In the sock, in my usual mode of lounging in the Warbonnet Blackbird.
I decided, after the last Northern California group hang, that I needed a hammock sock. I have had to try all kinds of things to keep the wind off my setup: usually resorting to carrying my huge JRB 10x11 winter tarp when (aside from the wind) my smaller MacCat would have been fine.
The difference in weight between the JRB tarp and the MacCat plus sock is only 2 ounces less, but it means a faster, cleaner set up and and fewer stakes than if I were to put the JRB in hunker down mode (saving another 2 ounces in stakes).
Anyway,
I hung my Blackbird on the backyard hammock stand, got my very long quilting measuring tape, climbed inside, and measured away. Yoga is good for this. I imagine training as a circus contortionist would be even better. Prehensile toes are another plus.
I figured out that I needed a large hammock sock, between my lovely puffy 3/4 underquilt and my large behind.
I used the full width of the Argon 67 fabric and added an insert along the bottom seam as JustJeff shows on one of his hammock socks.
I made a lame sketch with my measurements, and another sketch so I would remember how to cut out the pieces when the fabric arrived.
To use the least amount of fabric, I pieced together the insert out of three pieces of fabric, one cut crossways, and two triangles that had been cut off to make the foot taper. I don't even have enough leftovers from the 4 yards of Argon for a little stuff sack.
I used a soapstone marker (works on the uncoated side) and a 6 foot straight edge to mark the lines for cutting.
I have three different sewing machines available to me. A fancy electronic Bernina (total epic stitching failure) for which I have a run-and-fell (flat fell) foot, a 30+ year old Bernina (Winner!) for which I have no flatfelling or rolled hem feet, and a 60 year old Singer that has a rolled hem foot (didn't even try - tired of swapping spools of thread and hunting up unfilled bobbins).
By the time I had fought my way through the shortest flat felled seam on the fancy electronic doorstop, I decided to do the rest of the seams as French seams (enclosed raw edges). I did this kind of seam on some Momentum for a windshirt and it worked well. I never did try the old Singer's rolled hem foot but I suspect it would have done just fine.
The problem I had with the fancy newer machine was significant puckering of the seam, despite relaxing the tension and lengthening the stitch length. I needed three hands: to pull the fabric in front of the foot, behind the foot, and to guide the fold. I may have prehensile toes, but I only have the usual number of hands. I have had problems with this machine sewing other lightweight fabrics. I think the feed dogs just aren't effective enough. I keep going back to my older machines for these tasks (I also make fancy doll clothes out of sheer silks and so on).
A French seam starts by sewing the two pieces wrong sides together with a narrow seam, then turning that seam inside out (enclosing the raw edges) and sewing right sides together. The fabric was happy to feed fairly well on the wrong (coated) side, but needed some encouragement for the uncoated surfaces.
131 grams (4 and 5/8 ounces) with cord and a small toggle. I'm skipping any kind of mitten hook attachment until I've actually used the thing overnight. Which I should be doing next week.
I dragged my husband away from his computer game to snap pictures of the occupied sock.
Although the unoccupied sock reaches nicely from the foot to the head of the hammock (sock cinched up) when I was in it, I could not get the sock all the way to the head end of the hammock. Practice might help.
There is enough room in the occupied sock for the underquilt to puff all the way up. So that's a relief.
I removed the elastic cords and toggles used to tie out the sides of the hammock as the edge of the sock kept catching on them as I tried to slide it up to the head of the hammock. I don't use them very often anyway.
As an experiment, I left the sock unfurled along the hammock and stuffed hammock and sock back in the double ended stuffsack for the hammock. It all fit just fine, even with my little DIY primaloft pillow in there. The wind-resistant nature of the Argon meant I had to go slowly to let the air seep out of the sock as I stuffed away. No stuffsack needed. So there!
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