Diy super strong hammock

[Zilla]

I am about to start my first home made hammock and need some advise,
First off the reason i am making my own is because i am REALLY BIG GUY,6ft3 and 350lbs and i dont feel safe in my hammock that is rated for 400lbs.
What i intend on doing is taking 2 - 12 ft long peices of 70 D ripstop nylon fabric and sewing them together,doubling them up. I have already purchased the fabric in a really nice camo.
One of my concerns is after i sew all 4 sides together and make my channels will the fabric slide around when i am in the hammock
Should i do an X stitch or several long stitches down the middle to stop the fabric from sliding
And if i do one of these extra stitches will it make the feel uncomfortable, like a hard line on my back?

Any and all suggestions are welcome

[Floridahanger]

DO NOT SEW IN THE MIDDLE!

Does putting a masking tape X in your window make it stronger for a storm. Not at all.
In a hammock body, you may be weakening it somewhat due to the pulling from all sides (360*), not just head and foot ends.

You will not have any slippage what so ever. When you get in the hammock, it pulls and tightens both layers together. No slipping. That's why many use DL (double layer) hammocks to put a ccf pad sandwiched inbetween.

And don't overthink it. Have fun.

[nothermark]

You also should reconsider stitching the sides completely around. If you leave 1-2 ft open on each side you can unroll a CCF pad in the middle to use it as insulation.

[gmcttr]

...You will not have any slippage what so ever. When you get in the hammock, it pulls and tightens both layers together. No slipping. That's why many use DL (double layer) hammocks to put a ccf pad sandwiched inbetween...

You also should reconsider stitching the sides completely around. If you leave 1-2 ft open on each side you can unroll a CCF pad in the middle to use it as insulation.

^^^this and this. On some of the DL hammocks I've made, I have only tacked the layers on the sides with ~1" of stitching at third points leaving the rest open. No problems at all.

To make a gathered end hammock as you are describing, I would...

- sew 1/2" roll hems on the long edges independently on both layers

- stack the 2 layers and pin the ends, make a wide roll hem, stitch once, fold over again and sew 3 rows of stitching as shown in the sketch. Each line in the sketch represents the 2 layers together. When you sew the 3 rows of stitching, you will actually be sewing through 10 layers. You will want to be using a new sharp pointed needle.

DL Hammock End Channel.jpg

- Sew the sides of the 2 layers together leaving some area open to insert a pad if desired.

This will make end channels with 4 layers of fabric for strength.

[Zilla]

^^^this and this. On some of the DL hammocks I've made, I have only tacked the layers on the sides with ~1" of stitching at third points leaving the rest open. No problems at all.

To make a gathered end hammock as you are describing, I would...

- sew 1/2" roll hems on the long edges independently on both layers

- stack the 2 layers and pin the ends, make a wide roll hem, stitch once, fold over again and sew 3 rows of stitching as shown in the sketch. Each line in the sketch represents the 2 layers together. When you sew the 3 rows of stitching, you will actually be sewing through 10 layers. You will want to be using a new sharp pointed needle.

DL Hammock End Channel.jpg

- Sew the sides of the 2 layers together leaving some area open to insert a pad if desired.

This will make end channels with 4 layers of fabric for strength.

That sounds like great advise, i plan on leaving a 24 inch opening on each end,18 inches down from the channels

[Detail Man]

A 24" opening might be tight to get a pad in easily. Consider 36-48" openings 24" from one end, one on each side. This has worked very well on the DL hammocks I've made. It 'll be easier to get a pad arranged if the openings aren't so close to the ends.

Instead of starting with 2 pieces of fabric, just fold the one in half. You only have to line up one end that way. For example: Hem 24' down both long edges. Fold in half lengthwise and make a channel with the two ends. Make a channel on folded end, treating it the same. Mark the openings, then sew the edges together.

Sounds like your on a good track. Let us see how it turns out.