Hammock with curved ends?

[OlTrailDog]

I know y’all right. ... hard for anyone to make a living. .... money....is not steady. Its feast and famine.

Hmmm, I think I learned this from back in my construction days. And not the easy way

[patrick_the_fat]

Well ... after ~10 years of doing serious DIY with curved ends, I finally placed an order for fabric and am soon to be getting back into it. Just like as described with the Nixon hammocks, I had made sort of a W shape on both ends (my hammocks were ~12 ft after sewn, parallelogram-shaped, folded twice on the ends for extra strength, and the curves were offset a bit to try and work with confusing-to-engineer angles created the parallel sides, all of which made it even more complicated). I remember that the center section was a W shape of its own so that it can curve around the bones that stick out of your back,and the whole side made sort of another W, as the ends were tightened so the side walls of the fabric went up a little bit and the whole middle section made sort of the middle point. It was difficult, I never knew if the hammocks were going to turn out right and sometimes the ends would not be the same length so I had to learn how to be very careful (eg. ironing and not letting my fabrics get any creases, exact cutting, notes which often caused me to confuse myself). However it was very rewarding. I managed to make something that felt like I was sitting in a canoe, the way the middle was held up really nicely and the side walls didn't droop down really low to where I would possible get dumped out. I found that the longer the hammock, the longer the curves needed to be (somewhere close to 2" for a 12ft hammock).

I will be posting more on this thread or possibly start a new one soon to talk more about this. Definitely, the W shape (or W within a W) is superior, and the only problem I found with the hammock is that after about 2 years of almost daily use for sleep, at the hems and at the fabric just slightly down from the ends, the fabric will start to stretch from the extra pressure constantly being put on. I will never go back to straight hems, straight curved hems, or even gathered ends because I believe we are at the front of discovering how to make the best accupressure hammocks, even if it takes a few different formulas to fit all sizes.

[SubaruWx]

Bump on this this thread. I’d love to hear how similar efforts turned out.

I’m a tall guy (6’4”) and I have had general success in 11.5’ and 12’ hammocks with a pillow under my knees. But wouldn’t it be nice to take some of that pressure off my lower legs and feet? I don’t have a dominant sleep angle, so I’d need to keep any adjustments symmetrical.

I had some Hexon 1.6 XL and figured it was time to experiment. I cut a cat curve 3 in deep on each end of a 150in length. Add 3 inch channels, 3 lines of stitching, and a ridge line and…. Maybe I cut out too much?

It was a VERY flat lay - my lower legs and feet loved it! I especially liked the minimal pressure on my heels. But I also felt like I might spill out with the wrong shift. I also really missed the curve along my head to support my pillow (and head) when I tilted my head toward the outside edge. I use a bow tie-shaped pillow that perfectly support my head as it tilts toward the inside or outside, but I guess it requires that outside edge to curve up around me as one gets with a square GE hammock.

So I go back to my 1972 Kenmore thread injector…. Ripped the seams ONLY on the head end and trimmed that end square. So now only the foot has the 3in deep cat curve. 3 in channels, 3 lines of stitching, connect my ridge line and whoopie sling… and it’s better. It still feels flatter in comparison to its twin that is square on both ends. But it also doesn’t have the head support on the outside edge that the square twin hammock has.

I haven’t decide yet if I’m going to keep the foot end with a cat curve or not. I’m still deciding if the positives of less heel pressure out weight the negatives of less head support on the outside edge.

I can see how folks with a preferred lay can adjust their end cuts to maximize comfort. A foot side that was 3 in longer makes a noticeable improvement. But I’m not sure it’s right for me.