Also learned that at 6’4″, the HH was a bit cramped for me. 

2) Made 2 gathered end hammocks with no sewing at all.  The fabric width was good, so cut to length, used the whipping fold method described in the Hennessy hammock DIY sticky, and was done.  My little girls liked those, they are too short for me, but hold my weight… so I trust the fabric and my whipping skills.  so…

3) Made a slightly longer than stock HH clone body based on the “My Take On DIY Hennessy Hammock.  A Tutorial”.  Have not yet added pull outs, zipper or bug net.  I like how this one lays.  Still a bit short, so this will be my son or Wife’s

4) Made a longer gathered end hammock (too long, actually), and learned how to use adjustable hem foot on my sewing machine.  Used the whipping method from the “Instruction: Gathered End Hammock” sticky post.  This one failed (as in ripped), but was sooooo long that I was able to re-hem the end that tore and it is just the right length now.  I think it failed due to hanging it WAY too tight, but I’m not sure I trust the material now (Nylon tafetta from Hancock Fabrics “BFF fashion collection”… ie.  not intended for use in supporting weight… but was on sale for $1.95/yd so I tried it).  This was going to become a WBBB clone, but I don’t trust the fabric enough to invest another 10 hours of work into all the finishing touches… so this will remain a simple gathered end for casual use. 

5) Picked up where I left off with #4, using a ~2oz polyester tafetta camo.  Much sturdier fabric.  I screwed up my attempts to copy the WBBB design, since I’d never seen one in person before.  Spent a lot of time ripping out stitches and redoing things.  If you look up the Jerry #5 design here at HF, I ended up with that, but I added a footbox and shelf like a WBBB.  Everything seemed good with this one so I recently added all the tie outs, bug netting, made woopie slings, a fleece and nylon underquilt, a fleece topquilt, snake skins, ridgeline organizer, 2″ tree straps… Here it is:
(link to this post at gear-reports.com)

Oh yeah, somewhere among the first few hammocks I ordered 15 yards of sil from Noah Lampart and traced my friends HH Hex tarp on it, to make a copy. 
BTW, if you order from NL, be sure to ask them to take the fabric off the roll and ship in a box.  It will cut your shipping costs in half. 

Total time invested for 1-5 + the tarp? 
I have no idea, as there were MANY late nights where I got on a roll and worked until 4am, but it has to be at least 80 hours. 
My investment in materials alone, not counting gas for driving to stores or the additional time I spent researching stuff on HF or online shopping… geez.  I’m afraid to add it up.  Probably
$40 for the tarp
$8 @$4 each for the 2 gathered end hammocks for my girls
Ok, I give up already.  Itemizing everything will take more time than I have right now. 
I’m going to guess that I’ve got $100 in fabric (tarp fabric included)
$30 in grosgrain, webbing, thread, needles…
$20 in other stuff
So I’m in for at least $150 at this point… probably more. 
Oh, and I forgot about the order of Amsteel for the whoopies, ridgelines, soft shackles… that was $25 with the HF discount. 

So, for about $200 total I have 1 big tarp, 1 hammock that I can use for camping, and 4 hammocks that the other 4 folks in my house can use, but probably not for camping, as they don’t have bug nets and we live in the south where bugs are always an issue. 
Not bad if just considering the material costs, but a terrible, terrible from an investment standpoint if you count my time.  I’m Ok with that as I have learned a lot and enjoyed the process.  My goal wasn’t to have such a long process and to start so many hammocks, but as I learned more my wants and needs kept evolving and dictated new projects. 

6) I stumbled across a guy with a HH Ultralight Backpacker Asym that was very lightly used for sale for $60 shipped.  It arrived today, I opened the box, set it up, climbed in it 3 different times, installed the snake skins that I made for it a few days ago, and put it away… all in under 30 minutes. 

So, anyone looking to make their own should probably consider what their goal is and weigh the learning curve and time commitment against the commercially available options out there, and especially against buying a used hammock at a big discount. 

If I could start over I think I would probably not change anything, as I was in it for the experience as much as for the gear… but I have never claimed to be normal.  I think that the vast majority of folks would be much better off just buying something commercially made. 
-Jeff

In case you are wondering… all of the pictures are indoors because it is cold outside. 
Yep. 
I don’t like the cold, and I’m not afraid to admit it. 
I just installed two hanging points in my home office so I can hang my hammock in side until it warms up outside. ) 
-Jeff