Tying a Rope Hammock From the Start

Cut 288 pieces of rope. Make each piece of rope 8 inches long. Lay the small pieces of rope in a small pile.

Wrap one piece of the rope around the 3-inch axis of your wooden slat. Tie a square knot in the rope forming a 3-inch loop. Pull the loop off the slat.

Slide one end of a new piece of rope through the loop. Wrap the new piece of rope around the slat. Tie a knot in it, and then pull the new loop off the slat.

Continue tying new loops onto the chain until you have 24 of them tied in a 6-foot length. Slide the end of a new piece of rope through the first link of your chain. Wrap it around your slat and tie it in a knot.

Slide the end of a new piece of rope through the loop you just tied and through the second link in the first chain. Wrap it around the slat and tie in a knot. Continue adding loops in the second chain until it is 24 loops long. Connect each loop of the new chain to its corresponding loop on the first chain.

Tie 10 more chains of rope to the assembly. Connect each loop to its own chain as well as the preceding chain. Connect all 288 loops to make a hammock 6 feet long and 3 feet wide.

Cut the remaining 8 feet of rope into two lengths of 4 feet. Thread one of the 4-foot lengths of rope through all 12 small loops on one end of the hammock. Tie a knot in the 4-foot rope. Repeat the process at the other end of the hammock to finish the construction.

Find two trees standing 7 feet apart. Wrap the large loop at one end of your hammock around one tree. Fasten it to itself with a "C" clip. Hook the other end of the hammock to the remaining tree with your free "C" clip.