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How to Make a Hammock You will need:for a single person hammock (33” x 72”) 740 feet of heavy rope or cord (the amounts may very depending on the thickness of the of the rope.) a wooden gauge stick 2” x 6”, a netting needle or shuttle approximately 8” x 1 1/8” x 3/16” thick, 2 hardwood sticks (oak) 1 ˝” x 1 ˝” x 33”, 2 zinc or cadmium coated rings 2 ˝ “ in diameter, electric drill, 1/4 “, bit, 5/16” bit, rose bit and jewelers saw. To Make a Netting needle or Shuttle Cut a piece of 1 18’ x 3/16” wood 8” long. Drill out holes at the points shown and saw out the area along the dotted lines with a jewelers saw. sand the edges smooth.( Fig.1)

To make a gauge stick, Cut a piece of wood 2’ wide 6” long 1/8” thick. Round the ends and sand them smooth, (fig. 2.)

To make the net hammock cut off a 3’ length of rope (cord) and knot the ends with a square knot.

Hook the starting loop over a nail or hook on the wall. (fig 3 above) Wind the netting needle or shuttle with rope (cord) threading it up and over the tongue and down. Turn to the other side and repeat until the shuttle is full. (fig.4)

Tie the end of the shuttle rope (cord) to the starting loop. (fig.5)

To start netting hole the gauge stick in your left hand and wrap the shuttle rope (cord) around the stick. Down in front and up in back and then through the starting loop. (fig.6)

Hold the shuttle rope (cord) tight under your left thumb and pass the shuttle around both sides of the starting loop than back under itself, forming a half-hitch. (fig.7)

Repeat this until you have 20 loops on the gauge stick. (fig.8 and 9)

To make the first row of netting, remove the gauge stick and turn the work over so the shuttle rope (cord) ends up on the left. Hold the gauge stick under the first loop so the top edge is even with the bottom of the loop.(fig. 10)

Loop the shuttle rope (cord) around the gauge stick like before, down in front and up behind and through the first loop. Then pass it around both sides of the starting and pass it under itself to form the half hitch, as in fig.7. Repeat for all 20 loops in the row, using the gauge stick to keep the rows even. The knots should look like the one in (fig.11).

To make the second row of netting, turn the work over so the shuttle rope (cord) is on the left and proceed as in the front row. At this point you can slip a piece of dowel (3 feet long) through the first row of loops and hang the dowel from a hook on the wall. Spread the loops out across the dowel so they are easier to work with (fig. 12)

When the shuttle runs out of rope (cord), rewind it and tie it to the end of the last shuttle rope (cord) with a square knot. Continue netting until you have 48 rows. You can make the hammock longer by adding more rows, for a taller person.
To make the clews (the woven ends of the hammock that attach it to the rings) cut forty 6 foot lengths of rope (cord). 20 for each end of the hammock. Fold each of the 20 length in half and loop over the rings so the ends hang even. Hang the ring on a hook on the wall, (fig. 13)

Take a small plastic or metal cup with tapered sides and slip the small end through the ring. Push the cup to wedge it tightly in place. It will hold the ropes (cords) in position as you weave them. Hook the open end of the cup over the nail or hook in the wall. Start at the right side: move the far right front strand to the back and the far right back strand to the front. Weave the front strand in and out over the front strands and under the back strands, working toward the left. Weave the right back strand in and out toward the left, crossing over the back strands and under the front strands. (Don’t get the front and back strands mixed up.)

After the first strands are woven all the way to the left, push them up against the ring to make the weaving tight. Let these two strands now hang to one side and start with the first two strands on the left. Weave each strand alternately in and out across the other strands to the right. Push them firmly against the ring and allow them to hang to the side. Repeat for all other strands, (fig. 14)

When you reach the last two strands in the center, tie them in a square knot. This will hold the weaving tightly in place. Repeat to make the other clew. Drill 20 holes in each hardwood stick 1˝ inches apart starting 2Ľ inches from each end. Make all the holes Ľ inch in diameter except for the ones at each end which should be 5/16 inch diameter. Ream out each hole on one side with the rose bit. This will make the knots that hold the netting less obvious and less likely to fray.

Lay a clew on the floor with the hardwood stick beneath the ends. Thread the double strands on the far left and right through the holes at each end of the stick. Adjust the length of these strands so they are equal. Knot them temporarily. Thread all remaining double strands through there respective holes. The reamed out side of the holes should face the body of the hammock. Hang the ring in the clew on the hook. Pull all the center strands taut and clip with a snap on clothespin. This will show where to tie a knot when you attach the body of the hammock. (fig.15)

Take the clew off the wall and lay it flat on the floor. Spread out the end of the netted hammock and line up each loop with a double strand. Knot it at the spot marked by the clothespin with the same knot used to do the netting. Repeat with the other clew at the other end of the hammock.To give the hammock a comfort-able sag in the center, make two 3-ply braids of rope (cord) 3 inches shorter then the stretched out hammock. Thread one end of each braid through the outermost holes in the sticks and knot it. Weave the braids in and out the mesh along each side, thread through the outside holes at the other end and knot the ends.

Original instructions for this hammock was found at www.pubear.com