Does evenly folding the ends of a gathered end hammock really matter?

[hikin'n'hangin]

I am about to complete my first ever DIY hammock. I am using the modified sheet bend method with continual loops on the ends. I am wondering if it makes any difference to evenly fold the fabric (accordion style) before making the loop, or just bunch it up and go? I'm not a huge stickler when it comes to calf ridges, but I would like to avoid a mountain range digging into my leg.

Thanks

[P1Scubbs]

i would take the time and do it accordion style because it cant hurt and you will not have to do it twice.

[XJ35S]

I didn't like mine just bunched up. I folded carefully. I also scooched the out side edges out a little further than the center. It gave me a flat lay with no calf ridge and a little bit of side edge to keep my TQ in.

IMG_0149.jpg

[hikin'n'hangin]

Thanks for the reply's!
XJ35S, when you say the outside edges, do you mean the folded material just behind (toward the body) the sheet bend?

I am getting the material back from the seamstress who hemmed the edges (haven't gone full DIY with a sewing machine yet), and I am excited to try it out.
I've had the amsteel parts made for over a week now, and have been chomping at the bit.

[Flash Grundelore]

I recently looked at two dayhangers for my blog. One of the things that impressed me immediately on each of them was the pleating.
It seemed to me to give a more even feel to the "lay" of the hammock, possibly cutting out some calf-ridge

[sunsetkayaker]

Yep, take the time to make the pleats. I pulled the edges of the hammock out an extra inch on both ends. (The folded edge and the adjacent fabric for about 4 inches toward the middle. I found that the hammock had no edge without doing that. I think there is a post about the various ways to fold the fabric and their pros and cons. For example, you can start at one end and work your way to the other, or you can fold it in half and work from the middle/fold out. It was an interesting read if you can find it. With the sheet bend method you can try different ways if the first one doesn't fit your fancy.

[No-sage]

I just washed my nightly sleeper. I don’t fold, I just bunch. One end I bunched from one side all the way to the other. The other end I folded the hammock in half so the edges were even, then bunched from the center.

I do pull the sides I bit tighter before I bend and tie, but only a little because of the wide fabric.

I’ts been 3 nights since I retied everything and I don’t notice any difference in how my hammock lays.

[Flash Grundelore]

I also remember seeing someone who had:

• poked a soldering iron hole [to fray-seal] in the very center of the end channel on the top-side
• then fed the CL in from the center to one side
• out and around the back
• and back in the other side to the center hole
• then they passed the one end of the CL thru the other like normal

.... that way the CL was kept right in the center of the gather.

If you used a ponytail tie to temp-hold the pleating you made while you fed the CL, it should work in this instance.