I've read the forum posts and watched Grizz's and Hikerdad's videos on making a DIY bridge hammock, purchased and cut out all the materials, and am just about to start sewing.
Despite rewatching the zipper section of the videos several times, and dissecting forum post photos, I'm not clear on the best way to mate the zipper with the hammock body. Here's a greatly exaggerated drawing of the 3 options I'm considering. It depicts two versions of a cross-section or end-view of the load-bearing seam. I’m leaning towards option 1, but I’m worried that the utility of having the disengaged zipper lay flat and out of the way would be outweighed by the potential tension put on the all-important seam with the ½” webbing. The squiggly line on the zipper is supposed to represent where the zipper pull connects the two halves of the zipper.
(If you haven't looked at making this kind of hammock, the drawing may not make sense, but the load in this hammock is borne by two lengths of 1/2" webbing, one on each outer edge of the hammock. The drawing is an end view and shows the rolled seam with the webbing in the middle and various fabrics rolled around it.)
Let the opinions begin! Option 1, 2, 3 or something else?!?
Thanks Grizz and Hikerdad (and many others) for advancing "hammock science"!!!
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