When Grace was in town a few weeks ago, we did a little shopping at some of the new shops in my neighborhood. While browsing the jewelry at Marisa Haskell, we noticed these beautiful striped beach towels piled in the corner. They were a steal at just $30 each, and I wanted to buy out the whole stock, but instead I prudently picked up one and decided to make a simple summer hammock for the corner of our backyard. The bright stripes felt so summery, but I wanted to fancy it up a little bit, so I added natural leather straps, which will darken over time in the sun. You could customize this with a number of different fabrics and even size it up for family hammock time, and in the meantime I’m on the hunt for an online resource for those towels..I’ll update the post if I find anything! Happy crafting :) — Kate
Read the full how-to after the jump . . .
Materials
- cotton beach towel/blanket or piece of fabric at least 40″ x 80″
- scissors
- pins
- 1″ leather strapping (if your sewing machine cannot sew leather, nylon or canvas strapping would also work)
- mid- or heavyweight cotton muslin or canvas (at least 4″ x 40″)
- rope for hanging hammock (I used this)
- zip-ties
- cotton twine
Instructions
1. Lay out your beach towel and cut a 42″ x 80″ rectangle. Fold over 1″ on either long side to create a 40″ by 80″ rectangle, and sew up the sides.
2. Cut two 2″ strips from the rectangle of muslin/canvas and place one strip flush with the top of the hammock. Fold the fabric over the canvas and pin to create a sturdy 2″ hem. Repeat with the bottom edge.
3. Cut your strapping into 6″ lengths. You need 18 of these strips (9 on each side).
4. Fold your strapping in half to create 3″ loops, and pin 10 loops each over the 2″ hems at the top and bottom of the hammock at even intervals (about every 5.25″). The ends of the loops should hit the 2″ seam.
5. Place the hammock front side up into the sewing machine and position the needle over the lower lefthand corner of the first loop. Sew one loop at a time, forming a box with a cross inside to firmly secure the leather loops. Repeat with each individual loop on both sides, cutting the extra threads after each one.
6. Cut eighteen 8′ lengths of rope. Loop one strand through each leather loop and fold in half so the strands are 4′ long.
7. Create a huge loop with the loose ends of the strands and tie all strands into a big knot 30″ down the rope from the hammock. Cut the loose ends and wrap another length of rope around the loop (left side below). Then wrap thin cotton/bakers twine around the loop many times over until you have a solid, thick, clean loop (as seen on the right below). Repeat on the other side.
8. You’re done! You can now string up your hammock between two strong trees or any other secure setup (be careful!).
18 Comments
Amazing! Thank you for the great idea.
What a perfect summer project!
Is this supposed to be 8-foot lengths of cord (rather than 8-inch?) going through the leather straps. Otherwise, I don’t understand how you could tie all the 4-inch ends together into one big knot 30 inches from the top of the hammock.
Now, only if I had those two trees sitting in my front yard in the backyard instead, hmmm
Kristin – Whoops! You are 100% correct. I’ve corrected the dimensions in the post. Thank you so much for noticing that!
This is such a great DIY project! Perfect for some summertime relaxing. Plus it’ll feel even more great because we made it ourselves!
It looks fabulous and it’s a great idea, but how do you know a piece of fabric will be sturdy enough to support your weight? I’d be worried about falling through the middle where there isn’t the canvas support.
If I had a sewing machine that worked… I would totally do this! But for now, I will be bookmarking for later ;)
Hi Cayenne,
You make a great point, using a very sturdy fabric is the best way to ensure a stable hammock. I tested this version with several people, having them be kind of rough on it (jumping in, piling several people in it for a while, etc.) and it received my seal of approval. However, I don’t know if it will stand the test of time. I might go back and reinforce the underside with a second towel, which would make it more than adequately sturdy. I would suggest using a tight weave fabric that is at least mid-weight, or if you want to use a looser lighter weight material like linen, etc. then I would just double up the layers. Hope this helps, and thank for bringing up this point!
WHAT A GREAT IDEA! My friend and I were just talking about how expensive good hammocks are and the maker in me knew a good pattern would show up some day. This is PERFECT!
Yes!! I was thinking about buying one for a wedding gift, but I’m going to make one instead! And embroider it with their last name!! This is great! Thank you!!
You all always have the best ideas. Thanks for the tut.
Hey Kate! Thank you so much for the post–I was needing a fun gift idea for an upcoming wedding! Any update on an online seller for the towel? I’m on the hunt for a sturdy material but love the towel you used. Thanks!
Hi! This looks like such a fun project. Where do you find the leather strapping? Thanks so much!
So funny that I came across this site. I have a ton of summer backyard updates to finish and I told my husband I thought it would be cool to add a hammock to the yard. This seems simple enough (although I don’t know the slightest thing about using a sewing machine!)
What a lovely job! Thanks for sharing
this is awesome! thank you! my reaction at the end: “that’s it?” will do ladies, will do.
Can you leave a better description on tying up the knot? Slip knot? Whipping Knot? I think I have it together but would like some clarity.
Also, I used a solid heavy duty curtain. Also, you could use a shower curtain so it will be good for rain etc… Does anyone have pictures of the ones they created?
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