I just wanted to say looks awesome! Love seeing all the talented diy-ers on here.
kris
This post will cover off the saddle bags, gear hooks, zipper strain relief band and zipper install.
Just a note, functionally, the hammock is usable at this point ... you can add the dog bones and try the lie to see if you like it, before doing the rest of the build.
First up, finish the hammock body by adding the end caps. The dimension that is most critical here is the width at the end cap top, the pole is a fixed width and you need to have the right width on the end cap, because once sewn in, that determines how wide the space is between the suspension loops. The "sew in" will take ~1/4" (for me) ... so the end cap along the top should measure ~ 36.5" (gets floppy if you make very much longer).
Pin the caps in, starting at the hammock top rail and work towards the bottom/middle, there is a very good chance that the 2 perimeters won't exactly match and a few small darts, as you approach the middle, should take care of that. I mate the hems so that a smooth seam is shown on the hammock exterior. One small detail here, for the head end cap, just below the dog bone channel add the small 1/2" grosgrain loop shown in the photo, it will be on the exterior facing the direction of the suspension
The purpose of the small loop is to add a bit of shock cord as this pic depicts, only required if your storage area tends to slip back a bit.
Finished foot end cap )cpmplete with a few small darts)
Gear hooks are added along the sides for versatility, hanging gear, adding shock cord ty outs to arrest rocking, hanging gear ..... whatever might be useful. Locate one near the head and foot ends and then even spaced around 11" apart down the suspension. You can see one gear hook and grosgrain in the pic, ready to be sewn on (at the 7" mark on the mat) and the locations are marked by the painters tape. Orientation is a bit confusing here, the black is the hammock interior, the suspension hem is rolled up and the gear hook ribbon pinned in place, on the outside (red)
Stitch the gear ribbon in place, the strain relief band will be added and these will get stitched again, so they just need to be held in place for now.
With the stress on the actual side suspension, it is a bad idea to try and sew a zipper directly to the suspension hem, enter the stress relief band, this is just a band of cloth attached to the suspension hem to give some flexibility between the zipper and the suspension, to avoid stretching or straining the zipper.
The band goes from the foot end, up one side, around the storage area and back down to the foot end, some ~250" .... it is made mostly from off cuts from the main hammock. Make up pieces of cloth 3" wide and as long as you can get from the scraps and when you have enough, double hem them (2 x 1/4") to form the ~2" band. As far as lengths go, the perimeter is broken up into various chunks ... a single pieces to go from the foot end cap to the front pole, front pole to the end of the dog bone channel, across front end cap, front dog bone channel to front pole and front pole to the foot end cap. Once you make the various lengths of band, you can organize how you will get the pieces you need from the collection.
Contrary to one of the previous posts, I settled on 12" x 30" (or there about) saddle bags ... previous dimensions given 10" x 30", either will work, but I have settled on 12" deep for now. If you have a piece of scrap close to the right dimensions, I would alter the bags a few inches rather than waste the cloth. For the bags, cut 2 pieces of cloth 25" x 31" and double hem (2 x 1/4")
Fold in half to form the 12" x 30" saddle bag and run 2 courses of stitching down the sides, LEAVING 1" not stitched at the top. I am not inverting this bag for a clean edge, I like the stitched look and it will simplify how the bags get attached.
One other small item to prep are a couple of rub patches to be used at the front rod area, they get made up before starting to add the band. 4 pieces of 2" x 3", folded and stitched to make a double layer 1 1/4" x 3" HyperD300 patch.
Center the saddle bag between the head and foot pole and pin to the suspension hem, mark the stop and start locations. I simply fold the suspension in half and put tape at the center, repeat with the saddle bag, putting the tape on the inner edge.
Pick a piece of stress band long enough to go from pole to pole, hem one end. Starting at the suspension loop foot end, pin the stress band to the suspension hem, aligning the bottom of the stress band to the bottom of the hem
Continue pinning, when you reach the saddle bag edge, change to pin the band to the outside hem on the saddle bag
Leave the tape center markers in place, so the saddle bag can be relocated. Remove all pins, except the ones holding the stress band to the outer saddlebag hem
and run 2 rows of stitches (1/8" apart)to attach the stress band to the outer seam
Pin the saddlebag inner seam back in position and run 2 rows of stitches (1/8" apart) to sew it to the suspension hem
Should look something like this
Pin the stress relief back along to the foot end, aligning the bottom edges and run 2 rows of stitches to attach the band to the suspension hem and include the first 1/2" of the saddle bag edge (just the foot side edge)
Pin the stress band up to head end of the suspension hem, go an extra 1/2", cut and roll a double hem (2 x 1/4")
Add one of the rub patches to the inside and stitch in place
The left band on this pic shows the band coming from the saddle bag to the head end of the suspension hem with the rub patch applied, the right side (head end) is pinned. The band will be turned over when it is sewn in, so the rub patch is on the inside.
Add stress band piece, overlapping at the center, from the center to ~1/2" short of where the dog bone channel exits ... use the channel seam as the alignment point to attach the stress band
This a little further along, see how the relief band on the outside stops just short of the dog bone exit channel, then the stress band is moved to the inside of the hammock to avoid interfering with the dog bones.
Now just keep going and repeat that on the other side.
One point about the stitching, always be stitching towards the open end, do not try and stitch to a closed end if you can avoid it .. the cloth will never be aligned perfectly with the pinning and as you stitch you will see the little hillocks form as you go (usually). If the end is open then there is little issue, if not then you have to deal with it somehow, best to just avoid the issue if you can. In this description the sewing went from the saddlebag to the foot end, then from the saddlebag to the head end for that reason.
One last operation on the stress relief is needed, that overlap in the middle needs to be smoothed and cleaned up a bit, the zipper will not like the sharp turn.
The process to make the cap is summarized in this pic, white cardboard is the shape that will cover nicely, brown is with 1/2" allowance all around, then the cut cloth and then hemmed
Applied, watch the suspension loop and dog bone channel underneath when you stitch it in place.
A few gear hooks on the interior storage area are useful
The zipper (#5 coil) extends from the foot end, around the storage area and back down to the foot end, terminating close to the end cap seam (some ~18'). This allows either side to be used for entry and makes setting up easier.
Four zipper pulls are added, 2 pairs opposing, 1 pair for each side, it can be a bit fiddly, so I do that now, before I start sewing in the zipper. This will create an issue in that there is no way to sew past the pulls (at least for my machine), so at some point, you will need to stop the stitch and move the pulls, then continue.
A zipper stop isn't mandatory, but I install one on the end I will starting at
Start by pinning the zipper at the foot end, allowing it to turn into the stress relief band. This pic shows the turn into the stress band, zipper pinning and the 4 zipper pulls installed.
A zipper foot on the sewing machine just makes this job so much easier and accurate. This is a long series of stitches, so I fill the bobbin before I start. I like to start with a stitch next to the zipper first, just start at the turned in area and follow the zipper, aligning materials as you go.
That last bit about aligning materials is important, the pins don't do the aligning, they only help manage the material. This what my pinning looks like
When you are actually stitching, the pins come out, you align the materials and this is what you sew leaving a small space between the band and the teeth
I made the point that material will shift and bunch as you sew, about half way along the zipper, this is what can be expected (it is normal)
About 12" from the end of the opposite foot end, I stop the stitch, move the pulls onto the stitched part and out of the way. Cut the zipper to fit (taking care of that wave), add a stop and pin in place. Continue the stitch and finish
Shift your zipper foot to the opposite position, go back to the start and run a second row of stitches .... zipper installed
Posting this was a bit delayed, I didn't actually have detailed pics of the stress band part .. but I was making a hammock, so i just waited till I got to that part to get pics to post.
Brian
Brian that is one of the best bridges I've seen yet and I love the step x step photos...too few MYOGers use the rich bright colors.
I've made 5 or 6 bridges as I tweak my pattern...I hope one day I'll have the foresight and skill you do.
Time to close off this build and get the bugnet installed.
There is little point in describing how to attach and measure the bug net, I learned and basically follow JellyFish's video, which can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqSvvSxjLmg
Here is a pic of the setup to fit the netting
Since this is a bridge, I opt to add a panel to the foot area and the head area to complete the fitting
Foot panel
head panel drawup
and the completed head panel
addon the zipper pulls (just because)
Friends new hammock completed
This is an internal ridgeline versus the external one initially posted, there are 2 tabs at each end and a doubled piece of 1/16" shock cord to tension it. The actual ridgeline isn't what supports the netting, the simple chock cord tensioner does that.
close up of the tensioner, I was a bit surprised that a simple tensioner for the bugnet will support the entire length.
Made up a double ended stuff sac, so it is just clip and go for setup ot take down
That concludes this portion of the Comfort Bridge build ... after learning so much here, I hope I have shared a bit back.
Brian
Super nice project and beautiful work. I just finished my second 90 degree hammock project and it took a lot of sewing and stringing suspension lines. Therefore, I have some first hand appreciation for the amount of work that went into your build. But my 90 degree hammock also doesn't have a net and zippers as it was intended to see how well my ideas would come together in a prototype. It turned out so well that my biggest regret is that I didn't use a preferred fabric, i.e. not nearly as nice as the fabric you used. I just cut up a bargain Ripstop by the Roll hammock. Now it looks like this winter I will be starting over with a preferred fabric and adding more bells and whistles. Again, beautiful job!
FYI: If you want to know what type a certain bear is, sneak up behind it and kick it. Then,
run like crazy and climb up a tree. If the bear climbs the tree and eats you, it's a black
bear. If the bear just pushes the tree over and eats you, it's a grizzly bear : )
Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either, just leave me alone.
--unknown
Question is actually harder to answer than it first appears, it breaks into at least 2 areas, design and materials. Comparing the 2 designs does not really give any meaningful conclusion other than the 2 designs have different focuses ... I don't own and have never had the pleasure of trying a RR, but from the specs, the CB is wider and a few inches longer.
Now that the basic design has been field tested for 2 years, there are plans for 2 more versions that should simplify construction and offer some more options ... will have to see how well USPS and Canada Post work to get the materials here. As far as the materials go, the CB MK II is quite overbuilt in some areas and "about right" in others, the new designs will have a more balanced material usage and attention to weight details ... should be fun.
Brian
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