How to Make a Nylon Mayan Hammock

Wrap a netting shuttle with as much nylon cord as possible and cut off the free end.

Tie the ends of a 3-foot piece of rope in a loop and hang it from a coat-hook or other supporting protrusion. Tie the loose end of the nylon on the shuttle to the loop and allow it to hang downward.

Hold a gauge stick just beneath the rope loop, and wrap the nylon cord around it, pulling the cord up through the loop. Wrap the cord around the loop and pull it through underneath itself, forming a half-hitch.

Repeat the previous step until the stick has 20 loops around it. This will be the first row of your hammock. Turn the rope loop on the hook so the shuttle is on the left once again. Pull the gauge stick out from the loops and hold it just beneath the row.

Make another row the same as the first, only this time wrap the cord around each small loop just above it rather than the rope. The row should again have 20 loops, each connected to one of the loops in the first row. Continue turning the hammock over and adding new rows, always working from left to right, until you have a total of 54. Reload the shuttle and tie the new length of cord to the previous one, if you run out while working.

Cut the rope starter loop and pull it out from the nylon hammock. Braid three strands of cord and weave the braid through the loops along the right edge of the hammock, tying it at both ends. Do the same with another braid on the left edge to encourage the hammock to stretch more in the middle than at the edges. Tie a 50-inch length of cord to each loop in the first row, securing the free ends to a metal ring. Do the same for the last row. Tie the rings to whatever support you desire to hang the hammock.