I started this project 2 months ago, but life got in the way. I became motivated to finish it now that the flying critters are swirling. It started simple enough. This was going to be straightforward I thought, a basic bug sock. I went to Walmart to get some inexpensive tulle, 7 yards that I had calculated I needed, and found the material was very stretchy. When my Walmart customer service representative had measured, she had stretched the fabric and I only received 5.95 yards. I came up 2 inches short on the length I needed. I thought that one trip into a Walmart was enough and I had to find a different path.
I switch gears decided to extend the length of my sock by 10 inches, in the event that I complete next winter's project, a 10' 6" foot long hammock, and maybe could us this sock for that yet uncreated hammock. My current hammock is under 9 feet, (Grand Trunk is misleading, the actual length of their UL hammock is NOT 9' 6" but 8' 10"). I was at my favorite remnant place and found some wonderful synthetic light-weight camo material, I'm not sure what it is, which I thought could be part of a solution. So I added 10" of the material as an extension and then created a channel for the cinch cord. This was better than running the cord through the tulle as it made the process of cinching smoother. I reinforced the foot end with the same material. I also added 4 tie-out loops on the sides since I don't like bug net near my face and feet, and 4 additional loops along the top in the event I want to hang a portion of the sock via an external ridgeline.
Walmart tulle is definitely not the hardiest of material, but the price was right $0.96/0.85 yards, the weight was right as this only weighs a few ounces. I have a scale on order from ebay, I'll weigh it when I get the scale. The net is huge, I can sit up in my hammock and put my shoes on, the width of the sock is 60". I do worry a bit with it being so wide that it might catch on branches under my hammock but I can always reduce the width if this becomes a problem.complete bug net sm.jpg
Bookmarks