Homemade Rope Hammock

Preparation

• 1

  Cut two 2-inch wood dowels with a hand saw to the length desired to accommodate the width of the hammock. Standard lengths are 3 feet for the wood dowels.

• 2

  Measure and mark a dot every 3 inches from each edge of the dowels along a straight line.

• 3

  Drill 1/4-inch holes through each mark.

• 4

  Bend a metal hanger so that you have a hook that will fit through the holes drilled in Step 3 to be used for pulling the rope through the holes.

• 5

  Measure and cut lengths of rope to two times the desired length of the hammock with an additional 2 feet per rope.

• 6

  Feed the bent hanger into each hole and loop one rope over the hook. Pull the rope through the hole. Repeat for all the holes along one dowel excluding the last hole on each end. Pull the rope through the hole until the rope is halfway through the dowel creating a pair of ropes.

• 7

  Tie the rope onto the dowel with a normal knot to keep the rope from pulling out of the hole while working.

Tying the Knots

• 8

  Place the dowel with the ropes fed through the holes onto a stable surface and clamp the dowel down. Stretch the ropes out.

• 9

  Grab the first two pair of ropes, consisting of one pair that runs through one hole and the pair of ropes running through the next hole, approximately four inches away from the dowel. Create a loop with the four ropes. Pull the ends of the ropes through the loop to tighten the knot.

• 10

  Repeat Step 2 for the next two pair of ropes. Continue tying the knots working with two pairs at a time.

• 11

  Tie the second row starting with the second pair and third pair of ropes approximately four inches from the first row of knots. Do not tie the outer pair on each side.

• 12

  Repeat Steps 2 through 4 until you are within 8 to 10 inches of the ends of the ropes.

Completing the Hammock

• 13

  Feed one rope from each pair of ropes through the corresponding holes on the second dowel using the bent hanger.

• 14

  Tie each pair of ropes into a standard knot to complete the hammock structure.

• 15

  Cut and lace two more lengths of rope per dowel through the end holes on each dowel. Lace a metal loop onto one pair of ropes per dowel.

• 16

  Tie the ends of each pair of end ropes together using the same knot used in tying the hammock. The knot must be equally distant from each end of the dowel.

• 17

  Cut and tie a length of rope to each metal ring and attach the rope to a vertical structure to erect the hammock.